International Women’s Day: The Power of Growing, Building and Belonging

International Women’s Day always makes me stop and reflect. Not on perfection or polished success, but on the messy, beautiful, unedited reality of building a life and a career that feels true.

Five years ago, I became a single mum...four children, a growing business, big decisions to make, and no map to follow. It has been joyful, empowering, and exhausting...often all at once.

There is a freedom that comes with stepping into responsibility on your own terms. Making decisions rooted in clarity. Learning to trust your instincts. Designing a life that works for you and your family. But there’s also the fatigue that sits deep in your bones, the late nights after the children have gone to bed, the mental load that never takes a break, the constant juggling of care and work and business strategy.

It hasn’t always been easy. But it has taught me so much about resilience, self-belief and what really matters.

Today, five years in, I feel like I’m finally finding my feet.

Professionally, my work with Architecture Ventures has matured in ways I never would have predicted. I’ve learned what it means to lead with intention — to put the experience of people and families at the centre of design, to look for opportunities in existing spaces before defaulting to bigger solutions, and to bring clarity and calm to what can feel like overwhelming decisions.

Instagram

And then there is Shropshire Women in Business, now entering its second year. What started as a simple idea has become a community with heart. A creative force. A group of women who don’t just show up for themselves, but for one another.

This year we published a book!! an achievement that feels like a shared heartbeat rather than a personal trophy. It’s a testament to what happens when women build with each other, generously, authentically, without ego.

There are so many women who have made this journey richer:

Katie, my wingwoman at SWIB, steady, smart, generous. Someone who brings out the best in ideas and makes them real.

Kelly, a constant reminder that we can grow beyond the patterns we were raised with and consciously build lives that look different to anything we were taught to expect.

Lydia, whose friendship holds across distance and time, proof that true connection isn’t limited by geography.

My godmother, whose encouragement and belief have been a quiet anchor through so many seasons.

My daughter who is brave, bright, wildly curious, whose spirit inspires me every day to show up more fully.

All the other women in this community who are ambitious, kind, hard-working, real, who choose support over comparison, collaboration over competition, connection over isolation.

What I know now, more deeply than ever, is that female friendship matters. Not just as a nice-to-have, but as a source of energy, courage, and clarity. We expand each other’s capacity just by being in each other’s orbits. We remind one another of what’s possible. We carry each other through the days that feel too long and celebrate the ones that feel too short.

International Women’s Day isn’t about perfection. It’s about growth. Deep connection. Learning from our past while shaping our future. It’s about women building lives and businesses that reflect who we actually are, not who we’re told to be.

So today, I feel grateful.

Grateful for the work I get to do.

Grateful for the community that surrounds me.

Grateful for the women who choose strength, kindness and ambition every day.

Here’s to women who grow, build and belong...together.

Why I Get Building Quotes Early (And Why You’ll Thank Me For It)

One of the most important – and often most misunderstood – parts of my process happens long before planning permission or construction begins. It comes right after we’ve developed a design you love. Not at the end, not once you’re emotionally committed, and certainly not once months of work have gone into something that might not align with your budget. Instead, this is the moment we invite the builder in and ask for real numbers. It’s the step that protects you the most.

This January especially, building costs have shifted sharply. Materials, labour and availability have all increased, and some of the estimates landing in my clients’ inboxes have been enough to test even the calmest nerves. When a quote comes back higher than expected, it can feel like a heavy blow. It can momentarily feel as though the project is slipping away. But I gently remind every client of the same thing: this isn’t a setback, it’s clarity. And clarity is power.

By getting quotes early, when the design is still flexible, we give ourselves options. At this stage you already have the vision and the drawings. You understand how your home could flow better, where the light will come from and how your everyday life might change. Adding realistic costs simply grounds those ideas in reality. This is the moment when a project becomes buildable rather than hypothetical, and it’s often where the very best design decisions happen.

Once the estimate arrives, we don’t panic. We sit down with the builders together and go through it carefully, line by line. We talk through each element, looking at what’s essential, what could be achieved in a smarter or simpler way and what might quietly fall into the category of ‘nice to have’. Sometimes we tweak. Sometimes we simplify. Occasionally we remove something entirely. What almost always happens, though, is that the project becomes clearer and stronger. The fluff falls away and what remains are the parts that genuinely transform how you live – better light, better flow, better use of the space you already have. Not simply more square metres for the sake of it, which has never been my approach.

Clients who have renovated before tend to welcome this stage. They recognise it as an essential part of shaping a project into something realistic and comfortable. First-timers often find it deeply unnerving, which is completely understandable. Homes are emotional, and money is emotional too, so seeing the two meet on a spreadsheet can feel confronting. That’s exactly why I don’t leave you to navigate it alone.

My role isn’t just to design beautiful spaces. It’s to guide you through the entire journey. I translate builder language, explain every figure, protect your priorities and adjust the design intelligently so you always feel informed and in control. We’re not cutting corners. We’re refining. We’re making thoughtful decisions that ensure every pound is working hard for you and your home.

Looking honestly at costs takes courage, but avoiding them until later is far riskier. Early quotes mean fewer surprises, fewer sleepless nights and projects that actually get the green light. Because ultimately, a beautiful design only matters if it can be built.

If you’re considering transforming your home, invite the numbers in early. Understand them, work with them and let me guide you calmly and practically through the process until we’re standing on site watching it all come to life. That’s always the goal.

