A design belonging to a Nottinghamshire artist was featured on a costume worn by actress Margot Robbie in the recently released movie, Birds of Prey.
East Leake resident Ellie Mortimer-Gill began her small design business under the name of Cousins Collective, in 2016. Run from her studio located in Keyworth, she sells a selection of her own illustrated designs embroidered or printed on clothing, bags, patches, jewellery, pins and more.
The 29-year-old takes inspiration from traditional tattoos to create her designs, one of Ellie’s most popular pieces is the Crying Heart (pictured).
In January last year, Ellie was contacted by a costume designer for Warner Bros. Pictures whose studios are based in Los Angeles. Ellie said: “She asked to buy a lot of my patches. I started thinking, ‘is this real?’ And then after some digging, we thought this might be quite a big deal.”
The film company placed an order for 89 of Ellie’s ‘Crying Heart chenille patch’, requesting them to be shipped to LA by the following day. Ellie added: “They paid in full, they didn’t ask for discount. I had to get the order sent out by DHL for it to arrive on time. But at that point, they didn’t say what film it was for, so I didn’t even know if they were going to get used.
“But after they asked me to sign a contract, my husband and I Googled the name that appeared on the report and it confirmed the connection to Birds of Prey.”
Ellie started out making enamel pins in her spare bedroom, gradually growing her online business before moving to her Keyworth studio in May 2019. She said it had always been her ambition to run her own business. “I just design things I like and hope that my customers will like them too,” she said.
“The crying heart is a best-seller, and I’ve made sure I’ve got loads in stock. I also do embroidery on t-shirts and the barbed wire design is really popular.”
Birds of Prey was released in the UK on Friday February 7. It is the latest release from Warner Bros. Pictures and eighth in the DC Comics extended universe series. It follows the story of Harley Quinn after she splits with the Joker and joins other superheroes to save a young girl from an evil crime lord.