Senior Camille Hardie ’21 found a unique way to support a cause she was passionate about over quarantine: making swimsuits. 

Hardie has been making and revamping old clothes ever since she wanted to make her own outfit for Bumbershoot, but it wasn’t until she got her sewing machine this summer when she began making more professional quality items. During quarantine she discovered a tutorial on how to make a swimsuit on TikTok and she explains, “I had been looking for a way to truly put my support for the Black Lives Matter movement into action and after I made my first suit I knew that it was the perfect way to support while also doing something I really enjoy.”

The process of making the swimsuits is very long and tedious. Hardie described that she usually makes about 3-5 suits at a time to stay organized. With college research, applications, and trying to stay connected with friends, it usually would take her a week to finish 5 suits. She states, “I probably averaged about an hour and a half for each suit, not including delivery time”.

When it came to decide a place to donate half of her profit to, Hardie put a lot of time and consideration into picking an organization that would make the biggest impact. She spent time researching about the best organizations to donate to. She soon decided to get some input from her peers, as she wanted them to feel good about where their money was going. She got a lot of feedback from people that EJI was a great organization, and she agreed. Hardie shares, “I liked that they are committed to ending mass incarceration and challenging racial injustice, as well as education.”

Hardie ended up raising a little over $1300 from 50 suits. After paying for materials, she had earned $1,100. She decided to donate 50% of her profit to EJI. She states, “I knew I needed to find a way to truly show how much I care about the movement and about getting justice for the black community. Reposting things on my Instagram story felt informative, but I didn’t feel like I was truly using my talents to do whatever I could to fight for justice. Using something that you are passionate about to support a cause makes it so much more meaningful and real.”

Hardie described that her favorite part about this project was delivering the suits. She stated that, “Seeing their faces light up and being so grateful for what I was doing is what gave me motivation to keep working hard and making suits every day. Those moments were when I actually felt like I was making a difference.”