The Phay Sisters

A family of sisters with creative streaks - Laura and Lesley Phay make light work of breathing life into a building space through drawings and organising fairytale events. One rarely finds a family of siblings who work in varying fields yet, are so linked by their drive for all things creative.

Meet the eldest daughter, Laura - at 45, she is a multi-hyphenate who is an architectural designer and an F&B co-owner, overseeing four concepts, including mod-Australian cafes Punch and Gather as well as Japanese-inspired tea studio Asaru and Paaru.

Her sister Lesley, 41, is a Senior Manager for Experience Creation at Directions Group Inc - an integrated communications agency with expertise in PR, events, content creation and brand strategy.

Each sister exudes a different energy and vibe - be it when sharing about their creative endeavours or discussing their creative process. Lesley is thoughtful, calm, and reflective while Laura is more effusive and exhibits a busy verve when she speaks. However, when they sit at a table to exchange ideas and thoughts, the conversation is generative and lively.

We ask them what drives their creative streak, how they ideate, and how this transcends to their personality and style.

[start:#808080]BOTH OF YOU HAD DIFFERENT OCCUPATIONS PRIOR TO YOUR JOBS TODAY. HOW DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?[end:#808080]

[start:#808080]Laura:[end:#808080] My husband Vincent and I spent our entire 20s in Melbourne, Australia, where we worked after university. We only moved back in 2009 when our BTO was ready. I was doing late nights at a large architecture firm (mostly crunching authority-related submissions) when Vincent decided to rent a unit at Craig Rd to start the cafe he always wanted. It was the 2008 economic downturn; honestly, we had nothing to lose. That’s how we started The Plain. I did the 3D sketchup for it during our honeymoon, and took only a few weeks from site takeover to turnkey with lots of IKEA furniture - those were much simpler days!

After that, I quit corporate architecture and started doing private residential interiors. We followed up with Ronin at Hongkong street, then Punch at North Canal Road. Gather was designed on our babymoon. Every three years, we try something new. My role after handing over each space, is to create content and manage all the respective Instagram accounts, except @asaru.studio which is run by our creative and business partner, Shan.

[start:#808080]Lesley:[end:#808080] I was a specialty baker for birthday and wedding cakes - until I helped a friend who does events in a previous company. Through that, I found that I enjoyed it despite the job being both physically and mentally demanding.

Being the young and ambitious me (then), I felt I could do more than just bake and do wedding/birthday cakes. Now, my job is basically to plan the happiest milestone in people’s lives. I’ve never looked back!

[start:#808080]A QUESTION FOR LAURA: AS AN ARCHITECT BY TRAINING AND VOCATION, HOW HAS THAT INFLUENCED HOW YOU MANAGE YOUR ENTREPRENEURSHIP?[end:#808080]

[start:#808080]Laura:[end:#808080] Honestly, I’m highly risk-averse - a learned occupational hazard but I find this trait to complement my husband’s audacity to venture into the unknown. One might almost say it borders on naivete! But it’s a necessary quality to straddle the beast of business ownership. So in fact, the entrepreneurial spirit is his really. Although, I’m there to materialise his vision and turn his doodles into reality.