We recently connected with Blaire Mcpherson and have shared our conversation below.
Blaire, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Architecture is very much a field that requires both natural talent and hard-earned experience. Your work as a designer, no matter how gifted you are naturally, is really and truly better after at least a decade or more of experience. When I started my career in Architecture I was full of optimism and naive confidence.
Things changed quickly. I graduated into the beginning of the Great Recession with the first round of layoffs happening at my firm the day before I started my job. Over the course of my first year the office shrank from 72 people to 11.
On top of the constant fear of losing my job I realized that I didn’t truly know how to be a part of a team, design a building, or how to create a design based on what the client needed and wanted for their project. As you can imagine I spent some time panicked and overwhelmed. Then, instead of focusing on everything I felt I wasn’t bringing to the table, I started leaning into things I knew I was good at even if they were small at first.
I worked hard at crafting beautiful presentations. I spent a lot of time making sure information was very organized so my teams could find what they needed. I worked on my written communication to sound as professional as possible. Knowing you’re a valuable member of a team is a great first step to building overall confidence.
At the same time, I focused on learning as much as I could from people I admired. How did they approach certain design problems? Where did they find inspiration? How did they handle clients and tough situations? Then, slowly, as I felt more confident, I would apply what I learned in my own way.
To this day if I’m ever having a tough moment or feeling a lack of confidence I start by listing out the things I know I do well and what I know I bring to the table as a leader and a designer. It helps reframe my state of mind towards positivity and confidence.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
When I first started out I thought I wanted to work at a really big firm on really big projects. What I realized after a few years is large building projects are so complex that when it comes to the details about the user experience it’s handed off to a different team. But, I’m not satisfied stopping at the walls – I want to design everything inside of them, too. So, I pivoted to working in small firms.
Working in a smaller firm you’re much more hands-on with all parts of a project and I really love that. I had a chance to get more time going into the field, seeing things under construction and visiting the makers who were building the furniture and elements we designed. It really is a privilege to get to connect with the people who make the things that you draw come to life.
When it comes to design philosophy, I think it’s fascinating that some of the decisions you make that might feel small can set the tone for an entire experience. For example, the door handle when you’re entering a space may seem insignificant, but how it looks and feels in your hand really sets the expectations of what you’re going to see and feel inside. Also, it’s really rewarding to get to see people enjoying the spaces you designed. I realized what matters to me most – more than style or trend – is how people feel in a space after it’s finished.
After spending several years in leadership at other studios learning retail design, brand creation, restaurant design, furniture design, and the do’s and don’ts of running a business, in 2020 I came together with my Co-Founder Loren Perry to create Studio Como (we named the firm after Como, Italy where we were both fortunate enough to live for a time during college).
The Studio Como design process always starts in the same place – with the audience. Who is this design for? Who will be using the space? What is important to them to see and feel here? The answers to these questions directly inform the design. We don’t have a signature style as a company, and that’s why people come to us – to see themselves and their own brands reflected in their spaces. Our clients love it, and their customers also love it because they feel connected to the brand in their experience of the space.
Our unique design process also allows us to work with all types of projects and clients. We’ve helped launch multiple new brands and restaurants, designed homes for growing families, and even worked on a master concept for Bentonville, Arkansas.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
While it’s not always an asset in life, my stubborn streak makes me a great advocate for my clients and their needs. To get a project done you have to bring a lot of people to the table and then move that entire table across the finish line, and everyone at the table wants things their way. City officials, engineers, contractors – they all have their own priorities that you have to bring in line with the overall design and goals.
I also listen to my instincts. While buildings have to make sense, design isn’t a purely rational exercise. There are always several options you can go with, but knowing which one is the best – to me – is often a gut instinct choice.
A third thing that has helped me the most is my constant curiosity about the creative world. What new artists are creating inspiring work? What are we learning from history that is new? What new materials are people building with? What are people making in different parts of the world? What cultural touchstones are we all referencing in our work right now and why? I have a constantly growing mental catalog of what I see and read that can help me approach my design work from new points of view.
For people who are just starting out I’d say that curiosity would be the best quality to develop. Probably not stubbornness! When you are starting the most important thing you can do is be open to learning, and even after you’re experienced being curious helps you stay energized and fresh.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
This is a really great question. I used to put pressure on myself to strengthen every area where I felt weak. For most of my grown-up life I’ve believed that doing as much as possible meant you were more valuable.
The thing is, that’s really just a path towards external validation. Yes, you should be proud of yourself if you work hard to get better at something. But, our culture is always telling us that the more you do the better you are – regardless of whether or not the things you push yourself to do actually matter to you. Our time is precious and so is our energy, we should put it towards things we actually find rewarding.
For me, this change is also tied into self-confidence. It takes confidence to be honest and say: you know what, I’m not very good at this and that’s ok. The next step is asking for help to adjust your work or life to have those things supported in another way. Instead of trying to be a one person show, I think about how I can lean into my strengths to be a better part of my team both professionally and for my family.
All of that being said, I would never have found the things I truly love to do if I never pushed myself to be well rounded early in my career. And I’d like to think there are still things out there that’ll become my strengths if I stay open minded and willing to try new things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://studiocomodesign.com
- Instagram: studio.como
Image Credits
Cover portrait – Yichen Ke
Founders Photo – Trina Severson
Project photos – Andrew Bui
Restaurants – Wonho Frank Lee
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
