We recently connected with Lauren Maxwell and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

The risk? Starting The Suite Studio before I was “ready.”

I launched my custom wedding stationery business while working a full-time job in environmental consulting, with a newborn baby, in the middle of building a house. No investors. No safety net. No perfectly curated brand strategy. Just a gut feeling that if I didn’t do this now, I’d regret it. I’m also a very impulsive person, so, why not!

At the time, it didn’t make sense on paper. I wasn’t a full-time designer. I didn’t live in a major city. I didn’t have wedding planner connections or a luxury client base. What I did have was a deep obsession with paper, color, texture, and creating, and a relentless drive to build something of my own that wasn’t constrained by 9-to-5 logic or generic design templates.

The risk wasn’t just time or money. It was creative credibility. It was walking into an industry filled with legacy players and saying actually, I belong here too. Watch me. It was putting my work out there with my name on it and trusting that someone out there would see the value in it.

And people did.

Since then, The Suite Studio has grown into something I’m incredibly proud of. I’ve booked high-end clients who trust me to design custom invitation suites with embossing, vintage postage, custom venue illustrations, the works. Brides and editors have taken notice without me chasing them. I’ve built a brand rooted in bold, detail-based, and real human connection. And I’ve done it all while still navigating motherhood, house-building chaos, and a corporate career.

Was it a risk? Absolutely. But I’d do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I still do, every single day.

Lauren, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi! I’m Lauren, the founder and designer behind The Suite Studio, where bold design meets obsessive attention to detail. I create luxury custom wedding invitation suites for couples who want something far beyond a template: layered textures, sculpted embossing, letterpress, curated color palettes, hand-drawn venue illustrations, velvet ribbons, die-cuts..if you can dream it, I’ll probably make it bolder.

I didn’t start in the wedding world. My background is actually in wildlife biology and environmental consulting, so I came into this space not through tradition, but through passion. I’ve always loved storytelling through design. I’m the type of person who notices the paper stock of a thank-you card before I read what it says. I obsess over typography, texture, how an invitation feels in your hand. When I was living in Garden City, KS my love for calligraphy blossomed, which then introduced me into the world of custom wedding invitations. Then styled shoots. Then clients! Then a business. Now, The Suite Studio serves couples across the country, from New York to Los Angeles and everywhere in between.

What I do isn’t just make pretty paper. I solve overwhelm. I bring clarity to chaos. Wedding invitations can be deceptively complicated! There are etiquette rules, timelines, postage logistics, printer limitations, design revisions, and production delays. Most people have no idea how involved it can be until they’re neck deep in questions. That’s where I come in. I guide my clients through every step. Wording, artwork, paper selection, embellishments, guest addressing, mailing, so the process is smooth and elevated from start to finish. I even handle assembly and mailing for you, so you don’t have to lick a single envelope.

What sets me apart? Three things:
• I’m bold. I don’t do safe or generic. Every design I create is rooted in color, contrast, and personality.
• I’m detail-obsessed. From the blind embossing you feel under your fingers to the curated vintage stamps on the outer envelope, I live in the micro-details.
• I’m deeply collaborative. I believe your invitations should feel like you, not like they came from a Pinterest board. That’s why I offer unlimited design revisions and an in-depth design process that brings your story to life, not just your color palette.

What I’m most proud of? Building this business from scratch while working a full-time job, raising a baby, and building a house. No outside funding. No shortcut. Just pure love of the craft and a relentless drive to create something beautiful.

If you’re a couple who values art, story, and soul, and you want your invitations to actually mean something—then I’m your girl. The Suite Studio isn’t for everyone. But for the right people, it’s unforgettable.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Honestly? It wasn’t really just one thing. It was a mix of consistency, connection, and showing up when no one was ‘watching.’

In the early days, I didn’t have a huge following, planner referrals, or a polished portfolio. What I did have was a strong creative point of view and a willingness to put in the work. Styled shoots helped me build that early momentum. They gave me space to experiment, push my design limits, and show off what I wanted to be known for. I wasn’t waiting for ideal clients to come to me. I was building proof that I could deliver high-end, editorial-level design.

Networking has also been huge for me. But not the superficial kind. I focused on forming genuine connections with other vendors. I listened. I showed up. I delivered what I said I would, and then some. I’ve learned that people remember that. In a saturated market, professionalism and reliability are underrated.

Social media has been a big part of my growth. What I do is show up consistently with intention. I share finished work I’m proud of, I talk about design choices and trends with confidence, and I treat every post as a chance to reinforce my brand: bold, detail-obsessed, and highly custom. Over time, that kind of clarity attracts the right clients. It tells planners and couples, this isn’t just pretty paper. It’s high-end design with a point of view.

I built my reputation by staying visible, staying generous, and refusing to coast. I don’t just make beautiful invitations. I help clients tell a story through paper, texture, and unexpected details. That kind of work doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by showing up, over and over again, even when it’s hard.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Honestly, a lot of what’s shaped my entrepreneurial mindset hasn’t come from traditional business books. It’s come from doing the inner work. I’ve always been a doer and a planner, but building a business stretched me in ways I didn’t expect. At some point, it became clear that strategy alone wasn’t enough. I had to completely rewire how I thought about money, success, and self-worth.

One book that cracked things open for me was The Abundance Book by John Randolph Price. It’s not your typical business read. It’s short, spiritual, and very woo-woo. But it helped me shift out of a scarcity mindset and start operating from a place of trust and creative possibility. That shift changed everything. It helped me price my work with confidence. It helped me stop chasing the wrong clients. And it helped me believe that my creativity actually had value, not just to me, but to other people willing to pay for it.

Beyond that, therapy has been huge. Learning to separate my worth from my productivity and build boundaries around my time has been critical. I’ve also leaned into manifesting, vision casting, and other tools that honestly might sound kind of soft until you try them and realize they change how you move through the world. I’ve had to learn how to dream bigger, ask for more, and get really clear on what I want—because clarity is what attracts the right things to your business.

So yes, my path has included spreadsheets and SEO and strategy calls. But what’s moved the needle the most? Mindset. Energy. Belief. I think that’s the part most people overlook when they’re asking how to grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thesuitestudio.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.suite.studio/