By: De’Jah Seabrooks, Follow South Jersey Community Journalist
CAMDEN, N.J. – Terina Nicole Hill has always been rooted in fashion, but her journey has grown into something far bigger than style.
Today, she’s a designer, educator, boutique owner, and community leader, using fashion as a tool for empowerment and sustainability. Hill’s path began in Newark, where she studied fashion at Arts High School, then at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She opened her first shop, Pretty Young Things, in 1999, and went on to design for companies like Me Too Shoes, Capelli, NY, and The Children’s Place.
After the 2008 recession, Hill began teaching fashion in community centers, often working with children in public housing programs. What started as a temporary opportunity turned into a calling — teaching practical, creative skills to youth who needed role models and a new way forward.
“I wanted them to see someone who looked like them, doing something positive ” Hill says.
In 2020, Hill was selected by a Camden organization that transforms abandoned properties into businesses to fight gentrification and put resources back into the community. She opened the Fashion Design Center of South Jersey on Haddon Avenue, inside a building that had been vacant for over 20 years — but once served as a fabric store that taught sewing in the 1960s.
Her goal for the business was to teach real, income-generating skills like sewing, design, and upcycling. To help the community learn a valuable skill that they could use to save money by avoiding fast fashion , as well as a skill they could profit off of as well. The center officially opened in February 2020, with a grand opening in March that was unfortunately interrupted by the Covid pandemic. This led to a pivot but was hit by a flood that fall. Still, she kept going.
During that time, Hill also launched Sustainable Styles Studio, a boutique focused on eco-conscious fashion. Located on Camden’s Broadway for over a year, the shop curated upcycled pieces, thrifted finds, and vintage clothing and home décor, all sourced with care and intention.
The cozy and stylish space offers an Anthropologie-like vibe with a strong community focus. It wasn’t just about fashion; it was about shopping differently, supporting local designers, and making sustainability feel personal and inspiring.
“It’s like elevated thrifting,” Hill explains. “It’s fashion that doesn’t harm the earth — and actually helps the community.”
What started as online classes has now grown into EcoFashionLabs, a maker space for sewing, crocheting, and creative expression. Visitors can take group workshops, host birthday parties, or create custom jewelry at the Charm Bar. Independent designers are also welcome to use the space and equipment for their own projects. Hill’s long-term dream is to franchise EcoFashionLabs, giving other communities the same creative access and economic opportunity throughout the state and eventually the country. Creating a go to creative girls night out, bachelorette parties , or even birthday events throughout the country.
Every July, Hill runs her own Summer Fashion Design Camp, now in its fourth year. It’s a month-long program where students learn real design skills each week:
- Week 1: Sketches to Skirts
- Week 2: Handbags & Accessories
- Week 3: Patterns to Pants
- Week 4: Upcycle a piece from home
Hill’s work is a reminder that fashion can be more than clothing, it can be a tool for transformation. Through her boutique, her maker space, and her commitment to teaching the next generation, she’s stitching together a legacy rooted in creativity, sustainability, and community. In a city often overlooked, Hill is helping Camden reclaim its power one garment, one student, and one stitch at a time.
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