This series is aimed at highlighting young entrepreneurship within our St. Andrews community, specifically those who were asked to speak at the TEDx conference earlier this semester. These profiles are to give a little more insight into how these individuals started their projects and what the journey was like for them. These are stories of incredible hard-work and struggle, but most importantly triumph.

Ella, I think like many of us, was on the quest for the perfect leather jacket. Not too boxy. Not too heavy. And not exorbitantly expensive. She continued this fruitless quest, continually coming up empty handed. Asking herself: “Does the perfect leather jacket even exist?” This necessity turned into her biggest inspiration. She decided to buy a jacket from a charity shop, paint a cool design on it, and call it a day. It caught the notice of a couple of her friends, and she started making jackets similar to hers for them as well. And it snowballed from there…

Studying art for most of her teenage years, Ella always used painting as a form of visual expression. So jumping into fashion design was a natural transition for her. Her jackets are edgy. Somehow nostalgic of the 90’s, and modern all at the same time. She has symbols like lightning bolts and skulls, also stars and even song lyrics. The jackets are perfect for a crisp pair of light-washed jeans, or a cute little black dress. Here, Sulke was born. A second-hand sustainable brand of clothing that focuses on individuality and uniqueness, rather than run-of-the-mill mannequin fast fashion. After building her client base around her friends, she was asked to show her jackets in DONT WALK 2019. This opportunity gave Ella the chance to solidify the brand, creating a specific collection. Her idea was to come up with a loose theme that she could seamlessly thread through the designs of each jacket; keeping it cohesive yet stylistically different.

Ella also does costume orders, taking ideas from her clients and transposing them onto the specific jackets. But her goal is to grow the brand, hoping to focus more on her collection for each season and expand the type of inventory she has. If you are interested in purchasing one of her jackets, please check out her Instagram: @sulkeclothing. You can also find her at her website: sulkeclothing.com, where you can see more styles and designs!

Written By: Soph Penelope Hill

Photos By: Cece Arntzen and Reilly Halverson