Fairfield Small Business Wins $25K WBDC Pitch Fest Grant
The Studio Fairfield—a teaching art studio in downtown Fairfield—has won a $25,000 grant from the Women’s Business Development Council.
The Studio was one of eight Connecticut women-owned small businesses that participated in WBDC’s Sept. 30 Accelerate Grant Pitch Competition at Trinity College in Hartford.
Four of those businesses each won $25,000 at the pitch competition, which was sponsored by Greenwich-based financial firm Libertas Funding.
Hartford-based Bloom Bake Shop, Sadie’s Pro Cleaning in Hamden, and Silk City Coffee in Manchester also won grants.
The live event capped off WBDC’s inaugural Catalyst Symposium, designed to equip entrepreneurs with tools, strategies, insight, and inspiration to launch, grow, and sustain thriving small businesses.
Co-owners Priscilla Igram and Christine Orlando had five minutes to pitch how they would use the funds and another three minutes to answer questions from a three-judge panel.
Igram and Orlando said they plan to use the funding for a front-loading pottery kiln, a pugmill for reclaiming clay, and a drying station at the Ruane Street business.
“This grant will allow us to double our firing capacity, reduce energy use, increase our recycling capacity, and expand our offerings,” Orlando said.
“We can now improve operations and better meet the needs of our growing community, who are central to everything we do at The Studio.”
“We are so grateful to Libertas and WBDC to have been chosen for this grant,” Igram added.
"WBDC is an incredible resource for our state, and we hope all women-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs tap into their incredible services.”
Igram and Orlando—two artists passionate about art and their local community—founded the business in a friend’s basement in 2008, offering children’s classes and camps.
Adult programming and pottery workshops followed in 2014, with the pandemic leading to a new membership-driven business model.
A 2020 WBDC Ignite grant helped drive new revenue growth and an expansion into additional space at The Studio’s Ruane Street location.
For more information, please contact Christine Orlando (203.455.4984).
Mark S. Barnhart,
Director of Community & Economic Development
611 Old Post Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
(203) 256-3120 (office)
(203) 767-2854 (mobile)
(203) 256-3129 (fax)
mbarnhart@fairfieldct.org
