For the Davis family, entrepreneurship is part of school.
Parents Nick and Miranda were introduced to learner-driven education through enrolling their son Emmet at Odyssey FM, a Moorhead private school built on the Acton Academy model, which emphasizes independence, projects, and real-world skill-building. From there, they leaned further in after going the homeschooling route to give them more reps in it.
That’s where Emmet’s Creations comes in, and it’s a full team effort with mom, dad, Emmet, and his sister Margo all working together. The business revolves around hands-on 3D wooden build kits. They offer flowers, moving models, and mechanical-style projects that they sell at vendor shows and events. The family unpacks inventory, builds sample displays, sets up a six-foot table booth, assigns roles, and then reviews what worked and what didn’t after each event.
A key piece of the story is the give-back element. The family is partnering with Garden of Healing, a Fargo nonprofit creating a reflection-andremembrance space near SCHEELS Arena.
Q&A
Q: How long does it take to build ONE of the big projects?
Dad: A big project takes 8-14 hours. Most projects take 1-3 hours.
Q: So you’re not just showing up and selling. There’s a whole process behind it.
Dad: Exactly. When inventory comes in, we rent a room, take everything out, organize it, build out inventory, and set up displays.
Q: Why are the displays such a big deal?
Dad: People need to see what it becomes. The kits come flat in a box, and you pop out the pieces and build it into something like the flowers or the bigger mechanical builds. When they see the finished result, it clicks.
Q: You said this started from homeschooling. How?
Dad: Last year, we were at Odyssey FM, their first year in the Fargo-Moorhead community, and they had an entrepreneurship unit. We loved that model. Eventually, we chose homeschooling to have more control over what the kids learn, introducing concepts earlier, and teaching entrepreneurship as a real-life skill. We want them to learn the process, and yes, we want them to fail sometimes. That’s where learning happens.
Q: How do you divide roles as a family at events?
Dad: Emmet and I are more on the sales side. Margo and Miranda help with customer service.
Q: Emmet, what do you remember from your entrepreneurship experience. What did you start with?
Emmet: First, I started with beads. Then I moved on.
Q: How did you create your logo?
Emmet: We had to make a logo first. Odyssey’s mascot is an owl, so we used an owl in the design.
Q: What were you selling early on?
Emmet: At first, it was iron-on beads, like Perler beads, fused together with an iron. I sold ornaments at kids’ business fairs.
Q: How did you develop the branding?
Dad: We used Canva, built basic branding guidelines, and picked colors. He chose red, white, and blue as his main colors.
Q: What kinds of 3d puzzles do you sell?
Emmet: Flowers, fair rides, pinball machines, there are over 130 options.
Q: What’s ONE thing you tell customers that matters to the story?
Dad: If someone buys a flower, we donate $3 back to Garden of Healing to support their park project.
Q: What’s the biggest build you’ve done?
Emmet: The Dream Gift Factory.
Q: How long did that take to complete?
Dad: About 14 hours total, but spread out over about six days, two to three hours at a time.
Q: What makes it chalenging?
Dad: It’s detailed. You have to be patient. Some parts have gears and moving pieces. You even wax some parts so they don’t stick and everything can move.
Q: How do you handle customer service at events?
Dad: We start by handing out a pen, business card, and bookmarker with a QR code on the back. We say, ‘welcome to Emmet’s Creations we have 3D wooden puzzles.’ We explain how they come in kits for them to build at home. They are great for birthdays, Christmas, and corporate events.
Q: Do you do post-event reviews?
Dad: Yes. After every event, we talk about what we did right and what we’d do differently next time.
