What started off as a small venture creating specialised mugs to make some extra cash has grown into a full-blown business for three students.

We never thought it would be this way – we never even expected it

Kirsty Vella, 21, Sarah Scudamore, 22, and Jessica Cauchi, 21, are the brains and artistic hands behind Makk, which focuses on hand-drawn mugs created according to the client’s request.

“We always wanted to do something together and we also wanted to make some money so we thought of personalising mugs,” Ms Vella said.

The three women met while studying for their Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in 3D Design and Interiors at the Malta College of Arts, Sciences and Technology and became firm friends.

Their friendship became stronger since they set up Makk three months ago and they even finish each other’s sentences during the interview – catching one another’s eyes and laughing at a private joke.

“We tried to take part in Patches [an arts and crafts market] but didn’t manage so instead we created a Facebook page promoting the mugs,” Ms Scudamore said.

While thinking of a business name, Ms Cauchi was inspired while shopping. “I heard a woman asking in Maltese ‘where are the makkijiet?’ (mugs) and the pronunciation struck me and the name stuck,” she said.

In fact, people refer to the mugs as “makks” and post photos of their personalised crockery online.

The Makk Facebook page was an instant success, with orders coming in within the first hour.

“So far we have received around 300 orders and, in fact, we had to tell our clients that we will not be taking in any orders on the weekend,” Ms Scudamore said.

The trio are still trying to come to terms with the success and popularity of Makk.

“We never thought it would be this way – we never even expected it,” Ms Cauchi said.