MILWAUKEE — In the midst of the pandemic, Marjorie Hillocks-McFarlane found a new purpose by combining her love for her home country in Ghana and fashion.
"It's very nice for me to share this part of my culture with the world," said Marjorie Hillocks-McFarlane.
After having her second child, Marjorie quit her job with an accounting and marketing firm and birthed a new dream. A dream where she'd create an African-print clothing line in Milwaukee just for kids.
"I noticed that over here they had a lot of options for the older people but they didn't have a lot of options for kids."
And thus, her new online clothing business, Carol & Hugh Kids, was born. With help from her mom, Carol, who sews the majority of the clothes, Marjorie flies back home to visit her.
"I go to Ghana once a year. When I go I help pick out the fabrics I help with the design and then we both collaborate to come up with exactly what we want," said Marjorie.
Together, they come up with beautiful designs that represent a piece of Ghanaian culture in every stitch and pattern all available for children between the ages of three months and 12 years old to wear.
"The Kente print is from the Asante ethnic group. It's a very thick material because each piece is woven together," said Marjorie. "Every ethnic group has a different print that they wear. There's also tye and dye, there's batik."
Now for the third year in a row, Marjorie has new outfits to share with the Milwaukee community during the city's upcoming Juneteenth celebration as a vendor.
"I'm just looking forward to interacting with everyone. I would be so happy if I could see customers that have bought stuff in the past that's always really nice," said Marjorie. "It's important to bridge that gap between Africa and the world and clothing plays a huge part in it."
Providing yet another opportunity for Marjorie to share the most important part of herself with others.
To view Marjorie's online clothing website, click here.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
