Ellie Ellie

Created in Brighton in 2006, by Kingston's School Of Fashion graduate Danielle Ellen Plowman, Ellie Ellie is an eclectic handmade brand using re-cycled materials.

Inspired by the love of all things vintage along with a passion for dressmaking traditions, Ellie Ellie twists ideas of re-cycling and explores concepts of sustainable living within quirky childrenswear, ladieswear, jewellery, accessory and gift designs.

With the tag line "re-design, re-cycle, re-love", Ellie Ellie aims to do just that; source second hand items, re-design them and turn them into someone new and exciting to be loved again.

Ellie Ellie aims to create fashion with love, colour, humour and affection with minimal negative impact on the environment.

Why re-design, re-cycle, re-love?

Re-design, re-cycle, re-love was introduced as Ellie Ellie’s mission statement in 2010 after spending a gap year travelling around the world and seeing the environmental impacts of cheap, fast, throwaway fashion.

“I had always been into re-cycling but up until now I never realised how fundamental it is to our future. It woke me up into becoming passionate that I could do something about it with Ellie Ellie” Danielle Plowman.

According to statistics from the TRAID organisation (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) consumers purchase over 2.15 million tonnes of new clothing and shoes every year in the UK, but in order to make way for the new, they are throwing away the old. With over 900,000 tonnes of clothing being thrown away and ending up in landfills each year in the UK alone, this fast paced disposable fashion trend is having huge effects on the environment that simply cannot be ignored. We have to do more to help our planet.

It is these exact issues that Ellie Ellie confronts, and in turn promotes a responsible sustainable lifestyle without having to compromising on fashion. By re-using items that would normally end up in landfills we are reducing the amount of pollution caused by disposable fashion, and doing our small part to help the planet. It is an extremely powerful thought to think how much we could save the environment by simply beginning to re-cycle our fashion; and it is this thought that fuels Ellie Ellie.

“The best way we can live sustainably is to re-use what we have already have and not to create anything new...........the best way is to recycle” - Danielle Plowman

Why Handmade?

Since 2006 Ellie Ellie has passionately promoted the importance of hand crafted skills within its designs. Coming from a tailoring background it was evident to Danielle that dressmaking traditions and skills were vanishing, as textile and clothing manufacturing continued to go overseas.By handmaking or customising all of the products that Ellie Ellie designs (soon to be only handmade) every item is created with care and attention, ensuring it is one of a kind. It is a production of skill and craftsmanship, something that is absent today in the world of large-scale manufacturing. Ellie Ellie encourages consumers to be individual and to re-connect with their own sense of style.“In my mind the words 'handmade' and 'the environment' go side by side”- Danielle Plowman.Producing handmade products, brings the consumer and the maker one step closer. Every item purchase from a small-scale independent artist or crafter strikes a small blow to the forces of mass production on many levels; it’s a voice, a movement that says we are taking a stand.Support Ellie Ellie on it's mission and support handmade and sustainable design from independent artists.