Why We Established Our Own Interior Design Studio
You may be wondering how Rüme Design came to be. Prior to our launch in ‘2020, we (Michelène & Ashley) worked together for a number of years at a design & build firm in the GTA. Although the company offered opportunities for exposure and learning in the field of construction, the biggest advantage to our time there was discovering that our personal career goals, our passion for design and what we envisioned for the future aligned in a way that truly felt serendipitous.
Recognizing this connection as well as the realization that we would not reach our goals staying where we were, we found ourselves constantly talking about what it would be like to launch our own company and, over time, this theoretical idea began to take a more concrete form - perhaps a little hesitantly at first. The idea of setting out on our own was incredibly exciting, however who we are today as designers is the result of the incredible experiences we had at the companies we each worked for during our careers. Each provided an undeniable amount of expertise and connections to clients, trades and contractors. To step away from this security and rely solely on ourselves was a gamble and, making this type of commitment with another person’s wellbeing connected to yours was a huge leap of faith, not only for us, but for our families as well.
Having four children between us and, having both experienced the pressures of “doing it all” as mothers, the potential in building a company that allows for a comfortable work / life balance was a critical part of our discussions and could not be done without our families backing us up. When the idea of taking the leap was posed to our husbands, we were met only with support and encouragement. Knowing that our families, our goals for the business and our personal lives were all aligned was the final “check off” we needed. The idea that was originally a pipe dream was now officially on the drawing board.
Now, the big question: what would we call our business??? This stage took a lot of brain power - until we realised that we were completely overthinking it. Anyone who knows us knows that we love keeping everything clean, natural and simple, with a little touch of sparkle. Our name had to reflect this. So what better word to use than the one that defines what we do and what we design - “room”. On it’s own “room” is a beautiful and interesting word and so, with a little tweak of the spelling, Rüme Design was born. Everything else fell into place so naturally after that. We wanted our brand to be soft and feminine with a focus on our love of rose gold, soft hues, and clean lines. We engaged Forth & Wild Studios to help define our brand guide and after establishing our “look” it was time to put together the core of the business, a defined and curated process for the most important detail of our new business: the client experience.
Where we are in ‘2023…
As we move into our 3rd year, we have learned a lot about being business owners and have also taken in all of the feedback we have received from our amazing clients. Having worked out a lot of the newbie kinks, we decided to re-brand as a reflection of how we have grown and evolved so far, polishing up the look of our website as well as the content we would be sending to our clients.
You may ask, how has it been growing Rüme Design together? We say almost on a daily basis that we couldn’t do this without each other. While some designers prefer to fly solo, our instinct to partner in this venture has been the best decision in more ways than one. We knew from the start that we each have strengths and weaknesses, creating a balance in how we tackle every aspect of our job. We also push each other to step out of our comfort zones and switch up our tasks to avoid the “burnout” many designers face over time. Being comfortable admitting to each other when we are struggling and having that trust has been so important too. There is truly never a dull moment!
