Where It Began —
Founded in 1951 by post-war migrant Tim Jovanovic, Silver Fleece began with a single hand-operated knitting machine in a backyard shed—producing school pullovers delivered by bicycle to Adelaide’s major retailers. From these humble beginnings, the brand steadily grew, moving from Stepney to Tranmere, expanding its range, workforce, and machinery.
By the 1970s, Silver Fleece had become known for its high-quality rugby garments, particularly through a popular partnership with Rowe & Jarman, which even launched a dedicated "Mr Tim’s Rugby" store in honour of Tim’s vision and dedication. For over 75 years, Silver Fleece has proudly knitted and manufactured premium garments tailored to meet the diverse needs of its customers.
Today, under new leadership and with renewed purpose, Silver Fleece remains committed to quality craftsmanship—now with a focus on sustainable practices that honour our past while protecting the future. By continuing to manufacture locally and investing in long-lasting garments, we’re building a more responsible Australian-made future, one stitch at a time.
What's Next —
Silver Fleece has entered a new chapter under the stewardship of Adelaide entrepreneurs Dean and Melanie Flintoft, who successfully acquired the historic Hindmarsh-based knitwear mill in August 2024. Their vision to restore the company to full production capacity, preserving local jobs and expanding its reach into national school and corporate uniform markets is well underway.
The Flintofts, along with the Silver Fleece team, are blending traditional craftsmanship with modern, eco-conscious design, reaffirming the brand's commitment to Australian-made excellence.
We have knitted and manufactured for —
- Australian Rowing Team
- Australian Cricket - test, ODI’s, sheffield shield, PM’s 11 and deaf cricket
- 2000 Sydney Olympics - 2000 replica Aussie Rules garments as memorabilia. These garments were copies of the garments used in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics demonstration match at the MCG.
- Commonwealth Games knitwear of pure wool cable knit vests for the Australian Team
- Crows garments - helped in the development of sample garments for the first Crows uniform
- SANFL garments - for many years supplied to the SANFL, uniforms for the Junior teams
Since the early 2000's much of the machinery has been replaced with modern computer driven flat bed knitting machines. This has allowed the development of more precise and efficient knitting and the ability to knit bespoke products aided by computer design.
Manufacturing has remained a very "hands on" technique with particular care taken by the team throughout the knitting process to produce a quality product. This can range from baby blankets, school and corporate uniforms to sportswear, all using the best quality yarns available and guaranteed use of Australian wool. All yarns are OEKO certified for safe use next to skin.
Silver Fleece is a 100% Australian Made manufacturer offering bespoke garments. Please contact us to find out more, we would love to hear from you.