Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara Piepmeyer.
Hi Kara, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My career actually began as a Registered Nurse. I was drawn to art, design, and architecture all my life, but I grew up in a dusty Northern Arizona town, and my family was very math and science-focused, so choosing Interior Design as a career path was nowhere on my radar. I spent six years as a nurse and enjoyed caring for patients in the ICU, but I always felt like something was missing. At nearly 30 years old, I was desperate to tap into my own creative flow and eventually had a real crisis of self. I have no idea how I found the Interior Architecture & Design program at UCLA Extension, but I did, and it was an instant fit. I jumped into an internship, became a teaching assistant, earned a Master of Interior Architecture degree, and never looked back.
While finishing up my degree, I started working at a small West Side architectural design firm that designs custom homes, boutique restaurants, and experiential retail spaces. The principal and I made an agreement that would allow me to interact with clients, be in every design and site meeting, and have input on creating the final design. While I wouldn’t be paid market rate, I’d get to be part of the entire process from start to finish, which is a pretty rare gig for a new graduate as most entry-level positions in interior design are isolated and task-focused. That apprenticeship of sorts quickly skyrocketed my understanding of the trade. I still remember being in awe the first time I stood inside a newly completed custom home I helped design. The feeling was intoxicating.
After a few years, I left LA to work at ROY Hospitality Design in San Francisco, where I became the Creative Director. We designed boutique restaurants from the Bay Area to New York City. It was deeply conceptual, almost every element was custom-designed and fabricated, and the fast pace always kept me hungry for more. I loved working collaboratively with clients, nearly all of which were small business owners. Helping entrepreneurs build their dreams ignited something I had never recognized within myself – a yearning to build a business of my own.
Mid-pandemic, my boyfriend (now husband!) was offered a job in LA, and despite having a steady position with growth opportunities in SF and no clients or leads in Southern California, the timing felt right for me to leave my job, move, and launch out on my own. I had nothing but a strong inner knowing, so of course, I did it!
Enter Studio Kosma. I have always been enamored with the wild creativity of the restaurant and food scene in LA and moved here with the intention of building a hospitality-focused studio. So, I started cold-emailing anyone who was doing something cool that I wanted to be part of. I still feel so humbled by the number of people who responded and continue to be a part of my life today. Over time, a few friends referred me to other friends, past San Francisco clients reached out, and eventually the stars aligned for me to begin taking on both hospitality and residential projects. While Studio Kosma is based in Los Angeles, I still travel to the Bay Area regularly for projects up there too. From restaurants to residential renovations and custom new builds, I’m so grateful for the types of projects and clients I get to work with in both Northern and Southern California; it feeds me creatively more than I ever could have imagined.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest challenge has definitely been time. Finding time. Making time. Using my time efficiently. From managing multiple Studio Kosma projects to feeding my creative self, growing my team, building a community, handling all the necessary business tasks, and staying present in my personal life, there is a lot to juggle. Being a creative business owner requires you to constantly tap into opposite sides of the brain – the strategic, analytical, business brain and the inspired, untethered creative brain. Learning to flow between the two has been a joy and challenge.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Studio Kosma?
I chose the name Studio Kosma because I love that the word kosma refers to the systems of the universe in both their complexity and completeness. I believe that through the alchemy of collaboration (whether with my clients, teammates, or the tradespersons executing our designs), we create a final product that is much greater than the sum of its parts – far more robust and whole than just one person’s efforts. Using my own name for the studio was never an option because I wanted to infuse the ethos of collaboration into the fabric of everything we do.
Studio Kosma is an interior design studio with a focus on hospitality and luxury residential spaces. We are at our best when we can tackle the interior architecture, custom millwork, finishes, furnishings, and styling. For commercial projects, that also includes consulting on the brand direction and graphic design. Our goal is to create transformative hospitality experiences and homes that are an authentic reflection of their inhabitants. We execute the whole vision from start to finish and pride ourselves on an open and collaborative process with our clients.
How do you think about luck?
At this stage, I can’t say that luck has swayed the balance one way or another. But it sure is a star player in all our lives, isn’t it? We are constantly caught between the payoff of hard work and the gamble of luck. For me, it’s liberating to recognize just how much is beyond my control. Many years ago, I found a quote by Dwight D Eisenhower, “In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable,” and have taken it to heart. To me, that quote means that we can and should spend time investing in growth, building, strategizing, planning, and working, but know the unexpected will always take us by surprise. The best we can do is trust that we are prepared to catch the next wave and enjoy the ride.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.studiokosma.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiokosma/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/studio-kosma/
Image Credits
Bethany Nauert for Big Leo Productions, Lauren Anderson for SEN Creative Co
