A purposeful redesign

With Bryco Interiors, a husband and wife take a passion and knack for interior design and décor to the next level

Photo: Brad and Jami Sparling

FOR OVER A decade, Jami Sparling worked as a paramedic. Her passion, however, was interior design and décor — and she parlayed that into a side hustle, working with real estate professionals to do home staging, taking online courses to expand her knowledge and slowly but surely watching a client base grow.

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Jami’s husband, Brad Sparling, worked in his family’s ­business, helping to run a Tim Hortons franchise and ­renovating homes in his off time. He knew about processes and systems, how to schedule workers, and did a lot of behind-the-scenes project management in his corporate job.

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In 2019, the couple combined their skillsets to launch BryCo Interiors, named for their sons Bryce and Colton. To get the new business off the ground, Jami left her paramedic job and jumped into the business ­full-time — just before the pandemic hit.

“We had started some projects before the lockdown, so were able to complete those,” recalls Brad, noting that the couple had several jobs in the queue that had been quoted prior to material costs quickly spiraling out of control — if you could secure materials in the first place.

“The pandemic got a lot of people thinking about home ­renovation projects, so everyone was busy and overwhelmed,” he says. “In addition, tradespeople kept retiring and it was a battle to find new people.”

Despite the challenges, the business found its legs. In fact, Jami had become busy enough with interior decorating and design projects that she gave up the home staging element of the business. A 3,000-square-foot warehouse on Pacific Court that was initially acquired to store staging inventory is now used to hold furniture and other design items destined for new home builds and interior design jobs. The couple have also carved out space for an onsite studio and hired a warehouse manager and project coordinator.

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“Our work now is 100 per cent ­residential clients, mainly for people who have been in a family home for 15 years or more and don’t want to move,” explains Jami. “Sometimes, the work is simply interior decorating changes; other times it’s a complete change — from redesign and renovation to new décor. I also offer consults where I provide advice and guidance, but we don’t do any of the implementation.”

Joining the company full-time in November 2020, Brad has put his project management skills to use securing relationships with wholesale suppliers and ensuring operational processes are in place to support the variety of ­services the couple offers, from the consults through to turnkey interior design services from start to finish.

“Our demographic tends to be busy professionals,” notes Jami, “and they need design work done with minimal ­disruption to their lives.”

Like many businesses launched during the chaos of the pandemic, the Sparlings are now looking ahead, intent to build capacity and add staff as things begin to normalize — and to do so with an eye to social conscience.

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One initiative launched by the firm this past spring was a program that sought nominations of someone who would benefit from a room makeover. The recipient was a nurse who had her living room redone.

“Coming from a paramedic background, and having seen the worst of the worst, I know how important it is to feel ­valued and appreciated,” says Jami. “It was an opportunity to transform one part of her life in a small way.” Kym Wolfe