Bridal Gowns, Wedding Gowns, Evening Gowns, Matric Dress

”I have come to recognise that it’s not what happens to one that matters, but what you DO about what happens that counts. When you do what you love, success follows. I am very much a ’do it now’ person. Ambition is a doing word that demands discipline. Life is about choices and it is my choice to be a self-sufficient woman without relying on someone else for support. That being stated though, I am actually not money motivated. I love motivating people and the best recognition I can imagine is to know that I empowered someone else to live their life to the fullest. I freely share my knowledge and connections to help others.” Brenda Quin.

Brenda Quin was one of the first people I met when I relocated from Johannesburg to Hillcrest. At the time she was - The P.R for the Heritage Centre, Chairperson of the 1000 Hills Tourism Board, Owner of Catz Designs in Hillcrest and a blossoming fashion designer of her own label.

Phew.

Yes, for sure I felt like an underachiever! I began to wonder what an earth I was doing with my time, and of course, how she managed to ’pack-it-all-in’ AND put energy into her family life. As we chatted I realized she is the epitome of …”if you want something done, give it to a busy person.”

An average day for Brenda begins at 5am, she will then stop whatever she is doing at 5pm and spend quality family time until about 9pm. Then when most people are thinking of ’turning in,’ she will design for her own label, sometimes until midnight. Yet every day she is bright and breezy!

Since that first meeting, Brenda has opened two more branches of Catz Designs (one in Westville and one in Kloof) she has two factories to keep up with the demand for her designs, which she now also exports to the U.K. And she has developed a range of products, which she supplies to other boutiques countrywide.

Phew again….just when I thought I was catching up!

Brenda is in the process of re-naming her Catz Design stores already the Hillcrest outlet is trading under the name of Diva. “Why?” I asked when I managed to pin her down for a coffee break.

“My designs have evolved, when I began I concentrated on working wardrobes and wedding dresses. I have expanded tremendously, I still do the working wardrobes of course, but now I also feature casual clothing, evening, matric and formal wear as well as accessories including shoes. I felt a name change necessary and Diva seemed to fit, all women are Diva’s and I don’t mean that in the negative connotations. Rather that all women are unique and have special qualities, my designs reflects that, which is why my designs will now carry the Diva label. Naturally it followed that the retail outlets should also be changed to Diva.”

Brenda does not consider herself a ’cutting edge designer’ in that she goes for wild and wacky, she designs for ’real women’ and her goal is to make them look breathtaking. She plays with colour and has a soft feminine touch, her aim - to make women feel special even if they consider their ’hips are too big’, ’they are too short’, etc; etc; “I believe the strongest fashion statement any woman can make is expressing individuality. Boldness comes in many forms, bold commitment to your ’own’ look, which you feel comfortable in breeds confidence. Rather have a few outfits, which you feel sensational in than a wardrobe full of not you” she says with conviction.

While Brenda designs with the ’real woman’ in mind, plenty of the ’glamour icons’ clamber for her label. She has dressed many a Miss South Africa, Model of the Year, Miss Teen Africa and Business Women of the Year contestants and they continue to come back for more after the events.
		Diva is also a favourite store for those looking for the perfect matric dance dress in fact one of the most unique aspects of the retail stores is the age range they cater for. It is a store when mothers and daughters can both find the ideal outfit, this has not happened by accident, Brenda spends a great deal of time researching the needs of all ages and she adapts her designs to suit.. It is perhaps this attention to detail, which won the Diva store Best Stand at the ICC Fashion Sale, linked to the Durban Fashion Week last year.
One would think that a person who as achieved so much in her field and in business generally would develop an attitude, not in this case, Brenda is one of the most ’real’ people you will ever meet. She is tremendously giving and always happy to inspire and assist others in any way she can. So, I wasn’t surprised when she called and suggested that Bite salute the Highway Women in Business and offered that the ladies come in to the store and play dress up for the photos. Such an act is typical of her way of connecting and inspiring people to be all they can be.

Article by Terik

Brenda’s Success Secrets

”I don’t believe in failure, everything is an experience, a journey. If you fall, you can fall forwards by assessing why a project didn’t work according to plan and in that learning, there is no failure. It’s all about attitude. The most important thing for success is to keep passionately enjoying what you are doing - then it never seems like work!” Brenda Quin