Arrowhead sophomore Ellie Brown gets her start in the fashion world with her handmade embroidered t-shirts. Brown sews sayings and symbols on t-shirts by hand. She charges five dollars a t-shirt to cover the cost of the t-shirts she buys at Michael’s craft store. To order a shirt you can contact her through email, [email protected], or her phone number, 262-352-4460.

According to Brown, she started experimenting with embroidering two years ago when going through her old clothes. Brown was excited about how embroidery looked but she put the craft aside until this past summer.

Last summer, Brown began embroidering shirts for her family and close friends, but soon received orders from students at Arrowhead and other friends.

Brown says she has made about 50 t-shirts and she makes them on any color t-shirt with any phrase. Some of her previously made shirts say “Love Wildly” on a white shirt, “Spread Love” on a grey shirt, and “Life is Good” on a blue shirt.

“After I posted a picture of one of my shirts on Instagram, I’ve gotten over 30 orders. So things have been a little crazy trying to get them done lately but I’m really enjoying it. My favorite part is seeing people wearing my shirts. It makes me so happy knowing that people like them,” says Brown.

Although the process can be lengthy, Brown says she loves doing it. According to Brown, even a three-hour long stitching is a fun process.

Brown says her inspiration comes from her dad who was taught how to cross-stitch at a young age.

“Although my dad doesn’t cross-stitch much anymore, I always admired the framed pieces hanging in our house. Even though it’s not quite the same thing, he and my mom have always encouraged me to be creative and do things like this,” says Brown.

Students such as sophomores Sam Knull and Emily Burant have ordered t-shirts from Brown. According to Knull, who got a shirt that reads “Spread Love,” the shirts are cute, comfortable, and fairly priced.

“I think the shirts are really cute and have a lot of character in them. You can design it how you want, so no two shirts are the same. The prices for her shirts are really good, and I think she should charge more for them because they are so cute,” says Burant.

According to Brown, she has no defined future for her t-shirt business but she does hope to continue crafting and working with fashion.

“For future plans, I’d like to continue making shirts and maybe try to sell them on Etsy or some online store,” says Brown.