In a succinctly expressed version of the Micawber principle*, Sally Matthews displays her very practical approach to running a business. “The simple understanding of ‘outgoings must be less than amounts coming in’ has served us well,” she says.
Matthews is the co-founder and director of Perth-based Matthews and Scavalli, running the practice with fellow director Andrea Veccia-Scavalli, while associate Damien Caraher is the company’s third shareholder.
Over the last five years of Architectural Review you may have seen Matthews’ name pop up more than once – usually in a Brain Trust capacity – as one of the magazine’s most consistent spokespeople for Western Australia. She first contacted us back in 2016 to talk about gender representation and has been a regular and much valued sounding board since then. It was high time we actually featured her practice, as Matthews and Scavalli encapsulates everything we respect at AR – creative flair and success, backed up by sound business principles and, perhaps above all, an avowed intent to keep everything in perspective. “A particular focus for me is to make sure that life is regarded as just as important, or more important, than work,” she says.
It’s a mantra that is echoed by Veccia-Scavalli, who joined Matthews after she pivoted
