There are many ways to sustainably participate in the positive development of our society. Even children can be influenced subconsciously and automatically learn to care for and respect their environment. The more people are informed about the Sustainable Development Goals or unconsciously commit themselves for the good, the more can be moved.
Ella's passion for art has been with her her entire life. The now 34-year-old has always enjoyed painting and tinkering. She initially used her mother's ancient sewing machine, a flea market find that would shape the rest of her creative life, when she was eight years old. The crucial task for Klein-Ella was to dress her plush monkey. He is human-like, has arms and legs, so he requires clothes, she realized at the time.
Ella was unaffected by the lack of a design or the fact that threading the yarn took an hour due to unclear instructions. Even after more than 25 years, the passion of original pieces and the delight of improvisation persist. . "Even today, I try out a lot - and then it just comes out," Ella explains with a smile about her creative work.
After ten years of occupational therapy practice, she started her parental leave. Ella saw it as an opportunity for creativity. She established her own artistic label, Zwergpinguin, named after one of her favorite adorable creatures. She is not happy with the selection of fabrics available, so she makes the hasty decision: "I'll do it myself."
Her little business may appear to have little in common with her actual professional experience at first glance, but she's not the only person who now ingeniously combines her love of working with her hands with her enthusiasm for business:"Many of my training class are doing something crafty these days." The young mother also engages in manual labor when she's not sewing, such as while baking, cooking, or gardening.
Encourage small businesses
The response is depressing when the fledgling businesswoman ecstatically requests to sell her first finished items at a neighborhood market. Even while she adores her rural home in a half-timbered house close to Bad Kreuznach with her husband, kid, and two cats, it's not the best place to start a small business. She began posting examples of her work on Instagram as a result. She was equally astounded and happy by the feedback:"I quickly noticed that there were many people who shared the passion. In this sewing bubble, as I like to call it, everyone is very open and it's great to see so many creative small businesses supporting each other."
From idea to fabric
Zwergpinguin materials are intended to be exceptional, distinctive, and unexpected. Together with illustrator Judith Mattes-Schneider, Ella puts her ideas into action. After a few collaborative projects, the teamwork has really come together. Ella raves about the partnership, saying, "Judith always knows precisely how I picture it - and then implements it beautifully." They figure out how to create fabrics utilizing digital printing together. They place a small order at first to ascertain the quality, and then they can place a preorder through the website to prevent overproduction. a process that, as a small business, has both economic and environmental benefits.
Colorful and with a message
With her fabrics, the founder hopes to raise awareness of significant topics while also making people feel good:"Unfortunately, disabilities are still not normal - especially here in the village," the 34-year-old says, alluding to her professional experience as an occupational therapist. "Also, children having a different skin color doesn't happen here at all. That's why I think it's so important to show in everyday images - on clothes or in books - what diversity there is and that children with disabilities belong to a diverse group. If you have a child with a wheelchair in class, it should then be normal. Also, isn't every child supposed to have clothes that they can identify with?"
Ella goes on to describe her favorite response to the Cool Kid fabric, which was when a customer's son exclaimed, "I love it!" with a proud smile."Great mom, now there are finally clothes for all kids."
Socially useful
Ella's most recent endeavor, the Sewcial Collection, came forth as a result of her awareness of socially significant concerns. She is currently requesting individuals to post a self-sewn item by April 1 on Instagram with the hashtag #sewcialcollection2022, which will be auctioned off for charity. Donations will be taken at the auction on April 2 for the Red Cross, which is presently operating in Ukraine. Last year, Ella was able to raise more than 2000 euros for UN Women through a similar initiative.
Additionally, she wants to continue to realize the educational potential of her products and raise awareness of key problems for her. Very different family (concepts) will soon be adorned on fabric, and consequently, (children's) apparel. A "No Planet B" fabric has already been developed.
Children are aware of diversity even before they enter preschool, but everyone has the power to influence how they see it, and how they see it will influence how they interact with those who are different. One can have a significant influence on children's social development and help them avoid treating or classifying individuals who are different as adults. Prosocial behavior can help teach a youngster to respect those with impairments. Real-world events and individuals from a child's daily existence can also be used as educational tools. Another imaginative and entertaining way to instill in young children the value of diversity in our society is through the Ella clothing line Through activities that focus on diversity, kids can discover and value the differences in all people. Learning about other cultural traits provides children with novel experiences. They discover that regardless of variations in our physical characteristics, attire, and even the foods and celebrations we participate in, we are all still simply individuals.
More information: https://goodnews-magazin.de/kleidung-fuer-alle-kinder/