53. 20 Years of Woods & Warner: What Running a Design Studio Really Takes

Twenty years ago, Sonia Warner and Jacinta Woods started Woods & Warner with two people, no plan B and a shared goal of creating beautiful spaces. Today they lead a seven-person Sydney studio, and most of what they know about running it was learned the hard way. In this episode, Camilla sits down with both directors for an honest look at what it really takes to build a design studio that lasts. They share the seven-bedroom project they designed without charging a cent, only to have it cancelled in a ten-minute meeting. They talk about IVF, bed rest and the mother guilt of building a business with three children under five, and how those years shaped a studio culture that genuinely supports motherhood. And they relive the morning their Hunters Hill project landed the front cover of Belle, just as their website and Instagram were hacked. It's a conversation about knowing the value of your design intellect, hiring properly, reading your clients and finding joy in the work for the long haul. In this episode: - Why they ignored a mentor's advice to stick to one style and five suppliers, and what that choice has cost and given them - The unpaid seven-bedroom job that taught them to charge for their time and put contracts first - How IVF, bed rest and early motherhood forced them to build a business that could run without them - Reading clients: telling the difference between a budget problem and a fear problem - The year they broke down in tears over the wrong team, and why paid trial days are now non-negotiable - Using AI to cut hours of admin, collaborating with architects and builders, and how they define success after 20 years ***Join The Behind The Design Collective*** https://youreinvited.behindthedesignco.au/ ***Follow the guest*** https://www.woodsandwarner.com.au/ https://www.instagram.com/woodsandwarner/ (confirm handle) ***Follow Unfolded & Behind The Design:*** https://www.unfolded.com.au/ https://www.instagram.com/unfolded\_ https://www.instagram.com/behindthedesignpod\_/ 00:00 The job that changed everything 01:00 Welcome to Behind the Design 02:50 20 years of Woods & Warner 03:51 IVF, bed rest and being forced to step back 06:10 Mother guilt and a studio that supports motherhood 08:27 Structure, chaos and a week in the studio 09:24 Two directors, two lanes 11:57 Settling creative disagreements 13:01 The advice they ignored: one style, five suppliers 15:21 No signature look: connection as the signature 17:02 A word from Unfolded 17:39 Budget problem or fear problem? 21:23 The year they broke down in tears 24:34 Hiring for passion 27:12 Using AI to cut the admin 30:07 Hire like a corporate: paid trial days 32:28 The seven-bedroom job they never got paid for 38:50 Contracts, staff and the 50% nobody sees 40:43 Working with architects and builders 45:37 A Belle cover and a hacked website 48:45 The next 20 years 49:56 Success, gratitude and taking the plunge interior design residential interiors creative business design consultancy Behind the Design podcast Camilla Ingall Woods and Warner Sonia Warner Jacinta Woods Sydney interior designers charging for design fees hiring in a design studio working mothers in business Belle magazine ChaptersKeywords