Interview – Laura Thornton & Colleen Shier

I had the opportunity to speak with two amazing design professionals, Colleen Shier of Spruce Interiors, and Laura Thornton of Thornton Design, in another round-table talk about knowing your value as design professionals, growing and adapting your business, and creating a unique process. (Hint: they both enrolled in Power of Process)

Colleen is the founder and principal of Spruce Interiors in Toronto. Her approachable demeanour and collaborative work style are as much a part of Spruce Interiors’ success as her talent for creating timeless, Iivable interiors, with client service and attention to detail as top priorities. Established in 2005, Spruce Interiors prides itself on well-established relationships with top suppliers, work rooms and trades as well as a loyal repeat clientele.

Laura Thornton’s journey to becoming an interior designer stemmed from her childhood, where she recalls her agonizing piano lessons with her two sisters every Saturday morning. It was there she discovered Architectural Digest publications because her piano teacher’s father was an architect and had an inspiring library. Laura went to University to study law and political science but quickly knew her heart and skill set was destined to be in Interior Design, where she ended up within her post-secondary schooling. She founded Thornton Design in 1999 and has established wonderful relationships with her clients, family, and friends, and loves offering her insights to inspire residential and commercial spaces. 

Our conversation focuses on their reasonings for taking my Power of Process course, and their experiences. They were both in my first cohort in Fall 2020, and made a huge impact with their willingness to learn, grow and share within our community. (Community is what we live for!) Although both Colleen and Laura have been in business for many years, they both saw the value in taking Power of Process to improve their existing systems and fine-tune their internal and client-facing processes.

This episode has incredibly interesting perspectives. Colleen is a solo residential designer, meanwhile Laura has a team and studio that service both residential and commercial. Being in the interior design industry can sometimes feel like you’re alone on an island and joining community can be just the resource you need. These ladies have enjoyed being part of a design community that is inclusive and collaborative and has helped them elevate their businesses. 

Hearing their stories and the impact my courses have had on their lives and business completely fills my heart. Colleen has jumped leaps and bounds with her business since her enrollment in the Momentum Challenge and Power of Process, while also changing her own mindset. Meanwhile Laura has changed her perspective on her existing process, which she has had for years, and fine-tuned it to better serve her clients and team.

There’s no roadmap to owning a business and evolving it through the years, but there are steps you can take to create a unique process that works for you right now as your foundation, which you can, later on, adapt and build upon as you grow and learn.

 

You can find Colleen at www.spruceinteriors.ca and on Instagram @spruceinteriors.ca

You can find Laura at www.laurathorntondesign.com and on Instagram @Thorntondesign