We always showcase our work, but thought it was an appropriate time, launching a new blog and all, to talk about us! It’s time we share a little bit more about the r+e behind re:Design and how we got to where we are now! We love what we do and knowing a bit about our history helps to understand why we work so well together and have so much fun while doing it! But really, this is just an excuse for us to get all sentimental!

The Early Years:

We were both born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We didn’t cross paths until 2010, when we both headed to the University of Manitoba and started the Environmental Design Program in the Faculty of Architecture. This is where our over a decade long friendship all started!

We would go on to join the Interior Design stream in the faculty and work closely on many projects throughout school! This is where our working dynamic started! We learned a ton from each other and how to push through tough deadlines, while still being friends! We travelled together and learned to balance our time between work and play!

What Came Next:

I think we can yada yada over most of what happened after graduation! Emily got her Masters of Interior Design, Robyn starting working, we hung out/travelled and then boom 4 years later ro.jo prints was born!

In 2017, our business venture started out with primarily graphic design. We had an Etsy shop and used our creative skills to make some custom prints! This allowed us to learn the ins and outs of social media on a manageable scale and gave us some time to get our ducks in a row in order to launch into the interior design world again.

From ro.jo To re:Design:

Then, in 2018 we officially rebranded and launched re:Design! For those of you who don’t know where our name came from - it’s simply the first letters of our names! We experimented with a lot of different graphics (see below for a sampling), but we had the name set from the start!

During our first trip to Montreal together, we found tons of inspiration while wondering the streets of Old Montreal! The Cité Mémoire signs scattered throughout the area were a big part of where our brand inspo started. Combine that with the amazing pink signage of Garde Manger restaurant, and bam! We had found a combo we loved! You can see how our branding evolved and how we translated it into our neon sign house! As we have moved into 2022, we have slightly simplified our branding, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t love where it started!

re:Design Studio 2022:

Let’s be honest, we’ve had a lot of concepts that have fallen by the wayside since we started in 2018. Some early concepts that we thought would be gold, were quickly phased out. If you could only see the flip charts of what the global empire of re:Design was going to be! Even now, we make the time to sit down and recap on what is working and what is not! We are constantly working to improve what we are doing.

You would be surprised how many people told us that it was a bad idea to get into business with a friend. You would also be surprised how many people told us we couldn’t make remote design work either. Not to worry - we adore proving people wrong!

It has taken more than enough hard work and countless hours perfecting many… many details, but we are so happy we took the leap 4 years ago! Thanks to each other, our partners, family, friends and our amazing clients who have supported us along the way!

Now go enjoy our brand new website!

Where We Came From

The Early Years:

What Came Next:

From ro.jo To re:Design:

re:Design Studio 2022:

Our First Project