Stacey and Valdavia Ellis
are getting ready to take
off later this year by opening a store in the city, moving forward on a plan to
create unique seats for automobiles and hiring three to five people.
The claim to fame of their Russell Industrial
Center-based business, B Black Apparel, is a patented measuring system that
allows the couple to create clothing that fits specific body types. For
instance, Cindy Crawford and Tyra Banks may be about the same height and weight
but they're proportioned differently enough that some clothing would fit one
well but not the other. B Black's technology lets them create the clothing to either specifications.
B Black is working on plans to open a store later
this year and is also working with investors to create car seats in the same
mold as their clothing. As Stacey Ellis puts it, one car seat doesn't fit all
the same way one size of clothing doesn’t fit as well.
The same goes for the Ellis', who have done business in a
number of big city centers before settling on Detroit as the place that offers
the best bang
for their buck.
"I truly believe that Detroit is in a state of changing,"
Ellis says. "There is a lot of opportunity to do a lot of things here but
the cost is much less."
Source: Stacey Ellis,
co-owner of B Black Apparel
Writer: Jon Zemke