Rural New South Wales was the backdrop of Kristy and Bec’s carefree childhood in Gunnedah. They spent weekends learning to be good sports while competing at gymnastics competitions, playing netball and basketball, and traipsing to nearby towns for their brother Luke’s soccer carnivals. Looking back, they realise just how fortunate they were to have such a happy-go-lucky upbringing; one where sleepovers and hiring video tapes were regular treats (The Castle was a family favourite), and summer holidays were spent by the beach at South West Rocks and Terrigal.
The sisters shared a bedroom and, despite their mother’s attempt at styling it for them, the budding designers eagerly put their own stamp on this space. They laugh about how the experience of sharing a room reflected their differences in age, personality and style. “It was like there was an invisible line drawn down the middle of the room,” Kristy says with a laugh. “You could pick which side of the wardrobe belonged to who. We had very different tastes – I loved Dolly magazine, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Devon Sawa, while Bec was into frangipanis and dolphins.”
A few years can feel like a lifetime while growing up, so the six-year age gap between Kristy and Bec stopped them from becoming too close, even though they shared a room. While Kristy was eating leftover Chinese in bed at 2am just after turning eighteen, Bec was pulling the covers over her head and promising to never follow her sister’s lead. However, by the time Bec turned eighteen, that promise was long forgotten, and she followed her sister’s footsteps by moving to Newcastle to study graphic design.
“You could pick which side of the wardrobe belonged to who. We had very different tastes – I loved Dolly magazine, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Devon Sawa, while Bec was into frangipanis and dolphins.”
As kids they simply assumed they would become teachers like their parents. Gradually they developed their own interest in art and design, and graphic design felt like the perfect fit. The idea of leaving their country hometown to start university was exciting enough, and neither suspected that becoming business owners was something they were destined for.
Kristy graduated and landed her first job as a graphic designer in 2007. But then two years later, she seriously injured her back and had to start freelancing so she could work from home. Bec was in her second year of university when Kristy’s workload became unmanageable, and she jumped at the opportunity to gain agency experience while studying. This however wasn’t a typical nine-to-five gig. They lived across the road from each other, and Bec would often dart over to Kristy’s place in the middle of the night in her pyjamas to finish off projects.
By the time Bec graduated, there was enough work for two people and the pair has been inseparable ever since. “We didn’t plan to start a business together, it just kind of happened,” Kristy recalls. “We were fortunate because when many siblings establish a business, one has to stay in a full-time job elsewhere while the other builds the business.”
This however wasn’t a typical nine-to-five gig. They lived across the road from each other, and Bec would often dart over to Kristy’s place in the middle of the night in her pyjamas to finish off projects.
Their six-year age gap is no longer an issue. And while they still can’t agree on whether Kristy is too tidy or Bec is too messy, they’ve learned to love their duality, because that is what makes them such great friends and business partners. When Kristy gets carried away with an idea, Bec is able to pull her back to reality. “Working together has made us closer,” they say. “We enjoy each other’s company and we know our differences as far as style and what we like.”
Their six-year age gap is no longer an issue. And while they still can’t agree on whether Kristy is too tidy or Bec is too messy, they’ve learned to love their duality, because that is what makes them such great friends and business partners.
Design Bug is now over fifteen years old and is responsible for creating brands that are a visual treat. They’ve worked with clients from cafés through to banks, and Kristy admits that she wouldn’t have been able to grow the agency with anyone but Bec. “She has taught me to let go of stuff and chill out,” she says.
This innate trust meant that when Kristy went on maternity leave nine years ago, there were no issues with Bec running the agency. By that stage they had settled into a comfortable rhythm, with a design style and process that clients liked. However, Kristy was eight weeks pregnant with her second child when they decided to start a magazine, meaning things weren’t so straightforward the second time around.
It was mid-2018 and they were on a routine coffee break when they started chatting about what they would do if they weren’t running Design Bug. In unison they both said, “making a magazine”. Launching a magazine wasn’t the first idea they’d had for a second business over the years – in fact, their accountant was pretty accustomed to working through ideas with them – but this felt right.
“We were both really excited about this plan,” Kristy recalls.
With the imminent arrival of baby number two dictating their launch timeframe, there was no time to waste. The baby stayed put long enough for them to get the first issue out, and Kristy was editing their second issue at forty weeks pregnant.
Design Bug had grown organically at a pace they could both handle, but the magazine presented a whole gamut of new challenges. “We forgot what starting a small business was like,” Bec says. “Starting a new business that we had no experience in was so different. We knew we could produce a magazine that looked good, but we had no publishing experience.”
“We forgot what starting a small business was like,” Bec says. “Starting a new business that we had no experience in was so different. We knew we could produce a magazine that looked good, but we had no publishing experience.”
As well as learning the ropes of the magazine industry, the sisters were also learning to manage the guilt that came from needing all hands on-deck. Bec felt bad that Kristy was supposed to be on maternity leave but was regularly needed in the office, and Kristy felt guilty that she couldn’t share the workload equally. They were dealing with everything from distribution through to nation-wide paper shortages, and they needed each other’s constant support.
They’ve also had to get friendly with the nemesis of every creative person: spreadsheets. “With Design Bug we have budgeting in place, but in a different way because we weren’t having to produce something that costs a certain amount of money every quarter,” Bec says. “If we have a slow few weeks, a busy time will always follow. With Swell we budget in a way that we have never had to budget before.”
The two lessons they’ve taken from the experience are accepting that they can’t control everything and that it’s okay to ask for help, especially from family. Learning to accept these things took a while, and they now understand why people looked at them in disbelief when they explained they were running two businesses with one partner on maternity leave.
It is an undertaking they admit they couldn’t do if they weren’t sisters. “I don’t mind if my nephew is talking in the background when we’re on the phone,” Bec says, while Kristy adds that work gives her a creative release from the throes of motherhood. It’s a blurred blend of business and family that works for them most of the time, except when they get lost in an idea at a family get-together and end up in their own bubble. Their family doesn’t protest, because they’re all involved in different ways – whether that’s helping to distribute the magazine, proofreading articles or offering last-minute babysitting.
As graphic designers, Kristy and Bec are not the type to lock themselves away in a creative cave. Both have always built strong client relationships through Design Bug and say that talking to others inspires them more than any design book.
By that logic, starting a magazine has been the perfect creative outlet, and it’s also given them new perspectives to draw on for their client work.
With Newcastle and its inhabitants being the primary muse for their creativity, they love being able to give back to the city by sharing its stories.
With Newcastle and its inhabitants being the primary muse for their creativity, they love being able to give back to the city by sharing its stories. So when people comment that they’re spilling Newcastle’s best-kept secrets in Swell, they know the magazine is doing its job. “There are so many people here doing amazing things and we should all support them,” Kristy says. “It is a community that people wouldn’t expect in a city – so this weekend visit somewhere you haven’t seen in the city or explore a new suburb. Go out and do something different.”
Embracing the new and unfamiliar is something they have learned to become comfortable with, even when it feels daunting. After taking the plunge time and time again, and continuing to resurface with their sibling relationship still in tact, they know they’ll be able to keep facing challenges together as both business partners and sisters.
