Stoke-on-Trent teenager turns ballet passion into business

Lilah Bush, 19, ultamately hopes to turn LHD into a full-time operation

A teenager said she was inspired to launch her own dance line after finding ballet skirts too expensive.

Lilah Bush, from Stoke-on-Trent, started Lilian Hope Designs (LHD) while in school in 2019, at the age of just 15.

Now 19, she said she hoped to roll-out more products and ultimately develop the company to create a full-time role for herself.

That is despite a tough introduction to the world of business.

"When you're under 18, people don't take you seriously," she said.

"I had some other dancewear brands look down on me and treat me differently because of my age... when a brand knows you're young they often think they can walk over you."

Ms Bush started marking her own ballet skirts when she was 15

Her first experience as an entrepreneur started three years ago when she took up ballet again after losing confidence in 2016 when she started secondary school.

She said she found ballet skirts were too expensive and the designs not to her tastes, prompting her to make one herself.

"I've always been very independent so if I can do something myself I will," she said.

What started as one homemade skirt became a cottage industry when she started advertising on Instagram - within two hours she had her first order.

The 19-year-old made a custom made skirt from scrap material for dancer Sue Mills

Ms Bush said she had focused on making her products as environmentally friendly as possible, using fabrics that would otherwise go to landfill.

Recently, she made a custom made skirt all from cut off's and scraps. It was worn by dancer Sue Mills in London.

She is also planning a line made out of econyl, which is a type of recycled fabric made from sea waste.

Like other businesses, Ms Bush said she had seen her costs rise

Like other businesses she has seen her material costs rise, due to the cost of living, but said she was trying to keep her prices down.

While Lilian Hope Designs remains a small venture, with just a handful of orders each week, she hopes it can become a full-time operation.

She is already planning other new products, including costume wear such as tutus.