Flamin’ Galah was started by Chris Taylor and Kate Greenwood back in mid 2003. Having spent a couple of years travelling and living overseas, they came back to Australia and noticed a gap in the market for clever and funny souvenir t-shirts. Chris, an illustrator and cartoonist, came up with some great design concepts and Kate felt inspired to take the idea to the next level. With a vision to create a quirky clothing brand specialising in larrikin humour, they came up with the name Flamin’ Galah, a distinctive Aussie expression often used by Alf Stewart in the popular television series Home and Away. 

With a brand name and plenty of designs in their portfolio, they began researching the market and found some good local suppliers. Kate then started to approach souvenir stores with the idea. Luckily her first meeting with Australian Way, a leading airport retailer, went very well and they placed an on-the-spot order for 7 of their stores. Once they had cracked open a bottle of champagne to celebrate, the hard work really began.

The next breakthrough came when Kate visited the Australia Shop in London. They loved the brand and felt it would appeal to Aussie travellers and ex-pats living in London, so Flamin’ Galah got its first export order. From the UK experience, they decided to explore other outlets overseas and have since managed to find stockists in the US, Germany, Switzerland and Japan.

 

Flamin’ Galah has also attracted some media attention. The Herald Sun newspaper ran an article on Kate’s involvement with Flamin’ Galah in the Women in Business section then shortly after Kate and Chris were approached by That’s Life magazine to tell the story of how they started out in business. The numerous emails and phone calls they received from this article demonstrated that everyday people related to the product and wanted to congratulate them on ‘giving it a crack’. 

Today, Kate and Chris are still busy running Flamin’ Galah and, spurred on by the success of the t-shirts, are now working to broaden the product range. Through strategic licensing opportunities, they have expanded into men’s and ladies apparel, footwear, headwear, gifts and accessories. By increasing the product range and distribution into new retail channels, they hope to consolidate their position within the souvenir market and expand into the domestic gift market.