Sally McQuillan, founder and designer of Raoul Textiles, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 14, at her home in Santa Barbara. She was a beloved mother, daughter, sister, and artist. Her talent and ferocious determination drove her business from a Quonset hut on Salsipuedes Street to an international force, and her singular genius transformed American textile design.
Sally was born in Wichita, Kansas, to Harriett and Robert Grossman. She grew up in Virginia and Florida, then went on to study at the Art Institute of Chicago. Though she majored in painting, she found herself more interested in rendering the wallpaper and fabric behind her subjects.
In 1975, she came to Santa Barbara to visit her sister Peggy at UCSB. She returned to Chicago, stayed a week, then flew back to Santa Barbara and never left. She got a job at Little Acorn nursery and met her late husband, Tim, at his restaurant, the Rhythm Café. He took her order and slipped her his number with the check. They were married in 1981 and had two children, Madeleine and Gene.