Kim Wilson
Some of the best design businesses are shaped not by a single vision but by a blend of the tension and trust between two people. Across fashion, interiors and homewares, dynamic duos are building brands that reflect a balance of their perspectives, places where creative instinct meets commercial thinking and ideas are constantly tested and refined. These partnerships are built not just on shared vision but also on difference.
At Sheet Society, husband and wife team Hayley and Andy Worley combine a fashion-led approach to bedding, prompting us to rethink the everyday rituals of the home. Sisters Elle and Alanah Giuliano of Twostyle bring contrasting aesthetics to their interior design practice. And married couple Marnie Goding and Adam Koniaras have spent more than two decades building their values-led fashion label, Elk, proving that design and responsibility can evolve together.
Here they reflect on how their businesses began, the skills and qualities each brings to the table, why collaboration has been central to doing things differently and how they handle tensions between their professional and personal lives.
“We’ve always been clear on our roles”: Hayley and Andy Worley, Sheet Society
Hayley: “When I launched the brand in 2017, the idea of buying sheets separately just wasn’t a thing. People were used to buying full sets, and that felt limiting. Coming from fashion, I wanted to shift the way people thought about their homes. I wanted them to dress their beds the way they dress themselves, changing colours and combinations with the seasons.
That thinking led into product innovation. Everyone has something they hate about making the bed, but instead of accepting those frustrations, I started reworking them. We added a zipper to the bottom of duvet covers instead of buttons, and a thick elastic to fitted sheets. Suppliers were confused by that because it was technically underwear elastic, so I went to the factory and literally showed them how to sew it on.
None of these ideas felt radical to me, but together they made a real difference. I couldn’t understand why legacy brands hadn’t improved these things. It felt there was a lot of complacency.
Since Andy came on board, running the business alongside family life has been a constant evolution. We’ve had three kids since starting Sheet Society, so there are times when one of us steps back while the other leans in. Our skills are very different, and we respect that. That balance is what makes it work.”
Andy: “My background is in working with retailers, negotiating margins, forecasting demand. In the early days, I stayed in a corporate role outside the company to provide stability while Hayley got the business off the ground. After our first child, I joined full-time.
We’ve always been clear on our roles. Hayley leads creative and brand, I focus on operations and strategy, looking at the business through an operational and commercial lens. That clarity helped us grow quickly, especially during COVID. When others pulled back, we doubled down. Our thinking was simple; if people can’t shop in stores, they’ll shop online.
Working as partners isn’t something we neatly switch off. We’ve tried rules, like no work talk at home, but we always end up discussing business. It’s just part of how we live.”
“We took a risk leaving the family business”: Elle and Alanah Giuliano, Twostyle
Elle: “Our family business is property development, so my sister Alanah and I always had a practical understanding of the industry. When Alanah finished studying fashion design and realised it wasn’t quite the right fit, we thought, why not start something together? Furniture and styling felt like a natural extension.
At first, we were just creating a business to service our family company, but we ended up going out on our own. We just wanted to create something for ourselves.
One thing that’s always been important to us is making sure our designs are practical and work in real life, not just conceptually. We design collaboratively, ensuring clients feel part of the process and that the outcome suits how they actually live.
She tells me I’m boring, I tell her she’s crazy, and we meet in the middle.
Elle Giuliano, Twostyle
Many people go into a furniture store and get a generic package. We built a business around curating furniture and interiors specifically for each home. While our background influenced us, we’re completely independent and the decision to step away from the family business meant taking a risk and proving ourselves.
Working together has always been a balance. We’re best friends, so of course there are moments when we argue, but it works well because we’re quite different. I tend to be more restrained, while Alanah pushes things further. She tells me I’m boring, I tell her she’s crazy, and we meet in the middle.
What drives us is the impact design can have. A recent project was an apartment that had been abandoned for years. It was like stepping back in time, but it had an incredible view. We transformed it and seeing the effect on the clients was everything. It’s not just about making something look good in photos, it’s about creating spaces that genuinely make people feel better.”
Alanah: “I’ve always embraced that contrast in how we work. If Elle designs a room and I design the same room, they’ll look different. I’m drawn to colour, texture and layering, while she prefers something more restrained. But that difference is exactly why it works. I push Elle to be more daring, and she pushes me to keep things timeless. Sometimes that creates debate, but it usually lands in a good middle ground.
That balance extends to the way we run the business. One thing that stands out is how involved we make our clients in the process. We guide them, but we design around their vision and their lifestyle. Good design isn’t about imposing a look, it’s about collaboration, making people feel comfortable, included and ultimately at home in the spaces we create.”
“Having an impact takes time, not statements”: Marnie Goding and Adam Koniaras, Elk
Marnie: “We’ve always been a family-first, values-driven fashion brand. We’re not a venture capital-backed, shareholder-chasing company, so every decision we make can be built on a different foundation. That has meant asking how we can do things differently.
When we started more than 20 years ago, sustainability and transparency were not mainstream conversations. We embedded those ideas early on. That made life harder because we still had to be profitable, but it also made the work more meaningful.
In the early days, a lot of what we wanted to do simply wasn’t possible – the materials, suppliers, and systems didn’t exist as they do now. But slowly we’ve been able to do more of what we wanted to do from the beginning.
A big part of that is working through the supply chain, developing sustainability action plans with suppliers, helping them set realistic goals and improve over time. One of our biggest suppliers is now solar-powered. It was a long process, but that change came from years of sitting down together, asking questions and working through what was achievable. That’s what real impact looks like. It’s not about making a statement. It’s about doing the slow, practical work.
We’re also thinking more about circularity. One of our biggest initiatives is Elk Renewed, where we take back worn garments, repair or remake them, relabel them, and put them back into circulation. I see that as a major part of the future of fashion. Customers are already shifting towards pre-loved clothing, and brands have to take responsibility for the waste they create and give products a second, third or fourth life.
The smaller things matter too. We compost, recycle extensively, repurpose waste into store props, and try to embed these habits across the whole business.”
Adam: “I saw very early that Marnie was ahead of the curve. When she first said she wanted to go down the sustainability path, it was still a very new concept. We were definitely early adopters. The way I think about it is simple – profit matters, but not at any cost.
That philosophy shapes the way we work together, too. Marnie leads the creative and brand side, while I focus more on operations and strategy. We have been married since 2001, so there is already deep trust there, but just as important is respect. I respect what she does, she respects what I do, and that carries into the business.
What I think has really helped us is that these values are not just words. Our team believe in them, too. When things get tough, people step up because they feel connected to what we are trying to build. That shared sense of purpose has been one of our biggest strengths.”
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