From Entrepreneur to Artist

“Art has a quiet wisdom. It speaks before we understand, revealing beauty, purpose, and the unfolding of life.”

Nelia Annandale

Founder of the children’s clothing brand Keedo, Nelia Annandale spent more than three decades building a business rooted in creativity, quality, and a deep respect for both children and the nature. In December 2022, a devastating warehouse fire destroyed a large portion of Keedo’s raw materials and became a turning point, leading Nelia to step away from retail and return to her first love: art.

Her first solo exhibition, Petrichor, launched in August 2023. Inspired by the scent of rain after a long drought, the collection marked a personal and creative rebirth. Nature became both subject and metaphor, with themes of earth, water, fire, healing, and renewal woven throughout the work. This collection was dedicated to Noah, her grandson, born on 7 July of the same year

This was followed by RAIN- Giver of Life, in May 2024, a visual journey from desolation to abundance, inspired by the earth’s quiet transformation after rain. The collection was dedicated to Nelia’s mother, who nurtured in her a lifelong love of nature and the beauty of the outdoors.

In June 2025, Nelia launched her third collection, Boundless Becoming. This was a deeply personal body of work created in the aftermath of profound loss. The collection explored the fullness of life: its stillness and movement, sorrow and joy, endings and new beginnings. During this time, grief silenced her creativity for a while, until she slowly found her way back to the canvas. One of the first paintings she completed, a small seed breaking through the earth, later took on unexpected meaning when she learned that her daughter, Carmia, was expecting her first child, Somer.

“I painted new life before I knew it was coming.
That’s the mystery of art – it speaks before we understand.”

In May 2026, Nelia exhibited her fourth collection, TUISKOMS – Where We Belong. Inspired by nature, colour, and the quiet beauty of belonging, the collection marks a gentle return to her roots, the landscapes of her childhood, and the feeling of home carried through memory, language, and connection. Growing up on a farm surrounded by open skies, trees, earth, and changing seasons continues to shape the atmosphere and palette of her work.

Through layered abstraction, texture, subtle human elements, and organic forms, TUISKOMS celebrates beauty, place, and the enduring connection between people and the landscapes that shape them. Alongside the paintings, Nelia has curated a selection of poetry, some her own, others borrowed from beloved writers, also honouring Afrikaans, the expressive language of her mother tongue. She dedicated this collection to AV, her life parner and her ‘TUISKOMS’

Through her art, Nelia continues to create work that invites viewers to pause, reflect, and reconnect with nature, beauty, and a sense of belonging. Her journey from entrepreneur to artist is a testament to creativity, reinvention, and the quiet courage of returning to what has always called, home.