About The Keiki Dept
How we started
My oldest son was born in 2015. I didnʻt really know what I wanted, I didnʻt have a theme but after he was born, I knew I wanted him to rep Hawaiʻi. I wanted him wearing clothes that stood out that was authentic, not the tacky aloha prints I saw at the stores. So I started going to local craft fairs and expos and found this whole world of small shops and mom made goods...but almost everything was for girls.
So I bought a sewing machine, went to YouTube University, and taught myself to sew while I was on maternity leave from teaching. If I couldn’t find it, I’d make it.
In 2016, I officially started The Keiki Dept (pronounced department), selling baby bibdanas and harem shorts with designs that represented Hawaiʻi. It was my passion project and my creative outlet, and the goal was simple. Pay for diapers and help cover the babysitter.
A lot of it got made at my grandma’s house or my dining table. I’d carry my machine and fabric back and forth and sew at her dining table, usually with a baby on my lap, while she talked. She would snap and flip bibs and I sewed. She was my biggest supporter from day 1.
The plan was always to go back to teaching
I was a teacher, and The Keiki Dept was supposed to have an end date. I’d run it until my kids got into Kindergarten, then go back to the classroom. That was the plan...did I follow it??? Sort of. We kept adding keiki to our family and my 5 year plan kept getting extended.
In 2019, I left my teaching job to stay home with my keiki and run The Keiki Dept full time. By the end of 2020, I could barely keep up with the sewing, so we moved to small batch manufacturing. In 2021, we moved out of my home office and into our first warehouse space in Aiea.
Where we are now
Ten years in, we’re in our warehouse in Pearl City and I’m a Māmā of five. Our kapa moe and keiki clothes carry Hawaiʻi’s native plants and animals, some designed by me and some with local Hawaiʻi and Native Hawaiian artists. You can find us online, at stockists across Hawaiʻi and the continental US, and at a few markets every year.
I won’t pretend it was easy. There were seasons I wanted to quit, more than I can count. But I have sheer determination (some might call it stubbornness), and I kept going for my kids, to show them you can build something you’re passionate about.
And I didn’t get here on my own. My ʻohana has been there from the start, sorting fabric, flipping bibs, stringing elastic, and working almost every in-person event with me. So has a hui of small biz owners who turned into some of my closest friends.
Every print you’ve worn, every gift you’ve given, every bit of aloha along the way...that’s what got us here. Mahalo for being part of our story.
Leilani
Why we do this
I want our keiki to grow up knowing the names of Hawaiʻi’s plants and animals, and why they matter. Every print starts there. When your keiki asks what’s on their kapa moe, that’s a conversation about our island home, and I hope it’s the first of many.
That’s also why we give back. We support Hawaiʻi non-profits that uplift Native Hawaiian keiki and their ʻohana, and 1% of every online order goes to Ulu Aʻe. So far we’ve given back over $15,000 and donated 150+ Memory Games to schools.
The Keiki Dept at a glance
- Started in 2016 by Leilani Sills in Hawaiʻi
- Warehouse at 450 Kamehameha Hwy, Suite 8, Pearl City, HI 96782 (see our warehouse hours page for open days)
- We make kapa moe (bamboo muslin swaddles), bamboo keiki clothes, boardshorts and family outdoor wear, the Memory Game, pepili stickers, and free ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi printables
- Sold online, through stockists across Hawaiʻi and the continental US, and at markets throughout the year. See a list of our retailers here
- Questions? Email aloha@thekeikidept.com