Meet Kelli Bessenaire

We were lucky to catch up with Kelli Bessenaire recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kelli, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is a feeling I actively manage, and not one I plan to overcome. When it manifests, I give the feeling space and try to identify the underlying problem. The issue may be negative self-worth stemming from the pressure I feel as a woman to succeed and the tendency to resort to comparison. It may be my fear of failure rooted in traumatic childhood experiences, and an ongoing battle with perfectionism. As a designer, I know that identifying the problem is the first step toward finding a solution.

With a commitment to lifelong learning and self-discovery, I treat introspection as an exercise in problem solving. Reading, writing, and working with a therapist are all tools that I bring to professional practice. When insecurity creeps in, I can turn to a running list that I keep of my own strengths, or read through the countless journals I’ve kept along my career path to remind myself of the unique experience I bring to the table.

Imposter syndrome is an isolating feeling, and on my journey, I have learned that the opposite of loneliness is community. In the design industry, I do not wish to be a woman on an island, but instead, to search for opportunities to collaborate and learn from my peers. When we get out of our heads and into conversations the sparks of creativity truly fly.

Left unchecked, imposter syndrome can be paralyzing. Since launching my design firm, studio b., I have had moments of profound self-doubt. It is in these moments that I look at my two young daughters and speak to my inner child as if I were speaking to them. With compassion, I remind myself that I have failed, and that I will again. I tell myself that in hindsight, my most spectacular failures have actually been in times of profound personal and professional growth, and they have all led me to where I am today.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am an architectural and interior designer based in Chicago, IL, with 10+ years experience in luxury residential design. My projects have spanned throughout Chicagoland, the United States, and abroad. It was always my dream to own my own design firm, but it wasn’t until I had my second daughter about a year ago that I started thinking seriously about making the leap. I launched studio b., in the Fall of 2024 and wake up grateful every day for the opportunity to make the dream a reality.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

– Resilience, and a willingness to embrace change.
– Humility, and an ability to know what you don’t know.
– Passion, a resolve to never settle and to find inspiration everywhere.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Collaborative Opportunities:
I am always looking to collaborate with designers far and wide. The building industry is my wheelhouse and I could consult with builders, realtors, developers, other architects, interior designers, or clients who are looking for anything from a concept package to a turn-key/full-service product.

Current Challenge:
I am in the infancy of starting my design firm, and so outreach is currently my biggest challenge. In our field, word of mouth goes further than anything in landing projects, and so name recognition is crucial. Structure is a main strategy – I devote the first hour of each day to business development: researching networking events, brainstorming, branding, etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.studiobchicago.com
• Instagram: @studiob.chicago
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelli-bessenaire/

Image Credits

Rahimi Saidan Photography | Snappr