A GIFT company where everything is made in Hove is celebrating after hitting a £1million turnover in its third year of trading.

Ellie Ellie has been built up by 32-year-old managing director Danielle Plowman from an old Scrabble set she found in a Brighton charity shop four years ago.

Danielle turned the Scrabble pieces into a pair of personalised cufflinks and has not looked back since, building up a successful company through hard work and innovation.

As well as reaching £1 million Ellie Ellie has this year been shortlisted for two Brighton And Hove Business Awards - Fastest Growing Business and Managing Director Of The Year.

The company also employs a predominantly young female team of 13 full-time staff, with an average age of just 28.

All the unique products are assembled and personalised by the in-house team in Hove.

And after so far selling on the internet and through other retailers, Ellie Ellie is now looking to open its first retail outlet.

Danielle said: "I am extremely pleased to reach this milestone, especially in tougher trading conditions, thanks to the hard work of our team and collaborators.

"We continue to invest in our steady growth and are looking forward to opening our first shop in the area as well as explore wholesale opportunities in the very near future."

Burn in Sussex, Danielle caught got the creative bug young, getting her first sewing machine for 12th birthday and beginning to make her own clothes.

After graduating in fashion at Kingston she initially starting making girlswear which she sold from a local arcade in West Sussex.

After a year off travelling she returned and rebranded as Ellie Ellie and expanded her range into personalised gifts,

Since then she has won a Theo Pathitis Small Business Saturday, the online business awards at the Sussex Women of the Year Awards, and entrepreneur of the year at the Notonthehighstreet.com Make awards.