Coffee in hand, Georgia Thoms ’23 sat down with student entrepreneur Celeste Phillips ’24, owner of The Crochet Chameleon, a small business that sells crochet plushies and patterns. The quiet chatter of students in Earl Gregg Swem Library provided the backdrop to Phillips’ story about her business journey from small-time seller to friends and family to business owner of a popular Etsy store with over 36,000 Instagram followers and 2,600 sales. This conversation has been edited for concision and clarity.

Georgia Thoms ’23 sat down for a cup of tea with the two current residents of William Randolph Lodging, more commonly known as the CW House, to discuss the movement from campus living to a living museum as well as how this connection with Colonial Williamsburg furthers their academic interests. 

The pressure to look a certain way is a feeling most individuals have experienced at some point in their lives, but how does such pressure affect people of color even more so? Georgia Thoms ’23 interviewed students in multiple cultural organizations as well as professors in an attempt to answer this question and, along the way, gain insight into the world’s flawed beauty standards.

A little ways away from the hubbub of Merchants Square is a large barn where sheep, chickens, and horses are kept in between driving shifts. There, Georgia Thoms ’23 met with some of the crew members who take care of these beloved Colonial Williamsburg animals. Continue reading to learn about the history behind the Rare Breeds program and its role in livestock conservation.