o&o studio Showcases a Beautiful Partnership in Design

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o&o studio is more than a business, it’s a family. Leah and Peter Ogden met while living in New York City, and both happened to be in the design industry—Peter teaching for Shillington School of Graphic Design and Leah working as a project manager for the design and development firm, The Brooklyn Home Company. Dating led to a cross country move to Chicago where they were married and are now rooted in Leah’s hometown of Milwaukee. Peter, however, is a bit further from his hometown of Canberra, Australia, but the couple makes the trek across the globe when they can. Shorewood residents and parents to their nearly-3-year-old daughter May, these two have created an integrated brand and interiors service that is meeting a growing need across the Greater Midwest and beyond.

What paths did you each take to get to where you are now with your own business?

We’ve always had grand visions to work together in some capacity. When we decided to leave New York in 2015, we designed an all-day cafe based in Chicago as a conceptual project for each of our portfolios. Too bad we didn’t shop this idea around sooner given the recent popularity of all-day cafes!

When we arrived in Chicago, Peter shifted from more traditional graphic design (primarily identity, publication and web design) to working in the environmental branding field with Gensler, the world’s largest architecture firm. There, he teamed with architects and interior designers on a host of high-profile corporate workplace interiors projects. Leah literally went the opposite direction and “cold-emailed” some smaller, boutique design firms and, as it happened, one of those firms—SPACE Architects + Planners—was looking to hire an in-house interior designer. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Leah was hired to lead the interior design on various projects, but it was the hospitality work that really got her excited.

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Fast forward to Milwaukee in 2018, Peter started working at Kahler Slater yet Leah found herself struggling to find another “perfect match” at the design firms here. Another opportunity sort of fell in her lap when she met one of the few women general contractors in the city, Angela Westmore (she also happened to be Leah’s parents’ neighbor for 10 years). Leah ended up working part-time for Angela while starting to build her own interior design business. Working with Angela was another incredible experience as Leah learned the ins and outs of general contracting and started to develop relationships with vendors—a key aspect of our industry.

As for many others, it took the experience of the pandemic to prompt the kind of career-reflection that gave rise to o&o becoming a reality. The collaboration had already begun through brand needs on some of Leah’s existing interiors projects, and Peter was also finding leads through his network of former colleagues and clients. Added to that was an increasing need for flexibility in our home life with pandemic-related childcare challenges—so, in June 2021 we took the leap and o&o studio was born.

What was your first project in Milwaukee as o&o studio?

Our first full-scale project as o&o studio technically started before we were an official business. We were introduced to North Avenue Market, a community-based food hall in a converted 1940s bank in the Uptown neighborhood of Milwaukee, by our friends at Galbraith Carnahan Architects in May 2020. We are pleased to say that after nearly 2.5 years of blood, sweat and tears, the Market is open for business!

Which aspects of the business does each of you manage?

Part of the beauty of keeping things small and close is the ability (and need) to dabble in all aspects of running the business at different times. Outside of the design disciplines themselves, Leah manages the accounting side of things and Peter handles the branding & positioning of o&o.

How do you separate work and life being that you’re married and working together?

To be honest, we don’t! We typically work seven days a week but it’s about how we manage our time. Most days are split between work and family—but we’re in it together. We share an office so it’s actually quite fun to look over your shoulder and see a project develop in real time. Plus, we’re very particular about the projects we take on—if a project doesn’t naturally warrant evening cocktail brainstorms, then it probably isn’t the right one for us!

What project are you most proud of?

This is a tough one because each project has its special moments. However, both of us have a family history of dementia so it’s been really fulfilling to work in the senior living space. In early 2019, Leah was introduced to our now longest standing client, Aaron Matter of Matter Development, to design the interiors for a senior living development in Oconomowoc. Leah brought in Peter (through his employer, Kahler Slater, at the time) to develop the brand identity and position it as a leader in the senior living development space here in Wisconsin. Named after Ole Evinrude (the inventor of the reliable outboard motor) Evin at Oconomowoc opened in January of 2021 and won an ASID Design Excellence award this past June.

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What projects are coming up in the future that you’re excited about?

Our second Matter Development senior living project—Lumia Mequon—is under construction and should be completed in Spring 2023. Our third Matter Development senior living project in Pewaukee—The Westerly—is currently in the design development phase.

We’re also working on a sandwich shop, Sully’s Sandwiches, in Wauwatosa. It’s a new concept from the owner of Miss Molly’s Cafe.

We’ve been part of the planning for a confidential hospitality project on the East Side. We’ll be eager to share more when we’re given the green light to discuss it publicly.

How can people contact you if they’re interested in working with you?

Our website is in development (you can sneak a peek at oando.studio) but you can shoot us a message at hello@oando.studio. Also, you can follow us on Instagram and send us a message there, @oandostudio