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Who’s making my competition suit!?

Ellen Holmes

Updated: 6 days ago

You know your trainer, you know your posing coach. You know your nutritionist, gym buds, mua, tanning peeps, and hair stylist, BUT ! You don’t know ME from Adam! The name’s Ellen Holmes, and the story is 👇🏼


Well, the suit biz journey had a long and winding road! The first memory I have of sewing, I must have been maybe 3? My parental unit gave me a plastic grid with a big plastic needle and some yarn. Ya girl was HOOKED!


At 7-8 I was making dolly clothes by hand from old clothes, sheets, anything that looked remotely like fabric, lol!


Age 11- my older sister was given a sewing machine for her birthday. She was enthused about it for maybe a hot minute, then it was MINE. Having had no sewing lessons, I made lots of clothes I thought were killer, but… I won’t go there. I cringe at the thought that I ever wore them. I had a great sewing teacher thru high school and learned a ton. At that time, I just bought patterns from fabric stores.


Thru a couple marriages, a lot of crappy jobs, and moving numerous times, I always had my trusty sewing machine!


I had a baby and believe me when I tell you she was THE best dressed baby in my creations! I won a sewing contest, learned how to embroider, tat lace, and smock. The baby turned 3 and started dance lessons. The studio owner knew I made all her cute clothes, and asked me if I would make some costumes for a couple of recital numbers. Girls, I flew by the seat of my pants, but the dancers were happy! The next year, I did about half the recital, and then realized I couldn’t wing it anymore. Found a pattern drafting course, and signed on. Legit the BEST move I ever made!

If any of you have kids who dance, you know there’s always switching to other dance studios. So people from my daughters studio told their new studio about my designs, and I ended up taking on most of the studios in South Florida. My teachers at pattern school meanwhile, allowed me to work on costumes and show my face once a week to get my grade on the costumes. It took me 3 years to complete a 9 month course.


Then, a mom from one of those new studios approached me to be a partner in a venture to create a dance costume catalog. We opened a factory in FL, and catalogues went to every dance studio in FL, and Canada.


Now what this all leads up to is, while running the factory, I got it into my fool head to compete in a figure competition. Pure mishigas, I must have been nuts. After researching what figure suits look like, I made a pattern , hopped onstage, won my first show, and everyone backstage wants a suit! TBH, I liked making suits better than dealing with dance moms, so…. Another cray cray move. Quit the factory, made my own website by myself, aaaaand, as it’s said, the rest is HISTORY.


LONG road but it led me to where I am now. …. and my passion shows in every bikini that leaves here👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙👙and yup, that’s me up👆🏻on the blog header!



 
 
 

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Crystallini Bikini

e-mail ellen@crystallinibikini.com 

ph- 954-648-4716

This is an accessibility statement from crystallinibikini.com.

Conformance status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. Crystallinibikini store is fully conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. Fully conformant means that the content fully conforms to the accessibility standard without any exceptions.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of Crystallinibikini store. Please let us know if you encounter accessibility barriers on Crystallinibikini store:

  • Phone: 9546484716

  • E-mail: ellen@crystallinibikini.com

  • Postal Address: 15895 NW 16th Ct, Pembroke Pines, FL 33028

  • Instagram @crystallini_bikini

We try to respond to feedback within 2.

  • What's the return policy?
    Returns are allowed within 10 days of receipt, for an unworn, new suit. You will be refunded in full when the suit arrives back and is inspected. Custom altered suits, however, cannot be returned. These may be suits where we've adjusted our patterns specifically for your body, such as higher rise for C sections, extra width for front/back on bottoms, or adjustments made to our cup sizes.
  • May color or connectors be changed on a bikini?
    Yes! You may choose form any of the fabrics shown on our website. We don't charge any extra to change suit fabric, and in most cases, connectors. There are a few connectors that may add $ to the suit, but let us know which ones you want and we will give you an estimate
  • May I see fabric swatches?
    We do send free fabric samples via mail! We REALLY like to send them so you can see up close and personal, without guessing if your monitor is representing the color correctly! Just go to our fabrics page and select the ones you like, shoot us an email with your address, and out they go. Or, you can just provide us with a color range you're interested in and we will choose the best samples in your chosen color range.
  • Whats the turnaround on practice suits?
    Since practice suits have no crystal work, they are shipped within a week after you order!
  • What's the turnaround time for competition suits?
    Average turnaround is 2-3 weeks. during the height of competition season, turnaround is longer. some bikinis take longer than others, so if you're concerned about time, best to reach out for the current turnaround
  • Is there a store I can visit?
    There is a studio you may visit, by appointment only. There are a number of suits, and you may get fitted, and choose fabric, crystals and connectors. Please email for an appointment. We are located in South Florida near Ft. Lauderdale
  • Do the suit backs have crystals?
    Yes. Every one of our figure suits has the crystal design repeated on the back. Competition bikinis have crystals to match as well.
  • How do I add a new question & answer?
    To add a new FAQ follow these steps: 1. Manage FAQs from your site dashboard or in the Editor 2. Add a new question & answer 3. Assign your FAQ to a category 4. Save and publish. You can always come back and edit your FAQs.
  • How do I edit or remove the 'Frequently Asked Questions' title?
    You can edit the title from the FAQ 'Settings' tab in the Editor. To remove the title from your mobile app go to the 'Site & App' tab in your Owner's app and customize.
  • Can I insert an image, video, or GIF in my FAQ?
    Yes. To add media follow these steps: 1. Manage FAQs from your site dashboard or in the Editor 2. Create a new FAQ or edit an existing one 3. From the answer text box click on the video, image or GIF icon 4. Add media from your library and save.
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