Three generations, countless cups of tea, and more lessons than any business degree could ever offer.
Family businesses are peculiar things — part kitchen table, part boardroom, sustained by love, luck, and a faint sense of disbelief that it all still works. Ours began long before Brix + Bailey existed, in the hands of the generation before us: clever, independent people who believed that design and determination could build a life.
We inherited their ambition, their sketchbooks, and perhaps their stubbornness. Working with family has proved the most rewarding and most humbling experience imaginable — a long apprenticeship in diplomacy, patience, and the delicate art of separating Sunday roast from quarterly review.
Lesson One — Know When to Change Hats
In a family business, roles blur easily. One moment you’re discussing budgets; the next you’re being reminded you forgot your mother’s birthday. We learned the importance of boundaries — that affection mustn’t drown accountability. Disagree, debate, apologise, repeat. Tea helps.
Lesson Two — Respect the Past Without Living In It
Legacy is inspiring but heavy. We treasure the craft and principles passed down to us, yet we’ve had to reinvent them for a faster, noisier world. The trick is not to preserve the past in amber, but to let it evolve gracefully — to translate rather than imitate.
Lesson Three — Markets Are Unsentimental
The marketplace doesn’t care who you are; it cares what you offer. We’ve learned to separate emotion from decision-making. Love the people fiercely, let go of the products bravely, and never mistake nostalgia for strategy.
Lesson Four — Failure Is a Surprisingly Good Teacher
Every misstep has been oddly educational. Failure, treated kindly, has a sense of humour. It points out what you missed and sends you back to the drawing board with better pencils. We try to listen.
Three generations later, we’re still learning: how to stay independent without becoming insular, how to grow without losing warmth. The lessons never stop — they simply get better lit.
If you’ve ever worked with family, you’ll know the joy and the chaos. And if you haven’t, perhaps this is a small reminder that every enterprise, however polished, is powered by people doing their best — and occasionally, their worst — together.
We’ve told our story, but we’re curious about yours.
If you’ve worked with family — or tried and wisely decided not to — what did it teach you?
Tell us below. We promise to read every word (and quite possibly quote you over dinner).
Stay curious. There’s more to come.
