"I thought of purses and over the shoulder bags, but eventually an idea evolved around a backpack shaped like a diamond.
"The idea appealed to be because of the simplicity of the bold graphic.
"I experimented with different colours like silver, multi-coloured tones, black and a bold pink, but fell in love with the metallic gold fabric because it seemed to best fit the shine bright theme."
Ella said despite having chosen what she thought was a simple theme, she was surprised by how difficult it was to make.
"I played with the idea of putting 'shine bright like a diamond' on the bag, but it detracted from the somewhat simple theme.
"The decisions were all made around keeping to my diamond theme and not taking away from the main diamond shape.
"I tried my hardest and put a lot of thought and heart into it and it was a big jump from sewing a stuffed toy or a simple folder."
In a competition that drew a high calibre of entries according to craft judges Jessie Wong and Fifi Colston, Ella was one of three finalists for the craft category.
Her three dimensional bag was selected because of what judges said was its creativity and structure of design, which was showcased as one of 12 items on the catwalk at New Zealand Fashion Week's Graduate Show.
As well as receiving a behind the scenes experience and special backstage access as a Brother VIP during the event, Ella received a first-hand taste of what it meant to be a designer at New Zealand Fashion Week, which ran from August 22 to 28.
As prizes, each winner from four separate categories received a Brother Sewing Machine of their choice, as well as travel and accommodation to Auckland to attend the show.
"I was very surprised to win and it feels amazing," she said.
"The other bags were awesome and I didn't think mine stood a chance.
"I was in disbelief when I found out I won and haven't stopped smiling since."
