The Beginning

Our History

This is the short, very long story of Quillan and how it came to be.

Our founder and designer Kimelyn, was born and raised in the beautiful, vibrant, crazy city of Johannesburg, South Africa. She grew up alongside her two siblings, two dogs, two cats, two horses, a rooster and a chameleon, raised by two slightly eccentric and non-conforming parents.

Her earliest memories are a colourful jumble of tree-climbing; tinkering with sewing machines; experimenting with vintage iron tools and bits of wood; trawling through enormous jars of buttons of every size, shape and colour; being fascinated with animals; staring at shapes in the clouds; combing through antique tins of lace, elastics, and braid; eating biscuits and cakes and trawling through various battered suitcases filled with fabrics of every colour and texture imaginable.

Life was productive, creative and expressive.

It seemed unimaginable that she would choose anything to fill her days with anything other than designing, cutting patterns, sewing, sourcing and creating clothing for a range close to her heart.