Speaking on the phone with GREENMOUNT TILE, LLC founder, Dominique Hellgeth, I can hear her daughter Ina offering her mud pies in the background. Ina's question intersects perfectly as Hellgeth shares the origins of Greenmount Tile, a business that combines ceramics, technology, and design to create tile for architectural purposes. Pregnant with her second child, Hellgeth, launched her company in the 2018 cohort of the entrepreneurial training program MOMS AS ENTREPRENEURS. A Baltimore-based nonprofit providing entrepreneurial training, financial education, and the support of a mom-entrepreneur community, Moms as Entrepreneurs helps moms start sustainable businesses, and this is where Greenmount Tile built its foundation.
As a 2010 graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) with a BFA in ceramics, Hellgeth had not necessarily imagined that her life would move in the direction of an arts business. Upon graduating she saw her path as one of a fine artist creating objects to show in galleries. Building on her personal practice, she started collaborating within her community, using ceramics as a vehicle to bring people together, beautify space, and create change. Her time spent creating connection through craft was a critical piece of her journey to becoming an entrepreneur. The spark then ignited in 2016 when Hellgeth became a mother and committed to a disciplined studio practice that fit into the new life that the birth of Ina brought with her. Art-making also became a practice with which to support a family.
