Made by Maroons

Liberal arts is essential for innovation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs once mused.

Liberal arts graduates have great basic training for turning an idea into an action, entrepreneur Andy Greenfield once wrote.  

Inventive, creative, entrepreneurial minds have long been an integral part of Roanoke College.  

Meet some of today's "makers"—five Maroons whose inventions and creations, of their own artistic conception, or the continuation of creations steeped in family tradition, affirm the declarations of Mr. Jobs and Mr. Greenfield.  

Taylor Ferebee '17 - App builder  

For more than a year, Taylor Ferebee has been working with a team of elite mathematicians to publish her Movie Predictor app and multi-predictor algorithm.   

A double major in physics and mathematics at Roanoke College, Ferebee started exploring her academic interests even before starting college. That ultimately led to her interest in app design and functionality.  

During a 2014 summer program at the Wolfram Science Summer School, "I ended up doing research on which parts of films would be good for statistical analysis," says Ferebee. "I started simple with the movie posters, and then looked at what time of the year the film is going to be released, the genre of the film and [what] makes a film profitable."     

Chase Bourdelaise '08 and Paul Wagner '08 - Creators of "FiestaFive"

Roanoke classmates Chase Bourdelaise and Paul Wagner have patented and are preparing to ship a device they call FiestaFive. Worn on the hand, when someone gives a person a "high five," biodegradable confetti shoots into the air.  

The reloadable FiestaFive, which will sell somewhere between $5 and $10, should start shipping late this year or in early 2016.  

It's already received air time on NBC's "Today Show," when last year, co-anchor Willie Geist and weatherman Al Roker demonstrated how it worked. The device was also featured on a Spanish language version of the "Today Show" and the Discovery Channel.  

"Hopefully we'll catch the end of [the current] football season," says Bourdelaise.      

Andrew Ward '82 - Owner of one of the country's oldest decorative hardware firms   

The work of Andrew Ward's family business adorns the Library of Congress, the Biltmore Estate, the homes of Oprah Winfrey and Howard Stern, and other acclaimed residences, institutions and attractions.

Ward is the fourth-generation owner of P.E. Guerin, a 158-year-old family metal-working business.

The New York City-based business refers to itself as the oldest decorative hardware firm in the United States. Since 1857, the company has produced and sold handcrafted 18^th-century metal work. Its products include door hardware, bath accessories such as towel rings and sink basins, and chandeliers.

Ward, who majored in biology at Roanoke, envisioned one day working in the medical field. But the family business was calling him. He put off plans for medical school when his father, then the company's owner, offered to train him for five years to learn the business.

"I always thought I would go back to [medical] school at 30," Ward said. "But I enjoyed the business."   

Jill Hoffmeister DeMello '05 - Jewelry designer  

Academy Award nominee Salma Hayek wore diamond stud earrings by Jill Hoffmeister Jewelry to a Vanity Fair party. Actress Bryce Dallas Howard posed in a photo shoot wearing a Jill Hoffmeister diamond baguette necklace.  

Undeniably, Boston area-based jewelry designer Jill Hoffmeister has established a fan base among Hollywood stylists and celebrities.  

Even so, Hoffmeister considers herself a newcomer. "I feel like I'm still a really young designer," says the 33-year-old, who juggles creating new pieces for her collection with a full-time position managing, long-distance, Roseark, a luxury West Hollywood boutique that caters to stylemakers searching for distinctive accessories.     

Tyler Puckett '05 - Co-founder of Fed Thrill sunglasses  

Over the years, Tyler Puckett has lost, dropped or stepped on at least 10 pairs of sunglasses, each valued at more than $100.

Puckett, who lives in the Washington, D.C. area, turned his frustration into a money-making avocation. He is one of three entrepreneurs behind a business that creates and sells polarized sunglasses for $49 or less. The shades come in numerous styles, from aviators to the ever-popular tortoiseshells.

The business is named for Federal Hill, the Baltimore neighborhood where the three housemates-turned-entrepreneurs lived for a time.

"I always wanted to have something that I could call my own," Puckett says. "I had been interested in what it would take to start a company from the ground up and learn and overcome the challenges associated with it."

Read the full Made by Maroons profiles in the new issue of Roanoke magazine. Contributing writers were Jenny Kincaid Boone '01, Hannah Cline '15, Beth Jones, and Gene Marrano. Photo credits: Sam Dean, Toby Jorrin, Michael Paras and Mark Wilson