Meet Andrea Knowles

We were lucky to catch up with Andrea Knowles recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andrea, 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.

I’m not sure anyone ever fully overcomes imposter syndrome, but having belief in one’s skill-set and knowledge base, as well as being one’s own biggest cheerleader definitely keeps me on the right path. I remind myself regularly that I can do anything I set my mind to, and then I DO it in the present and don’t wait for anyone to help get me there. Everyone thinks they are an imposter; the trick is to not tell yourself so when a project or job, or anything else, is on the line.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

As an equestrian facilities architect and designer I am in a very niche world. Working with horses requires some very specific aspects of the designs for their health, wellness and safety, but my firm’s objective is to also make each facility unique and beautiful. Our philosophy is that our clients should never want to leave and feel as comfortable in their stables as they do in their homes, planes, boats and etc. We want every owner, visitor and employee to arrive at our facilities and say to themselves and others: “There’s nowhere we would rather be”. One of the things we mindfully employ in every design is the same high-end finish work we put in our residential and commercial / hospitality projects. Fine textiles, stone, woods, finishes, lighting and the like are in all of our designs and keep elevating with every project we take on.
The equestrian industry contributed $177B USD to the US economy in 2023 which was up $50B USD over the previous year making it a very quiet, yet powerful business. Most people think it is a small, niche world, but the numbers speak for themselves.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I believe that being raised around certain things (art, architecture, travel) pushed me toward all of my career iterations, and a strong work ethic and total lack of procrastination are ways to build well and build for the long term. As well, in the design industry, being able to pivot with the times is the best way to stay relevant, creative and in business.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

There were two incredibly impactful things that my parents did for me. The first was to believe in me when I knew I was a horse person and they were not. They fostered my riding career and supported me financially and emotionally allowing me to realize a life-long passion as a young child that has lasted to the present day and built me a career. The second was allowing me to go abroad for all of university and to study something I loved (and love to this day), art history and romance languages. Having a familiarity with Europe and speaking multiple languages has made my job and life very special. I am filled with gratitude for both of these things.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.equineresidences.com
• Instagram: @equine_residences
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084532375625
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-knowles-61a82326b/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/equineresidences/

Image Credits

Mateja Gejo
Marko Gejo