Amy Finch

This week we are Catching up with Amy Finch, former Hawkley Hall and Winstanley College student who is now a successful and established entrepreneur in the Art and Design industry.

Amy attended Winstanley from 2018-2020 studying Art and Design, English Language and Spanish. She then completed our Art Foundation course, before embarking upon her small business venture in 2021. During her time at Winstanley, Amy attended a residential trip to Berlin with the Art department, where she got to visit the C/O exhibition, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlinische and East Side Gallery!

After leaving Winstanley, Amy set up her own creative business: Rise n Design. Using resin, Amy upcycles old items to produce gorgeous products such as trays and coasters, as well as making large scale wall art. What started out as an experimental venture has turned into a huge success for Amy, who has already been named Theo Paphitis’ Small Business Sunday award winner! Amy would like to continue working with resin and expanding her business, and also hopes to one day teach masterclasses. This is something she has already received lots of enquiries about – so watch this space!

When asked what advice she would give to students considering applying to Winstanley College, Amy said:

‘enjoy your time at Winstanley, it goes extremely quick! If you don’t know exactly what you want to as a job yet, it doesn’t matter. Just treasure your two years at College. Not everyone has to go to university to be successful.’

We are so proud of all Amy has achieved and cannot wait to see how much her business venture grows. You may have seen Amy’s story on our recent newsletter, but in case you missed it, click here! 

Where could Winstanley take you? Take a look at our wide range of subjects here and begin your online application today. Hurry- our application deadline is just one week away!

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