x
Breaking News
More () »

Craft business inspires career change

Part of the mission for Leah Cunha Crafts is to give back to the community

MANCHESTER, Conn. — Nineteen year-old Leah Cunha is an entrepreneur that started her own craft business in her sophomore year of high school. 

Her mother’s close friend gifted Leah’s younger sister, Maddie, a package of beads to use for fun, so she taught Leah how to make bracelets with them. 

She started selling these bracelets to her friends, but realized more people than just her friends were interested in buying them.

So, she worked all summer to start Leah Cunha Crafts, which has inspired her to change her career path from law to business. In fact, she currently majors in business at Western New England University. 

Sign up for the FOX61 newsletters: Morning Forecast, Morning Headlines, Evening Headlines

Her family is extremely supportive of her, especially her father, Todd Cunha, who said that they let her use one of the spare bedrooms in their home as an office. She runs her business primarily online through her website and social media, but often sets up pop-up tents at local community events. 

Recently, she expanded her line to earrings, headbands, stickers, masks, and more. 

RELATED: Gizmo & Gadget - The cutest mascots for mental health

Each month she donates ten percent of her profits to a different charity that is important to her customers. In addition, she prioritizes eco-friendly products and packages. For example, she avoids plastic packaging and her business cards are made of recycled paper. 

RELATED: 'Go Baby Go' helps kids be themselves

Her family is confident in her business prospering and excited to see what she does next as Leah Cunha Crafts has changed the course of her life.

The FOX 61 Student News program empowers Connecticut middle and high school students to explore the world of multi-media journalism by giving them the opportunity to capture, edit and publish original content under the guidance of industry professionals.

Each student produced and hosted segment will showcase a local story or event, highlighting all that is great about our state. Segments will be featured on-air during Friday's Morning News at 7:25 a.m., 10 p.m. news and during the FOX61 Morning News on Saturday at 7 a.m., on our Facebook page and right here on FOX61.com!

Stay tuned and keep an eye out for the next news star! If your school would like to get involved learn more here or email us at studentnews@fox61.com.

Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newsteam@fox61.com

 

HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS

Download the FOX61 News APP

iTunes: Click here to download

Google Play: Click here to download

Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.

Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTERFACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM

Before You Leave, Check This Out