As we write this, it’s twenty past four on a weekday afternoon. We’re currently on a site install, munching on ham sandwiches and Hula Hoops to refuel (!) and have been reminiscing about the past few years, following our 7th year in business this month.
On the 16th of March, 2018, we (Danielle & Emily) started Wells and Maguire.
Since then, we’ve pushed through the nerves, pitched and won projects we used to dream about landing, grown a small team of contractors and freelancers who we adore working with, and even navigated a global pandemic..!
With that in mind, we thought we’d take you behind the scenes and share some of our favourite memories and takeaways over the years. From how it all started and the meaning behind our name, to our key achievements and what we have planned for the future, this is the Wells and Maguire story so far…
How it All Started…
For those of you who don’t know, we used to work together in London. When we both left that job, we knew we wanted to stay in interior design and had a gut feeling deep down that we could do something on our own. After coming together to talk it all through, we made a business plan, built our hopes up, and applied for various business loans—only to be rejected! Not the best start, admittedly, but we were determined to find a way.
‘The way’ included Emily moving back to Wales to save money while Danielle freelanced in London. We then applied for a grant through the Prince’s Trust (thank you, Charles!), Emily did a short business course to get to grips with the basics, and we ended up getting a £500 grant, which we spent on our first printer.
Despite being very nervous (!), soon after, we ended up pitching alongside other well-established interior designers and won our very first project. It was a show home in Richmond, and to this day, it remains one of our proudest accomplishments because it meant so much to us that someone took a chance on us and our vision. We also took on a few small projects for friends and family whilst we found our feet. Speaking of family…
The Meaning Behind Our Name…
We’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve been asked how we chose our business name (considering it isn’t either of our surnames!). Rather than using our own names, we decided to use our mothers’ maiden names instead, given that we’re both so inspired by the women in our lives. We jotted a ‘Wells and Maguire’ makeshift logo down on a napkin, and seven years later, here we are!
The Things We’re Most Proud Of…
It’s so hard to condense the past seven years into a blog post, but if we had to list our key achievements, one of the things we’re most proud of is that we’re still here, seven years on. Surviving lockdown, when our business relies on site installations and in-person transformations—not to mention a team of contractors who also need to be on-site to work—was no mean feat and one that tested us (like so many others) beyond belief. At the end of each year, though, we sit down to review what the past year has taught us, what we’re keen to do more of, what we need to improve on, etc… And because of that, it feels like we’ve gotten stronger year after year.
For instance, when it comes to the age-old struggle of knowing our worth, we’ve come so far since the early days. Yes, there will always be projects we don’t win but we’ve come to realise that the people who want to work with you will always find a way to do just that. It really is that simple.
The community we’ve built on social media has been a welcomed surprise, too. We were actually approached recently by a lovely woman who recognised us from our Instagram account, which blew our minds! Reading such supportive messages from you all has been so motivating for us. We feel extremely lucky that we get to share our work with you.
What We Have Planned Going Forward…
Which brings us to what we’re working on now. About nine months ago, we won our biggest project to date (we were up against some tough competition so it was a bit of a ‘pinch us’ moment!) so we’ve been busy working on that in recent months — Apartment designs within a large residential project in Guildford, which will keep us busy for the next few years!
We’re also designing two boutique coffee shops in South Wales that are gearing up to open—our first foray into the retail space! Finally, we’ve spent the past few months growing our team and now have extra hands on board helping with everything from social media to site installations, which has been a joy to oversee.
Put simply, we’re working on projects we manifested years ago.
Admittedly, there have been so many challenges along the way, too, that have meant we’ve really had to dig deep and fight our corner on a few occasions. But we’ve pushed through, we’re still standing, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.
To That End…
We want to thank you all so much for your support over the past seven years. Whether it’s friends and family who have cheered us on since day one, our incredible clients who continue to send work our way through word of mouth, our amazing contractors and team who help bring our visions to life, or the incredible community we’ve built online, we are so grateful for your ongoing encouragement and can’t wait to see what the next seven years have in store.
With that said, we are now steaming bedding and there’s furniture to unpack, so we will park this here and get back to the install! Deep down, we’ll always think of ourselves as a small, local interior design business. We’re always the first on and the last off-site, we’ll always be the ones found munching hula hoops whilst we work and we have no plans to change any of that because it’s what makes this partnership work!
Happy birthday Wells and Maguire – cheers to the the next seven years!
