With apologies to
Art Linkletter, kids are doing the darndest things today. For example, launching a business.
And forget lemonade stands; we are talking big dreams and ambitious goals, like starting up a fashion design business.
World, meet the three friends who have formed The Fashion Sisters: Michelle, Victoria and Laila, ages 11, 10 and 6, respectively.
The story behind the The Fashion Sisters is a testament to the philosophy and the work being done at the Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities’ (GAAH)
Cook Arts Center, which provides free arts programming, from music and dance to theater and pottery, to give children and adults in the Grandville Avenue area an opportunity to develop a deeper appreciation of the arts.
First, the story. GAAH has a Summer Arts and Learning program. It is open for children ages five to 12 and has a series of rotating activities. Each year they have a theme. The theme for 2016 was “the future you,” so the GAAH team led discussions on colleges and brought in speakers to discuss careers.
Steffanie Rosalez, program director at the Cook Arts Center, said one the girls told her she wanted to be a fashion designer, so they brought in a textile and graphic designer, Becky Prevette, to talk to the kids.
After Prevette’s talk, Rosalez says she was approached by some of the girls who were inspired and wanted to do more with fashion. “We want to start a fashion design club and make clothes to sell,” the girls told Prevette, who said: “That’s why we are here.”
Now, this is where the program philosophy of GAAH kicks in. “We give the kids responsibility, and they drive the programming. They work as autonomous teams and, budget or no budget, they find ways to get things done.” Rosalez asked the children what they needed to make their design club happen, and they said sewing machines, fabrics and an instructor. Since the Cook Arts Center has sewing machines and access to fabrics already, all they had to do was to ask Prevette to get on board, to which she readily agreed.
With that settled, the club decided on a name, The Fashion Sisters, and now are working hard to take their passion for fashion to a new level. “The girls are coming in early and staying late, alway working away to develop inventory and working through the process of starting a business,” says Rosalez.
Despite their busy schedules, Rapid Growth was able to secure an exclusive interview with The Fashion Sisters.
Why did you start the club?
"We met at the Cook Arts Center summer camp and just started talking about fashion, and then decided we should be partners together." - Michelle
"Yeah, because we make a great team." - Victoria
When do you hope to begin selling?
"Probably in two weeks. And we want to have sewing lessons for younger kids." - Victoria
What type of products are you making?
"Bags, skirts, bows, bandanas, chokers. Just the new stuff that's trendy right now." - Victoria
What's most exciting about fashion design for you?
"You just get to be yourself and turn it into something very special." - Victoria
"For me, what's most exciting about fashion is that I like making clothes, and I want to learn how to so that one day one of the super stars might wear my design on the red carpet." - Michelle
The Fashion Sisters are planning to launch a Facebook page soon, but in the meantime you can follow their progress at the
Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities page.
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor
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