As children growing up in Christchurch, Beth Ellery and her sisters were helped by their mum to design and make their own outfits, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch when years later, on graduating from the architecture programme she started at the University of Auckland in 1996, she decided it was in clothing, not homes, that her design ambitions lay.
Beth wound up working for the venerable Marilyn Sainty of Scotties, who mentored and supported her to launch her own label in 2002. When Marilyn retired, Beth stayed on to co-run the Scotties, Beth Ellery and Camille Howie labels. In 2012, she left to become a mum, then relaunched Beth Ellery in 2014. Not to be creatively fenced in, these days she also works as a painter, colour…
