This article appears in print in the March 2019 issue. Click here to subscribe.

What started as a way to keep 10-year-old Jaylin Harris occupied back in 2013 has turned into a small family business. “I taught her how to make button earrings one day to keep her busy while I was studying for an exam,” says her mom, Janelle Harris. “She enjoyed making the earrings so much that she would give them away as gifts to friends and family.”

The young South Lake Union–based designer also sold the earrings—and her paintings—to pay for the application fee to the Hamlin Robinson School, an independent institute on north Beacon Hill that offers a specialized program for students with dyslexia and where Jaylin now attends the fourth grade. She’s also expanded her offerings to include colorful one-of-a-kind ascots ($15–$35; creationsbyjaylin.bigcartel.com), each featuring fabric selected by Jaylin and sewn by a seamstress family member. Jaylin is driven by more than creating attractive neckwear. Her mother says that Jaylin uses the profits to fund her education and would eventually like to “help those who need financial assistance with getting diagnosed with learning differences.”

FEELING FRILLY: Creations from Jaylin’s line of ascot ties