About Us

Love Ellis Rose is a family owned business in Australia.

Kurt & Keiara are high school sweethearts who 4 years ago gave birth to a beautiful little girl Mila who was born with a Unilateral Cleft lip deformity.

Keiara started documenting her journey on YouTube through parenting & navigating through raising a strong little girl with a mission to break the stigma around deformities & differences.

We at Love Ellis Rose believe “Everyone deserves to feel beautiful” & Everyone deserves to feel worthy.

With every 250 orders we donate funds to do a cleft lip or palate repair to give children with a cleft deformity and easier start in life. Every 3 minutes a child is born with a cleft condition & doesn’t have access to the health care facilities we are privileged to have.

We are a growing family of soon to be 5 after welcoming our son Lincoln 2 years ago with another little one on the way & have a small tight knit group of employees including Keiara’s sister Syena who will looking after all of you customer care needs, Our gorgeous ambitious Hannah who will be wrapping most of your orders & are using local small businesses for photography/modelling.

By supporting us you are supporting our vision & our local small businesses so...

THANK YOU! Xx

For all enquires about working with us to break the stigma please email us at loveellisrose@gmail.com

(interviews /sharing your story / modelling enquiries)

Where do our donations go?

Operation Smile Australia is an international medical charity that provides free surgeries to children and adults who suffer from cleft conditions, forever changing their lives. At Operation Smile Australia we believe that everyone suffering with cleft and craniofacial conditions deserves exceptional, safe surgical care.

As one of the largest volunteer-based medical charities in the world, we can heal children's smiles and bring them hope for a better future through free, safe cleft surgeries. We believe in sustainable change achieved through the education of medical professionals, providing comprehensive cleft care in resource-poor environments, and conducting cleft research aimed at prevention.

www.operationsmile.org.au

Let's Break the stigma starting with our models

If you are interested in helping us break the stigma by telling YOUR story please email us at loveellisrose@gmail.com

MEET ELLIE

What's your story?

My name is Ellie McKenzie, 24 years ago I was born with a Unilateral cleft lip & palette. Being born with this deformity has truly made me who I am today, going through years of hospitals, surgeries, dentist/doctor appointments has made me resilient, strong & confident about who I am. People asked me growing up if you could change it would you, I remember when I was younger I would say “Yes!” but, as I got older I remember saying “No way I wouldn’t change it for the world” & I meant that whole heartedly. Having a cleft lip & palette had its challenges but I also conquered fears & did things I didn’t think I could do. My double jaw reconstruction (March 2014) was the biggest operation for me, I remember saying “Why do I have to do this”, “I can’t”, “I’m too scared” but somehow you build that courage & before you know it it’s all over & well worth every second of stress, nerves & doubt you ever had.

How was life growing up?

I’m extremely lucky for my family who educated themselves, their friends & everyone around them. I grew up in a small town which meant everyone knew either; my family, my parents or myself so I never felt any different to my other brothers & sisters or family members. I’m grateful for my family & friends who were always beside me through all the ups & downs. However, I understand the struggles of self-confidence especially at a young age. It is hard to ignore or forget the strange
looks, comments & bullying from children and adults through the years. The older I got, I found myself making fun of my cleft so that others didn’t.

Do you feel like there’s a stigma behind deformities & do you feel like your life would have been easier if there was more awareness?

It’s sad but there is a huge stigma around deformities, I think it comes back to the lack of education & the fact the people with deformity’s don’t have the confidence or platforms to raise awareness. There needs to be more education, acceptance & kindness when it comes to people being different to others. I urge everyone to do their research & educate themselves, we should be kind to one another & teach all kids that it doesn’t matter what you look like or if you’re different to someone else. Each person is beautiful in their own way! Each child brought up learning about
others & acceptance will change the world we live in; it’ll make it easier for all future children with deformities. I would rather someone ask me about my cleft then treat me different, I’d be more than happy to help or educate anyone who wanted to know more. My biggest fear is that one day my kids may have to deal with not being accepted & that breaks my heart. Their needs to be more awareness to this subject!! We may have a cleft lip/palate or any deformity but we’re all beautiful & it shouldn’t make us a target! We need to normalise deformity’s & allow more people to showcase their beauty instead of hide, be ashamed or scared of it.

What do you wish you could have told your younger self?

I remember asking myself why did this happen to me? Why do I have to go through this? Especially through the surgeries, millions of dentist appointments & some pain that come with it all. I wish I could tell my younger self that being born with a cleft is the best thing that would ever happen to you, it’ll make you a strong woman. Now as an adult I feel a sense of accomplishment & happiness when I think about my cleft lip & palette journey, it makes me proud of myself & how far I have come. If only my younger self knew this feeling was even a possibility.

♡

MEET GEORGIA

What's your story?

I was born with what’s called limb deficiency which in my case means I don’t have a left hand from the wrist. My parents didn’t know until I was born that there was going to be anything different about me. When I was younger my parents tried some prosthetics but they were mainly just for appearances and served no purpose. They said I hated them and wouldn’t wear them so they decided it wasn’t worth it. I learnt to do everything fine on my own or with help from my sisters (my younger sister taught me how to tie shoe laces when I got sick of having to ask everyone to do them for me).

How was life growing up?

Growing up I definitely went through stages of hating being different. I didn’t want to be stared at or made fun of so I always put up a front of being tough and not caring. I went to a small private school and luckily never really had any problems with bullying or teasing. Kids would sometimes use it as an insult if we were fighting and I would always burst into tears because although I acted like I didn’t care, I definitely did. My sisters were my biggest protectors and would tell other children off for following me around or asking questions.

Do you feel like there’s a stigma behind deformities & do you feel like your life would have been easier if there was more awareness?

I think there can be a stigma and I’m always hyper aware if anyone is looking at me or making assumptions. I never want to be pitied or told I can’t do something because I will always find a way. I definitely think my younger self would have been more confident if I saw more people like me in the main stream media. I used to always hide my arm in photos because I thought it would ruin the photo and that it made me ugly. I still catch myself doing it sometimes but I’m definitely so much more comfortable in my own skin and I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I did have two hands.

What do you wish you could have told your younger self?

I would tell her to stop hiding it and that she’s beautiful the way she is. I would say that anyone who ever makes a big thing of it is not worth the time and to surround herself with people who make her feel happy and confident.

♡

Skye Crop

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