Hi, I’m Leanne!
“I want to create homes that are as good for me and my family’s health and wellness, as they are for the environment we live in.”
So, you might ask, what’s the story behind Indigo + Wolf.
Firstly, the name comes together from a few areas. Indigo is my daughter’s name. It is also a colour that increases calmness, an emotion that I believe is at the heart of creating a home - it’s that feeling of walking in the front door from wherever you have been and whatever you have been doing, and feeling that ah moment where you are so glad to be home. My son’s middle name is Wolf - passed down from my Dad, Wolfgang. It’s also a nod to nature which sits firmly within the ethos I want to create around building homes with an eco-friendly construction footprint. Lastly, it’s also a connection to what I see as my wolf-pack - the wonderful women of the BuildHerCollective all helping and uniting with each other to unleash their potential and build incredible homes.
Indigo + Wolf is the culmination of a long time dream of mine.
Right from the word go, I wanted to do something in my life that was creative. I studied art at high school and fully expected to continue on with art school or graphic design, however was told my art wasn’t good enough. Being so young, I didn’t explore this further and went on to do my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and an Advertising Certificate at TAFE thinking I could get into the world of advertising as a creative! I ended up getting into advertising - as a Media Coordinator at George Patterson Bates, a leading ad agency in Sydney. I had no idea what media was - however everyone told me ‘start here’, and you can move around once you’re in! Fast forward…and the next 18 years were all spent in the world of media - a career that I truly loved, and where I achieved many outstanding accolades particularly in the area of digital media and marketing. However, it also exhausted me and pushed my health to its’ limits. It was time for a break.
While searching for what to do next, I started looking into areas that could improve my health such as the concept of slow living and mindfulness and removing processed foods from my diet. I started de-cluttering my home - getting rid of all plastic, chemically-laden cleaning and laundry products, perfumes, and fake scented candles. I signed up for courses in low tox living, interior design, home renovations, and integrated nutrition in the hope that tapping into these interests would unveil a new direction career-wise. And, in the midst of all of this, I started a family and became a mamma to my two gorgeous children, Jagger (4) and Indigo (2); and married Murray in Byron Bay in 2019 - the best wedding ever!
Now it’s time for me!
Indigo + Wolf brings together my love of creativity and home renovations, with my passion for living as low tox as we can (and that doesn’t mean perfectly!). I want to create homes that are as good for me and my family’s health and wellness, as they are for the environment we live in. That means where possible, I’m going to source natural materials, use principles in design and construction to create thermally efficient homes, bring nature inside, and think about how to optimise the environment for our overall wellness.
I’d love for you to follow my blog or view the before and afters of the homes I’m renovating. Email or send me a DM and say hi!
I’d also like to give a huge thanks to Anita Woods from @mana.projects for letting me use her gorgeous home for the pics of me on this website, and to Prue Aja from @prue_aja_photography for taking them. Forever grateful!
I hope you come along the journey with me.