Teenage Business Owner Makes ‘Wearable Art’

 

Before she could even talk, Ellie Heath spent hours drawing pictures. When she grew older, the 15-year-old discovered the joy of sewing. She says she finds it calming.

She started out making small objects, like jewelry¹ and soft playthings. Over time, she began making clothing.

Her love of the creative work led her to open a business. Three Blue Bunnies is the name of her company, which makes what she calls “wearable art.”

“My definition of wearable art is something that makes you feel unique. It’s one of a kind, often handmade,” she explains. She sells her creations in farmers markets, at sales for local churches, and other places.

Design comes to her

All the pieces Ellie creates are made of used or donated fabrics².

She says there are 21 billion tons of cloth material in waste landfills in the United States. The teenager hopes to reduce that amount through her work.

She works a lot with jean jackets, renewing them with artistic³ additions. The process starts with finding cloth material that looks good with the jackets.

“Then, I find out the design that works on it through trial and error or maybe just the design comes to me,” she explains.

Ellie credits her mother for pushing her children to develop their artistic skills.

“My mom has always been a huge supporter of the arts,” she says. “She’s always given us this place to express our creativity…”

Ellie’s mom, Amy Heath, is a former school art teacher. She says creativity feeds kids’ brains.

“I think it’s very important for children to have as many opportunities as possible and be inspired by as many objects and people,” Heath says. She praises Ellie’s membership in the local business alliance in Maryland, where they live.

“So she’s getting ideas and experiences through other businesses,” Heath says.

Learning opportunities

Ellie sharpened her creative skills at school. Cheryl Crow was one of her teachers early on.

Crow calls Ellie “a dream student.” She says Ellie worked hard and was always “very creative, but also very kind, helpful to the other students.”

Students learn the basic sewing skills in Crow’s class.

Over the last three years, Ellie has created clothing for theatrical⁴ productions at Severna Park High School. Last year, Ellie designed several pieces for actors to wear in the school musical Mamma Mia.

Angela Germanos is the school’s theater director. The department is putting on Cinderella this year. She says there will be a tricky⁵ clothing change performed in the play in front of theatergoers.

“This will be a big challenge for Ellie,” she says.

Live your dreams

Ellie has many dreams. She wants to be a teacher and to spread the joy of creativity among children.

She also dreams her business will grow and become a model for other young people who have a dream they want to come true.

I’m Caty Weaver⁶.

Words in This Story

sew –v. to make or repair something (such as a piece of clothing) by using a needle and thread?

unique –adj. used to say that something or someone is unlike anything or anyone else?

jean jackets –n. a piece of denim⁷ material clothing that is worn on your upper body over another piece of clothing: a usually short and light coat?

trial and error –expression the trying of one thing or another until something succeeds?

opportunity –n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done?

inspire –v. to make (someone) want to do something : to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create?

challenge –v. a difficult task or problem: something that is hard to do

1 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

2 fabrics   

织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地

参考例句：

• cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
• The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。

3 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

4 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

5 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

6 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

7 denim   

n.斜纹棉布；斜纹棉布裤，牛仔裤

参考例句：

• She wore pale blue denim shorts and a white denim work shirt.她穿着一条淡蓝色的斜纹粗棉布短裤，一件白粗布工作服上衣。
• Dennis was dressed in denim jeans.丹尼斯穿了一条牛仔裤。