Seeing Potential and Beauty in the Undervalued

At the heart of everything I create — whether it's a home, an interior, or a piece of jewellery - lies a single principle: to see potential and beauty in what others might overlook.

It's an instinct that has guided me throughout my career. I'm drawn to the undervalued, the awkward, the forgotten. The homes that feel disconnected, the furniture waiting to be reimagined, the box of broken jewellery that seems beyond repair.

To me, these are not limitations - they are opportunities. Across all of my ventures - Architecture Ventures, Leopard House, Fontainebleau Jewellery, and Glam Warrior - 1 practise what I call creative pragmatism: the balance between imagination and execution. It's not only about recognising potential, but about realising it - translating creative vision into tangible, lasting transformation.

At Architecture Ventures, that philosophy underpins every project. Rather than defaulting to extension, I explore how the existing space can be optimised. By refining flow, light and functionality, I help clients rediscover the home they already have - often with results more elegant and cost- effective than a full rebuild.

At Leopard House, where I design bespoke interiors and signature upholstered headboards, the same approach continues. Every design begins with an understanding of proportion, texture, and purpose. It's about creating pieces that enhance a space while feeling grounded - crafted with intention rather than excess.

Through Fontainebleau Jewellery, I explore this idea on a more intimate scale. I take broken or discarded jewellery and reconfigure it into new, imaginative pieces or creative kits that allow others to experience that process of renewal for themselves. It's transformation through play — a tactile reminder that beauty can emerge from what's been forgotten.

And then there's Glam Warrior, my ready-to-wear jewellery label made from reimagined rubber inner tubes. These sculptural, almost architectural pieces push the boundaries of material and form. They embody strength, structure, and individuality - qualities that echo throughout my architectural and interior work.

For me, seeing potential in the undervalued isn't just acreative act; it's a way of thinking. It's about approaching every project — from a family home to a piece of jewellery - with the same respect for what already exists, and the same commitment to bring out its hidden beauty through considered design and craftsmanship.

That's the thread that connects all my work: vision balanced with pragmatism, creativity grounded in clarity, and a belief that beauty often begins where others stop looking.

About the Author:Camilla Monk is the founder of Architecture Ventures, SWIB (Shropshire Women in Business), Leopard House Interiors, Fontainebleau Jewellery, and Glam Warrior. Her work - spanning architecture, interiors, and jewellery - is united by a philosophy of creative pragmatism: a belief in transforming the undervalued through thoughtful design, clarity of vision, and craftsmanship that endures.

Creativity Is my gateway drug

For as long as I can remember, creativity has been my way in. my way into calm, into focus, into connection - and ultimately into better architecture.

I’ve learned over the years that my most productive architectural ideas rarely appear when I’m sitting at a desk, staring at plans. They arrive when I’m doing something entirely different - lost in the rhythm of making, creating with my hands. Whether I’m reupholstering a worn-out chair, transforming an old piece of furniture into something beautiful again, or piecing together fragments of broken jewellery into a brand-new design for my recycled jewellery company, Fontainebleau Jewellery, I find myself entering a kind of meditative flow. My anxious mind quotes down, my thoughts become lighter, and ideas begin to surface on their own.

In my blog “Making Time for Anxious Minds” on the FontaineBleau Jewellery website, I talk about creativity as a form of therapy - a way to steady myself in a noisy, fast-paced world. What I didn’t realise then was how deeply that process fuels my professional life as an Architect and Interior Designer.

The creative crossovers are constant. When I take a tangled chain or a box of discarded beads and see potential - the glint of what could be - it mirror exactly how I see architecture. I look at a tired, difficult house, awkwardly laid out and immediately start to imagine how light could move through it differently, how the flow of space could improve, how it could feel alive again and support the lives of the family living there.

Reimagining spaces and reimagining objects come from the same creative instinct: the ability to see beyond what’s there, to trust that beauty and function are waiting just beneath the surface. To see potential.

Even my love of thrift shopping feeds this same impulse. Finding a one-of-a-kind jacket or bold vintage dress isn’t just about fashion for me - it’s about expression. About layering textures, colours and stories to create something personal and unexpected. The way I dress - colourful, playful, sometimes a little offbeat! - is another form of design thinking. It’s how I remind myself, family, that creativity isn’t limited to projects or deadlines. It’s a way of being.

The truth is, my architectural work, my furniture restorations, my jewellery kits, and even my wardrobe all come from the same place: a deep curiosity about how things can be reimagined.

So yes - creativity is my gateway drug. It’s the thing that studies my mind when life feels too full. The thing that keeps me connected to joy. And the thing that makes me a sharper, move intuitive architect when I finally sit back down at my desk.

Because creativity doesn’t drain my energy - it restores it.

About the Author

Camilla Monk is the founder of Architecture Ventures Ltd an architectural and interior design practice based in Shropshire. Known for her zero-build-first approach, she helps families transform the homes they already have into spaces that feel effortless, light-filled and beautifully considered. Alongside her architecture work, she is also the founder of Fontainebleau Jewellery, where she designs creative jewellery-making kits and reimagines vintage and broken pieces into something new

Ready to reimagine your home?

If you’re dreaming of a home that flows better, feels calmer and reflects your family’s lift today - start a conversation and get in touch to begin