Ippy's Islamic Fashions

Ippy's Islamic Fashions

Ibtihaj "Ippy" Amatul-Wadud, 19
Springfield, Mass.

Ibtihaj "Ippy" Amatul-Wadud has been sewing since the age of 10, but after taking an entrepreneurship class at a local college three years ago, she decided to make it her business. The devout Muslim realized that Islamic women in western Massachusetts had no place to buy religious apparel locally. "My family, before I really started sewing, we would always travel to either New York or New Jersey to get our clothing," she says.

Amatul-Wadud has clients in seven states, and the teen brought in $8,000 last year, after discounting prices on many of her outfits because she knew customers could not afford the full price. While she runs the company from her home now, she has plans for a retail store and Web site.