Our story
Welcome to Owl & Vine, and welcome to our very first blog!
It’s been a busy and exciting week here at O&V HQ - we’ve officially launched our business services, website and social media pages, all whilst juggling working on our private projects, full time “day jobs” and general life adulting!
It’s taken almost a year of prepping behind the scenes: researching the dos and don’ts of setting up a small business, bank accounts, insurance, incorporation, tax, marketing, website and social media content creation, and whilst we’ve still got plenty on our to do list, we are very ready to start taking on more clients.
In the week since going live, we’ve already lost count of how many times we’ve been asked, ‘Why “Owl & Vine"‘?”, so we thought we’d take this opportunity to properly introduce ourselves and give you all a brief history of the brand, business and it’s founders.
Who are we?
Currently, we are a team of two: Reece Hogan (that’s me!), our in house designer and Martin Delaney who looks after our lovely clients. Between us, we’ve built up years of experience working within various other organisations, but finally bit the bullet in late 2023 and decided we were ready to go it alone.
Oh, and we’re also a couple!
Reece and Martin, founders of Owl & Vine
Why we do what we do
I’ve always been passionate about being creative - whether that’s drawing, painting, embroidery, sculpture… you name it - I’ve done it!
I first discovered the world of interior design at the tender age of 15 whilst researching ideas for my GCSE Art “final piece”. It was a (questionably constructed) clay model of a room triptych, which included a bathroom, living room and bedroom with hand painted “bespoke” wallpaper.
Whilst searching for wallpaper inspiration, I stumbled across a school library book about textile designer and all round creative genius, William Morris (which I still have to this day…ssh, don’t tell them!) and instantly fell in love with the intricate vines, wildlife and symmetry which influenced much of his work. It was in this book that I found the beautiful scrolling leaves and berries of Newill, the embroidery design which would ultimately become the inspiration for our company name (depending on which of us you ask; Martin likes to tell people it’s because we love owls and wine…which is also true!).
Newill in ivory & sage, by Morris & Co
Despite my fascination with the world of interiors, coming from a single, working class family meant that I never really considered interior design as a viable career option until slightly later on in life.
Ultimately, I chose to study Law at university, and upon graduation, promptly realised it wasn’t for me! After university, I found myself in an operations role within a construction company, which whilst giving me a solid understanding of the built environment, wasn’t quite fulfilling my creative urges. From there, I moved into an operations & studio assistant role at a prestigious London interior design and architecture studio - and from there on out I was hooked.
In the years following, I gradually worked my way up the ranks across various well known interior design studios, often working on an advisory basis with regards to the operations and day to day running of an interior design business.
Through the years, I worked hard to build up the knowledge and experience that I knew I would need to eventually achieve my goal of running my very own studio. And the rest, as they say, is history!
Whilst Martin isn’t a designer, his broad experience in project management & customer satisfaction, as well as his organised and pragmatic nature is a real asset to the company.
Having grown up around various property renovations, and having planned and managed his own home improvement projects, he has developed a real flair and passion for the process. He also gained some hands on experience whilst working alongside a building contractor specialising in commercial and residential renovations during a recent career break.
Now in his (very) early 40’s, he only wishes he had embarked on a career in this sector sooner!
What inspires us?
Interior design in the modern day can feel like a sea of grey, cold, uncomfortable, un-functional, and uninspiring spaces.
Our goal is to turn this phenomenon on it’s head by taking inspiration from the past and the natural world around us to create warm, characterful and stylish interiors, without compromising on comfort.
Rhododendrons at Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park, south west London
We are lucky enough to be based in south west London, where parks, rivers and green spaces galore are right on our doorstep, as well as being just a stone’s throw from the architectural haven that is Central London.
Wildflower meadow in Syon Park, Isleworth, south west London
London’s great galleries, museums and exhibitions are of course a fruitful source of creative inspiration, but being on the outskirts of the city means we can easily hop in the car and head out to the Surrey countryside, or the Sussex and Hampshire coastlines to take in the natural beauty that can be found within nature.
The beach at Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire
Despite my first love being interior design, I’ve recently discovered the joys of ‘exterior design’, namely, gardening. I’ll write a separate blog on my journey into becoming the keen gardener I am today, as I could go on for days! But it’s worth mentioning here how lucky I am to have a whole wealth of nature led inspiration outside my very own back door.
Our back garden in Isleworth last summer. Please excuse the astroturf, we’re working on that!
Well, that wraps up our first blog, and if you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading!
We’ll aim to get a new blog out every week, so please do check back here for some interior design advice, top industry tips and maybe a little more about us!
Reece x
