Westport 11-year-old starts her own small business all while giving back to the community

Some say that the younger generation has no work ethic, a local girl from Westport has something to say about that.

Malia, an 11-year-old 5th grader, started her own small business this past summer sewing bandanas for dogs and cats.

According to her mother Crystal, Malia got her start when she was given a gift certificate to sewing lessons two years ago.

“She had to wait until she was nine to start taking lessons. The lessons were once a week for two hours (7 week sessions). I continued the lessons for Malia as she was getting some valuable lessons at the sewing school. During this time, my really good friend Renae Raposo began as the kid activities director at Ellis Haven Campground where we are seasonal campers. Renae created a kid craft vendor fair for the children of Ellis Haven. From this craft fair birthed the idea of making dog bandannas.”

Malia started selling the bandanas at the camp. She also donated bandanas for the dogs at the Kingston, MA Animal Shelter to wear for adoption photos. Malia and Crystal then went to Fall River and visited Forever Paws and donated bandannas to that shelter for dogs who were looking to be adopted.

Malia’s business, Sew Creative By Malia, sells the bandanas for between 4-7 dollars apiece. She has also begun selling cat bandanas for $3.

In a recent campaign, Malia gave $1 for every bandana sold to her collection and challenged her customers, friends, and family to a $1 donation. Just this weekend she handed $226 to Kingston Animal Control.

Malia holds pop-up sales across southeastern Massachusetts from the Fall River area to Plymouth County.

The bandanas come in all kinds of colorful patterns, and some even feature the logos of sports teams while supplies last.

If you are interested in purchasing Malia’s bandanas, you can message her Facebook page at Sew Creative By Malia or attend one of the pop ups announced on that page.