It began in a home garage in New Plymouth, where Casie was building websites and shaping early brand identities for small businesses. At the time, it was simple. Just design work, a laptop, and a growing list of people needing help to bring their ideas to life online.
From the beginning, Blair was part of it in a different way. While Casie was deep in the design and build of websites and branding, Blair became the strategic sounding board. The one asking the practical questions, challenging direction, and helping shape decisions so they made sense in the real world. It was conversation, late nights, and ideas being worked through together. Over time, that balance between creative direction and strategic thinking became a natural part of how Design Garage operated.
As the work grew, so did the team. We evolved into full website builds, branding systems, and ongoing support for businesses trying to navigate the early stages of their online presence. Design Garage became known for being close to its clients, hands-on, practical, and focused on making things work beyond just looking good.
The business moved into a large workshop in Fitzroy.
And with that move, Design Garage changed shape entirely.
The workshop wasn’t just a workspace. It became a place where work and life naturally merged. During the week, it was a creative hub. Clients, friends, and collaborators would drop in for conversations that moved easily between business, ideas, cars, and life.
On weekends, the workshop became something more personal. Family time. Kids hanging out. Life unfolding in the same space as the work. Cars being worked on, projects slowly taking shape, and everyone simply being together in the rhythm of it all.
Design Garage stopped being just a design studio.
It became a lifestyle.
A way of working that didn’t separate creativity from life, or business from connection. It was all happening in the same space, at the same time.
That shift made something very clear. Design Garage had outgrown its original definition.
So the brand evolved.
Design Garage became the umbrella for a way of living and working. Hands on, collaborative, and grounded in real life.
From that evolution came Option, the design studio focused purely on websites and the growing world of online business. While Option carries forward the technical and digital side of the work, Design Garage holds the broader world around it. The people, the projects, the workshop, and the lifestyle that sits behind everything.
Today, Design Garage isn’t just what we do.
It’s how we live, work, and create.
