54. Chloe Matters on Walking Away From Tom Mark Henry to Build Something More True

Chloe Matters co-founded Tom Mark Henry, one of Sydney's most recognised design studios, and then walked away from it. Pregnant and working hours that left no room for family, she stepped back to work out what kind of mother, designer and business owner she actually wanted to be. That reset became Matters and Made, a studio known for calm, tonal, deeply tactile homes.

In this episode, Camilla and Chloe get honest about what happened next. Chloe relaunched the studio during Covid with a one-year-old and a six-month-old, grew it far too fast without the systems to hold it, then made the call to downsize the team so she could stop feeding the machine and get back to the work she loves. She shares how her behavioural studies background shapes the way she reads clients, why she tailors her process to every one of them, and how a divorce and a rental she couldn't renovate led to her newest venture, Slow Matters.

It's a conversation about reinvention, saying no, and the quiet power of a home that genuinely supports you.

In this episode:

How saying yes to every client after returning from Europe turned into co-founding Tom Mark Henry

What a creative partnership teaches you, and why it only works when everyone stays in their lane

Why her behavioural studies degree has been more useful than her design degree for reading what clients really need

Growing too fast during Covid, missing time with her kids, and why she chose to trim the business back

The rental, the lamps on timers and the small changes that sparked Slow Matters, plus how the home wellness check and 21-day reset work

The hard questions Chloe asks herself before saying yes, and what's ahead for Matters and Made

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Matters and Made: https://www.mattersandmade.com
https://www.instagram.com/mattersandmade_
Slow Matters: https://www.instagram.com/slow_matters/

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https://www.unfolded.com.au/
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00:00 Intro
02:25 Welcome to Behind the Design
03:34 Co-founding Tom Mark Henry
04:21 What a design partnership teaches you
05:12 Why hospitality design builds a name fast
07:13 Pregnancy and the decision to leave
08:23 Behavioural studies and hearing what clients really need
09:59 Ten Pinterest styles and trend-led clients
10:59 Concrete pots on the balcony
11:57 Defining a calm, tonal aesthetic
13:37 Going solo: one vision, not a shared one
14:22 A word from Unfolded
14:52 Relaunching during Covid and growing too fast
15:47 Systems, structure and what she'd change
16:11 Downsizing to stop feeding the beast
17:53 Two babies, divorce and learning to prioritise herself
19:25 What the studio looks like day to day now
20:36 Four-year projects and earning client trust
21:51 Adapting the process for every client
22:51 The rental that sparked Slow Matters
25:44 Naming the problem: the home wellness check
27:02 Why your home deserves the same attention as your body
28:16 The 21-day reset, three minutes a day
31:20 Turning something personal into a product
32:45 Where the name Slow Matters came from
33:14 Trust your gut: the questions to ask yourself
34:48 What's next for Matters and Made and Slow Matters
35:25 Three questions in three minutes
36:11 Wrap up

interior design
residential interiors
creative business
design consultancy
Behind the Design podcast
Camilla Ingall
Chloe Matters
Matters and Made
Tom Mark Henry
Slow Matters
Sydney interior designers
home wellness
designing a calm home
rental styling
business partnerships
working mothers in business
reinvention after divorce

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