Profile Magazine

With enthusiasm and youth on their side, this passionate pair of young designers are a prime example of inspired dreamers, designing their own label at just 12 years of age and launching a business, which after just two years is still positively expanding.

Beating the odds, Taylah Golden and Ellie Jordan – best friends who have schooled together since pre-school – founded their own fashion line, Jordan Taylah, in 2008 on the idyllic Sunshine Coast. Inspired by the thought of a fun, fresh and youthful approach to sleepwear, these creative youngsters combined their skills and formed a delightful new style of pyjamas, a style featured on their very own website, among other creative products. Taylah and Ellie shared their journey and their secrets to juggling school and business with Tammy Lewis, over a couple of iced chocolates no less.      

profile: Where did the idea for Jordan Taylah come from?
ellie: We were going on Year Seven camp and we thought we’d make some pyjamas for something different, pyjamas we actually liked. And seeing as we liked to sew, it just came naturally.
taylah: It was winter and we didn’t like the button down style of the usual pyjamas … from there we began making them for friends, that really liked them too.

profile: What motivated you to start your business?
ellie:  It was simply the love of what we were doing. Both Taylah and I took sewing classes together at B-Creative Patchwork and Sewing and Taylah’s mum also helped at the start.
taylah: I guess we didn’t really plan it, we just talked about it to family and friends and after contacting my cousin, who is a graphic designer, she offered to help us start up a website with her company.

profile: What do you love most about your designer wear and products?
ellie: Designing it for sure, and choosing all the different fabrics.
taylah: My favourite is the new range of pyjamas that’s coming out soon, but I can’t tell you much about it … it’s a secret. We also put other designer’s products on our website such as jewellery. I saw the stuff in a catalogue once and was like ‘Ellie, look at these,’ and after getting in touch with the designer, we featured the items on our site.

profile: What’s involved in having your own label and business?
ellie: Well, firstly there’s finding everything, like the material and constantly updating everything, like our website. We’re also trying to get a newsletter out soon.
taylah: There are quite a few different elements, like sourcing materials, fabrics, tops, tags threads, and the best part, deciding what we want to make next. The admin work and everything else is also important.

profile: How do you fit everything into your schedule?
ellie: Sometimes it gets a bit hard, but thankfully we have good families who help us out. I guess we also just manage to fit everything in, I’m not sure how. I guess it comes down to good time management.
taylah: We do have orders that come in over the internet, but now we have a sewer, and just recently, a fabric cutter, so that helps. But we do a lot of things ourselves. On average, we’re making around five garments a week.

profile: How do you keep up academically at school?
ellie: If we have a lot on at school, we kind of slow down the orders. We are both fairly good with our grades though.
taylah: We prioritise well – we won’t do as much business work or go out as much on the weekend if we have a lot of school work.

profile: How would your friends best describe you?
ellie: I’d have to say Taylah’s out there – well today anyway. She is crazy, fun, lovable and creative.
taylah: Google us and see! Ellie is pretty funny – she is the nicest person in the world and she has the best clothes in the world too.

profile: What are your hobbies?
ellie: I like photography. I have an SLR camera and I like taking pictures of anything and everything. I also like hanging with friends, sewing and having our own design line, Jordan Taylah.
taylah: I like photography too. Our photographer for Jordan Taylah is currently taking me through a workshop– since I just brought my own SLR camera as well. I like photographing concept shots of people in real places, being natural, not posed.

profile: What inspires you both?
ellie: Magazines, and blogs – looking up blogs on the internet is great inspiration.
taylah: Music and other photography, fashion and magazines.

profile: What’s on the agenda after Year 12?
ellie: We want to study at Monash University in Melbourne and then travel heaps.
taylah: Our imaginary plan is ... we’re going to New York. And then, travel, travel!

profile: What are your future career ambitions?
ellie: I want to do something with other cultures or fashion.
taylah: Something creative and with fashion, I think. It would be cool to open a concept store, with Jordan Taylah and other emerging artists and designers.

profile: What advice would you give other students wanting to start a business?
ellie: You can do anything if you set your mind to it! ‘Dream big’ as our motto states.
taylah: We didn’t realise how many people there were to help us until we started, and once we got talking about it, we got so many people who were willing to help. So my advice is to ask around, and definitely dream big.

Jordan Taylor will be launching their new summer line this September.
For more information contact info@jordantaylah.com.au or check out www.jordantaylah.com