Hi, we’re Kristy and Bec – sisters, mums and co-founders of Swell Magazine.
Together, we run two businesses (Swell and our design studio, Design Bug), raise four kids between us, and do our best to hold onto some sense of creativity, calm and connection in the middle of it all.
Swell started as a passion project – born in a moment of burnout, morning sickness and a craving to do something that felt more like us. Kristy was two months pregnant with her second baby and struggling to stay productive while navigating the worst of morning sickness. Bec was doing the heavy lifting (literally and figuratively) to keep things running smoothly, but we were both feeling a bit flat. We became designers to be creative and help people bring their ideas to life – but it had begun to feel like we were just ticking boxes for corporate briefs.
Swell started as a passion project – born in a moment of burnout, morning sickness and a craving to do something that felt more like us.
Then one morning, Kristy was lying on a beanbag in the sun, reading a business book, when she came across a line that stopped her: “If making money wasn’t an issue – what would you be doing?”
She sat with it for a moment before calling for a quick breather. We walked to a nearby cafe (Momo Wholefoods) and Kristy threw the question out loud: “If money wasn’t a thing – what would you be doing?” And we both said it, without even thinking: “Making a magazine.”
It was one of those moments that’s so clear, you can’t ignore it. Overwhelming? Absolutely. We had no publishing experience, a busy business to run and a baby on the way. But we also knew that if we didn’t just start, the idea would stay just that – an idea.
By the end of the week, we’d picked the name, designed the logo, bought the domain and let our accountant know. Four months later, Swell was in print.
Since then, we’ve poured ourselves into every issue (almost 25 of them!). And while there are plenty of pinch-us moments – connecting with contributors, building a community of loyal readers, holding a fresh issue in our hands – it’s not all slow mornings and styled shoots. With a core team of just four (plus our amazing contributors), we wear all the hats: designers, writers, marketers, content creators, subscription packers and distributors. And that’s just Swell – we’re still running Design Bug too.
We’ve had tearful conversations about whether we could keep going. Print media is expensive. And we’ve felt the pressure that comes with wanting to do things well.
We’ve had tearful conversations about whether we could keep going. Print media is expensive. And we’ve felt the pressure that comes with wanting to do things well. But the reason we started has never changed: to create something real and meaningful in a fast-scrolling digital world. A place to slow down, even for a moment, and read a heartfelt story about a local doing something inspiring.
Every story in Swell is special, but a few from Issue 23 stand out. Dan Marshall’s feature really hit home – his shift from graphic design into publishing felt so familiar, and we saw so much of our own journey reflected in his. And Melinda’s story about struggling to relax had us laughing and nodding along. That sense of yep, same is one of the things we love most about the stories we get to share.
People often ask how we balance being founders and mums. The truth? We do our best. Flexibility helps – we can juggle sick days or change our hours – but that also means we’re working during nap times, school hours, nights and weekends. We constantly feel like we’re falling short somewhere, either in the business or at home. But we remind ourselves of two things: our kids are happy, and Swell is still here. That counts for a lot.
No, it’s not always glamorous. But it’s full of heart, connection and creativity. And sometimes that’s exactly the little nudge we need to keep going.
Take a look where it all began at the Launch of Issue 1.
