In 2022, leader of Dallas-based Studio 11 Design, Kellie Sirna, completed projects for Fort Worth celebrity chef Tim Love, The Thompson Hotel Buckhead in Atlanta, and more. Her firm was also awarded Design Firm of the Year by New York-based Boutique Design and brought in record revenue during the final four months of 2022. These milestones came during a challenging time of restructuring, as Sirna dissolved a longtime business partnership with her co-founder Stacy Elliston and became Studio 11’s sole leader. “It’s exciting to know that when push comes to shove, I do well under pressure, but so does this team,” Sirna says. Here, she shares her recent wins and how she navigated large operational shifts, while remaining focused on growth.
D CEO: What sparked the restructuring at Studio 11?
Sirna: “It’s been something that we’ve talked about for 11 years. Initially, [Elliston] was only in for three to five years. Then, she was in for a couple more, and then for a couple more. We’ve had an amazing 11-year run, but we’ve always had different ideas of how we wanted to grow the firm: I want to keep building and growing, and I think her idea was always to have a smaller firm. We are at 46 people right now. [Elliston and I are] on the best terms. It’s actually been incredible for us both.”
D CEO: How have you shifted the firm’s operations since then?
Sirna: “I brought my old CFO back, and I hired a consultant…I’ve hired a director of operations to take over the administrative role that [Elliston] was doing before, and we’ve hired 16 people. I basically quit my day job of traveling, and being on the road, and getting new projects, and being as involved in projects, and I went more to the operation side of the company for awhile. We have three designers in Atlanta. We have hired designers in D.C. The staffing here in Dallas is so difficult right now, because there are so many firms and so few people. Even some of my designers who left during the pandemic or shortly after went to residential design or went to go into real estate. It’s very hard to hire in Dallas right now, so we had to go outside and do D.C and Atlanta.”
D CEO: What are some of your recent projects and wins?
Sirna: “For 11 to 13 weeks post-COVID, I was gone. I was going to get new business. I brought in $6 million in proposals… We’ve had a record four months of the 11-year history of the company. It’s exciting to know that when push comes to shove, I do well under pressure, but so does this team. This is the team that stuck with me through all of this and ran toward the fire.
“We just recently completed The Kimpton in Midtown Union, a ground-up project in Atlanta. We also just completed The Thompson Buckhead. That project was nominated for five Gold Key Awards. In our industry, those are like the Emmys. It’s a beautiful project, but we had five total projects—one that we’re completing now, a Westin Hotel renovation—all in Atlanta. Atlanta is a huge hub for developers and owners, so that made a lot of sense. In D.C., there’s very few boutique style hospitality firms there. There’s a lot of the bigger, more commercial firms in D.C. So, with us coming in as the new dogs, we’ve really played well. We’ve had a lot of movement and momentum with hiring there.”
D CEO: What are your goals moving forward?
Sirna: “As we’re still ironing things out here operationally, there’s some levels and layers we need to fill in. We need some mid-level designers. We need some more project managers, and we are continuing to interview and find the right positions. The fires have been put out. The projects, we have a really great handle on. We have an incredible team. But, if we want to continue to grow at the level we’re growing at, then we’re going to have to continue hiring and then looking at who has experience in these areas.
“Opportunities in Mexico and Saudi Arabia are coming from people who are coming to interview, which is always how I’ve grown the firm. If I’m interviewing somebody who has multifamily experience, it’s like ‘Okay, let’s go find some multifamily projects.’ Finishing Tim Love’s music venue [Tannahill’s] is the second music venue we’re doing. A House of Blues music venue in Chicago is the third. So, now we’re getting a lot of music venue clientele. It’s just interesting how the firm ebbs and flows with the experience of the firm and the experience of the people coming in.
“We’ve also had a lot of momentum in the DFW area. We’re doing a new Bob’s Steakhouse and Chop House in McKinney. We’re doing a cigar bar component within that. That’s going to be a really cool project.”
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