Bella's Gift: The Story That Led to Our First In-House Quilt Collection
A note from Amanda, Evolutions Founder.
“Women hold up half of the sky,” wrote Mao Zedong - and for me, that truth has always lived in Bella, my mom, the person who first showed me what textiles could hold.
My first vivid memory of noticing fabric dates back to when I was about seven or eight years old. She had a gift; she made beautiful quilts from off-cut fabrics, repurposed clothing worn by all of us, and vibrant shweshwe prints.
She would let me help by sorting colours into combinations I thought might work. I remember carefully arranging little heaps: duck egg blue, brick red, pistachio green, ochre, mocha, and stone. She always praised my instinct for pairing colours, encouraging me in a way that made me feel seen and capable.
Those quilts became heartfelt gifts for family and friends. Each one carried layers of memory, the softness of Liberty cotton prints, the elegance of linen from a Bogner dress she had shortened, and the richness of textured jacquards that added depth and dimension.
Years later, when I was preparing for my final fashion show at Oaktree, I realised just how deeply my mother’s world had shaped my own creative language.
The textiles in her home, layered carpets, collected fabrics, and the warmth and colour she instinctively lived with, became the foundation for my design direction and colour palette.
With the help of a few close friends, Helon Melon and James, I created quilts inspired by the Fante flags of Ghana for the show - a tribute not only to craft and storytelling through cloth, but also to the visual world my mother had immersed me in since childhood.
Bella still creates and embroiders today. Her pieces may be smaller now, but they are no less magical, tiny works of art used to repair a denim jacket or bring life to a plain garment. I treasure that we have shared this love of textiles for over fifty years.
The time we spent creating together remains some of my most cherished days.
When we collaborated with Sandy Harris of Callie Quilts earlier this year, something shifted in the studio.
Seeng, our head Seamstress, who had already been creating beautiful tote bags from our linen offcuts and misprints, began reworking her creations into one-of-a-kind quilts after seeing Sandy's work.
Merriette, our other amazing seamstress, joined Seeng, added her own magic, and our patchwork quilts were born. Khulekani, our Dye Master, contributes by adding offcut fabrics into our hand-dyeing process, creating beautiful, unexpected expressions of our colour palette that become the strips Seeng and Merrette build their designs from.
We are launching five new in-house quilts on Mother's Day - The Laslappie Quilt. They come in size 185cm x 145cm, and each one is unique, made from what remained, and built to last. Each one carries the story of the women who made it possible: Bella, Seeng, Merriette and Sandy, whose generosity started all of this.
Shop the Limited Edition Laslappie Quilts here.
