Article22, LLC, Brooklyn, NY
I had the wonderful opportunity to spend this summer as a remote marketing intern at Article22. Founded by Elizabeth (Liz) Suda ’05, Article22 is a sustainable jewelry company that works with artisans from Laos to sell handcrafted jewelry made from Vietnam war shrapnel and other debris. I was particularly excited about working with Article22 because of their mission towards sustainability and community development. The company supports local artisans with a source of income and, for each object sold, funds are donated to village development programs and to clear live, unexploded ordnance from the land. This ultimately helps to bring money into Laos while also making it a safer place, which will hopefully encourage further investments into their economy in the future.
Article22 is run by a small team, so I was fortunate to be able to work so closely with Liz and her team. At the start of the internship, Liz shared her vision for the company, as well as her hopes and expectations for the summer. She offered great flexibility with the type of work that I was interested in, and the different ways I could help out. I was able to sit in on several meetings, and from this I gained a stronger understanding of the challenges that Article22 confronts day to day, from things like assessing marketing campaigns to researching peer companies.
The bulk of my time was spent looking at Article22’s online sales data for this year. Liz was looking to implement a system to easily track Article22’s sales and growth, and I was tasked with helping to create a report that included metrics relevant and important to the company’s goals. This meant I was working closely with Shopify and other software platforms like Klaviyo that use data to analyze company performance. I looked through the sales-related information being tracked, and I identified and reported different key performance indicators (KPIs), such as the lifetime value of a typical customer and marketing costs per order, to provide insight into how customers are interacting on the Article22 website.
Looking back, I had a great experience this summer as a virtual intern for Article22. I’ve learned so much and acquired so many new skills; and this experience has helped me realize that it is always possible to have a career where you can forge your own path, follow your personal interests, and impact the world. Coming out of this experience, I am excited to take an economic development course before I graduate.
I would like to thank Mr. William McCalpin ’79 and the ’68 Center for Career Exploration for making this internship possible. Your generous support has provided me with an enriching summer experience. Thank you!
Megamenu Social