Widow reveals BlackMilk founder James Lillis’ final venture

Nearly a year to the day since his shock overseas death, the widow of BlackMilk founder James Lillis has spoken about the unexpected final project he was working on.

James Lillis Founder of BlackMilk died in February last year on an overseas holiday.

Nearly a year after his tragic passing, the widow of a Queensland fashion designer has opened up about the man behind the brand—his relentless creativity, his love for building communities, and the unexpected final project he was working on before his death.

BlackMilk founder James Lillis died on February 22 last year while he was on holiday with his best friend.

He managed to hold on until his wife Linda, who was in Melbourne for work at the time, and their two daughters arrived by his side but he succumbed to his injuries and passed away.

One year on, the family has asked for privacy over the circumstances surrounding Mr Lillis’ death.

Speaking to media for the first time, Ms Lillis said while the death was a “shock”, the last conversation her daughter had with her father would always stay with her.

“He had a very sweet conversation with my daughter,” she said.

She described her husband as warm, expressive and intelligent.

“The morning before he departed, he drove her to school and they chatted like normal, listened to music like normal and then at the very end he just said, I love you. and that meant a lot to her.

“He was very expressive and warm.”

Ms Lillis said her last conversation with her husband was on the Sunday morning before his death and she remembers getting a phone call as she was getting ready to leave but delayed her journey so she could chat to him.

“It was all very normal as you can imagine, he asked “how did the event go”, because obviously he’s so much a part of my life and I’m asking him about how his travelling and getting over there went,” she said.

“I wouldn’t say there was anything remarkable about that conversation but it was normal and I think that was the shock.”

“His passion rubs off on you and then you end up getting caught up in his orbit,” she said.

After his death, thousands of loyal fans spoke out about how his legacy would live on.

Even in the past few months before his death Mr Lillis was working a new venture after going to Japan and trying his first canele - a French pastry.

But he never got to finish it.

A cafe owner who he was friends with agreed to let him use his kitchen and he teamed up with a local bakery.

“He was testing it on everyone he knew so everyone that knew us in that Spring Hill area had probably tried a canele, he brought them into work, the people at work had tried them,” she said.

“So his latest venture, surprisingly was not BlackMilk related.

“He perfected the recipe but just obviously never quite got to the marketing and the delivery and the actual executions stage.”

Leftover pastries that his friend in the cafe froze are still in the freezer, and every now and then they pull them out.

Ms Lillis described her husband as intelligent, very caring and he had this human side that kept him genuinely interested people.

For Ms Lillis, it’s the daily things and the thoughtful things he used to do that she misses about her husband. The couple were together for more than 20 years and had two daughters together.

Father of two James Lillis.

“By the time I’m up he’s already gone to the gym. He’s gone for a swim. He’s gone for a prayer walk, gone to the cafe and met up with his mates there and come back.

“And so he would always have a cup of coffee ready when I woke up. It’s just things like that and on my drive home, it used to be about a 20 minute drive, I would always call him and so we would have those chats.

“So for me it’s just the daily. It’s not the big bang holidays or it’s not even the highs of the business. He was my best friend. But he was just very considerate.

“He died having lived life to the fullest with no regrets - doing all the stuff he loved, travelling, having new experiences and he was in the middle of starting his next venture.”

When Ms Lillis first met her husband she says he had a new idea every couple of days. He was an entrepreneur who would always try to build a sense of community with whatever he did.

He knew most his neighbours in his apartment building and all the people in the businesses nearby.

Ms Lillis said he was a very curious person.

He started BlackMilk in 2009 after he pawned off his stereo to buy a second-hand sewing machine and learnt how to use it.

Since it’s inception, BlackMilk has been worn by Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry and was labelled one of the fastest growing businesses after it was founded.

James Lillis Founder of BlackMilk.

The family will remember Mr Lillis by heading away to the coast to discuss their memories and eat his favourite foods.

BlackMilk celebrated Mr Lillis’ life by gathering around the kitchen on Friday like they always would when the team was smaller, sharing desserts and stories.

Originally published as Widow reveals BlackMilk founder James Lillis’ final venture