51. From Small Styling Business to Large-Scale Operation | Bowerbird Interiors
Behind The Design
Bowerbird Interior’s success isn’t just a story about beautiful design. It’s a story about what happens when the business behind the design keeps getting bigger.
Lauren Lewis, co-founder of Bowerbird Interior, joins Camilla to explore the side of the design industry we rarely see: the people, systems, logistics and commercial decisions behind the finished spaces.
What started as a property styling business has grown into a much bigger operation spanning residential homes, commercial spaces, build-to-rent and large-scale furnishing projects. But what happens behind the scenes when a creative business reaches that kind of scale?
Lauren shares what she has learned about building the infrastructure behind the creativity, working alongside her husband Jeff, finding the right people, and knowing when the founder needs to step back and let others take the lead.
In this episode:
• How Bowerbird evolved from property styling into a much larger furnishing operation
• The systems, logistics and procurement required to operate at scale
• Why creative instinct alone may not be enough to grow a sustainable business
• How commercial thinking can influence creative decision-making
• How Lauren and Jeff built complementary roles around their different strengths
• What separates people who want something to happen from those who make it happen
• Why delegation becomes harder, but more important, as a business grows
• Knowing when to step away from the details and focus on higher-value work
• What can sit behind the success people see from the outside
There’s often a lot more behind a finished space than meets the eye. For Lauren, growing Bowerbird has meant navigating the tension between creativity, people, systems and the realities of running a much bigger business.
But as a creative business grows, one question becomes harder to ignore: how do you scale the business without scaling away what made it special in the first place?
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Chapters
00:00 - From Property Styling to Bowerbird
02:15 - The Story Behind Bowerbird’s Growth
05:40 - What Happens Behind Beautiful Spaces
09:25 - Scaling a Creative Business
13:10 - The Systems Behind Property Styling
17:05 - Procurement, Warehousing and Logistics
21:30 - Why Creative Businesses Need Commercial Thinking
25:45 - Building a Business Around Different Strengths
30:10 - Lauren and Jeff’s Roles at Bowerbird
34:20 - Building the Right Team and Culture
38:15 - What Makes a Great Team Member?
42:05 - Knowing When to Delegate
46:00 - Letting Go as Your Business Grows
49:40 - The Reality Behind Business Success
53:15 - Relationships and Community in Design
56:30 - What Lauren Would Do Differently
59:10 - The Future of Bowerbird and Creative Business Growth
Keywords
Bowerbird
Lauren Lewis
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interior design business
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creative entrepreneurship
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