Her Design, Her Story

With a background in graphic design and senior roles at Liquorice and A Friend of Mine, Anna Gowers has spent years building a career within the creative industries. More recently, she embarked on an exciting new chapter, launching Art Matters - bringing together her experience with a longstanding passion for art and creativity. In our conversation, we go back to the beginning, exploring Anna’s early influences, the evolution of her career and the decision to take a new direction. We also talk about art, inspiration, values and what it means to build something of your own - and to remain curious as your career evolves.

Simone Elder and Chloe Quigley, are the women behind creative consultancy Ortolan. With Simone as Creative Director and Chloe as Managing Director, the pair have spent the past two decades building a practice that works between elements of creativity, culture, strategy and design. Their paths into the creative industry began quite differently - from Simone’s experiences studying and working in Milan, to Chloe’s early training and career in interior design - before coming together to establish Ortolan. Now celebrating an incredible 20 years in business, we explore not only the evolution of Ortolan, but the partnership behind it.

Sarah Reid of Her Design, Her Story and Camilla Ingall of Unfolded come together for a conversation between two interior designers, two podcast hosts and two women navigating the realities of running their own creative businesses. We talk candidly about burnout, the role of intuition in both creativity and business, and the confidence that comes from learning to trust your own instincts. We also explore our evolving relationship with success — how we once measured it, what it looks like for each of us today, and how those definitions continue to shift as our careers and lives evolve. A slightly different conversation this week — and one we loved having.

Shona McElroy is the founder and creative force behind SMAC Studio, a Sydney based interior design studio. Shona has built a reputation for creating interiors that feel considered, characterful and beautifully layered. Her work has a wonderful confidence and clarity, balancing colour, materiality, texture and form with an appreciation for the details that ultimately make a space feel like home. In our conversation, we go back to the beginning of Shona’s creative journey, exploring the experiences that shaped her approach to design and the story behind establishing SMAC Studio. We also talk about working with clients, where she finds inspiration, and her love of creative collaboration. 

With more than four decades in the industry, Nicole’s career is nothing short of remarkable. She began at Vogue straight out of university, at a time when the profession of fashion styling was still in its infancy, and went on to become Fashion Director of Australian Elle, Fashion Director of CLEO and Senior Fashion Editor-at-Large at Madison. Along the way, Nicole has helped shape some of the most memorable images and careers in Australian fashion and entertainment, including extensive work with Kylie Minogue, as well as Toni Collette, Naomi Watts, Naomi Campbell and INXS. One of the most fascinating elements to Nicole is the eye behind all of that work. Her approach is about storytelling, polish and creating an entire visual world - not simply putting an outfit together. We discuss all the aspects of an extraordinary career: the changing face of fashion, the art of styling, creativity, motherhood, and what it takes to maintain an instinctive eye for style over four remarkable decades.