Women creative entrepreneurs win $20,000+ awards

Ami Patel of Raleigh, Brittiany Jenkins of Winston-Salem, and Katye Freelon of Durham were awarded a total of $20,000 in seed stage grants on Oct. 17 at the Center for Creative Economy’s ninth annual Velocity Demo Day. Ami Patel, founder of Gallery Box, was awarded the CCE 2024 Velocity Award of $10,000. Gallery Box offers interactive, artist-led custom-designed workshops tailored to residential living spaces. Patel provides consistent income to artists who deliver an engaging creative workshop while providing a seamless experience to property managers that desire to engage and retain residents. Gallery Box delivers the service directly to residential communities and manages the events from start to finish.   In collaboration with CCE, Wells Fargo has established the Emerging Women Entrepreneur Award which this year was given as two $5,000 grants.   Brittiany Jenkins, founder of Flawlesskin Company, received one of the $5,000 grants. The company is an oncology-inclusive spa serving cancer patients that experience significant skin changes during treatment. The services blend traditional and holistic therapies that soothe the skin and help patients rediscover their sense of self-worth. Jenkins is a licensed esthetics instructor and plans to grow the company by providing continuing education to medical professionals as well as direct...