Ten years ago, Dani and I found ourselves without a map.
We’d recently lost our boss and dear friend Al, were desperately trying to cover bookings, and were knee-deep in a quagmire of admin.
I don’t remember the exact moment we decided to start a business. We just knew that clients were counting on us, and that was enough.
The only direction we had was to provide the kind of service Al would be proud of—the highest-quality, most reliable service in town.
At 1 July 2026, WordBirds turns TEN… and we’re still a little stunned that we’re here!
Humble beginnings
While writing this, I spent time going through photos from our early days. The laughter and tears, the small moments I’d forgotten, all made me reflect on how much has gone into the past decade. And how much of this job is about community.
We had humble beginnings: operating out of a storage unit in Alexandria, taking out a loan to buy more equipment, working in the studio by day, and doing admin by night. A year in, Dani was juggling corporates with the morning sickness of her second pregnancy, and I was multi-tasking overlapping reality-shows and crewing.
First steps to growth
In 2016, we had no idea we’d be so supported.
Our colleagues started championing WordBirds by name. Our bookings grew, along with our reputation. And we started to feel that we had something special to offer.
We expanded our team, invested in more equipment, and at every step continued to learn from those around us.
It takes a village
The idiom ‘it takes a village’ couldn’t be truer. Our community continues to drive us, challenge us, support us, and ultimately make us better at what we do.
It’s our clients, colleagues and crew who have buoyed us through this journey and made it so meaningful. We wouldn’t be here without your support.
We’re now a core team of four (Sylvia and Billie are our biggest gift, and continually do us proud—I think our clients like them better than us!), plus our casual crew of highly-skilled, like-minded women.
Our focus going forward remains on nurturing relationships, living our values, and keeping a finger on the pulse—to ensure we continue to provide the highest level of service for our clients. We aim to do both Al and our industry proud.
To mark this occasion, we’re posting some stories and photos from our personal archive throughout July 2026.
To everyone who’s been part of the WordBirds story: thank you, genuinely, for your trust and backing over the past decade. We don’t take a single moment of it for granted.
We’d love to hear from you! If we’ve worked together over the years, get in touch to drop us a memory.
