Our Story
One Idea. One Machine. One Workshop. One Standard that Hasn’t Changed.
When Spiro Bafas arrived in Australia from Greece in 1988, they had one thing in mind - find a job, or create one. He chose the latter. Starting with a second-hand knitting machine and a rented corner of a friend's workshop, Spiro Bafas started their work on the belief that quality would always find its market, no matter what.
Spiro started making sweaters, marking the beginning of Aklanda - Melbourne’s authentic Australian merino wool brand. The name was new, but the standard was not.
From One Machine to Our Melbourne Factory
The market responded. From one machine, Aklanda moved to two, and later to five. Spiro leased his own factory in Coburg, Victoria, and built a proper manufacturing operation from the ground up.
The result? By the mid-1990s, Aklanda knitwear was in the windows of a major Australian department store, displayed in every major city in the country. It was exactly the kind of moment that tells you the standard is working.
Aklanda has been manufacturing in Melbourne ever since. While the factory is big and has moved now, the core belief remains the same. The machines have been updated, but the standard remains the same.
Some Things Have Never Changed.
Every garment made by Aklanda is 100% Australian merino wool, sourced from farms in South Australia and New South Wales. The fibre is fine enough to wear against bare skin without irritation. We knit fully fashioned, meaning each panel is shaped during knitting - not cut from a sheet of fabric afterwards. It takes longer, but produces less waste. It makes a better garment.
We make everything in-house, in Melbourne. Our workmen have been doing this for decades. And that’s what customers who have been buying Aklanda since the 1990s keep coming back for! It is not about the label; it is about the authenticity and consistency.
The Next Generation, Same Obsession
After more than three decades, Aklanda is one of Australia's most recognised merino wool knitwear brands today. Spiro stepped back. His sons, who had worked alongside him for years, took over.
The Bafas brothers brought Aklanda into the digital age - ecommerce, social media, and a reach that now extends well beyond Victoria to both Australian and international customers.
Aklanda is still a family business. It is still manufactured in Melbourne. It is still 100% Australian merino wool. It is still the same standard Spiro set in 1988.
What You Are Buying into
When you buy an Aklanda piece, you are not buying into a trend. You are buying into 35+ years of Melbourne-made craft, a supply chain that starts on an Australian farm and ends at our factory in Victoria. You are buying into a standard of knitwear that many of our customers have trusted.
We think this is worth something. And you will too once you browse our merino wool knitwear collections. Explore and find your piece!
