Based in Brooklyn, New York, Nina Kinoti-Metz helms Studio Parallel with her life and business partner, Christopher Metz. Here, the designer and architect shares how she got her start, building a business with her husband, and what’s on the horizon for their firm.
Where did you grow up? Did it influence your career path?
I grew up in several cities in Eastern and Southern Africa, as my parents worked for different NGOs. It was bit of a gypsy lifestyle, which I loved. There was continuous immersion in different cultures, so I developed a joy for travel and a curiosity about spaces and things at a young age. Each place we were, the same elements were put together in different ways—from the homes to the particular vernacular in each town—and even though my earlier interests were in fine art, there was always a little designer in me.
What are some of your first memories of design?
Shopping for food and clothes with my mother in open-air markets. They were huge, loud, full of color, and there was a beautiful asymmetry to the way they were organized and which items and vendors were grouped together. Most days, I loved it, but sometimes I wished they were organized more efficiently. I remember always being fascinated by the actual structure of the markets’ roof, with its variations of grass and wood thatching, and also by the items that were being sold—from clothes with fabulous patterns and colors, to home accessories like woven baskets made of sisal, fruit bowls carved from wood, clay pots, and even my dad’s elaborate shoe horn that seemed so fancy.
Tell us about your background.
My undergraduate studies were in fine art with a focus on drawing and intaglio printing at SUNY Binghamton in upstate New York. My printing teacher, Mrs. Sokolowski, was the most interesting person I have ever met.
After graduation, I managed an art gallery and boutique furniture store, where I officially fell in love with all things design and architecture. For grad school, I went to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. My first internship was at TEK Architects—a small, almost all-male firm. It was intimidating at first to not be around many women architects or designers, and it was pretty intense being in school fulltime and also having to produce at work even though you were basically learning on the job.
My first job was at FXFowle Architects (now FXCollaborative), where I had the opportunity to work within different studios and disciplines. Eventually, I was running a few of my own projects and participating in the project management side of the business as well.
The Studio Parallel-design Schilling restaurant in Manhattan’s Financial District
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?
A major obstacle came once my husband and I decided to start having children. I had some terrible experiences with unrealistic expectations from higher ups and trying to find work-life balance. Some days work won and some days my family won. One moment of real compassion came when a studio head gave me some serious advice about prioritizing family. It was a real moment of honesty, and within months of that conversation, I began working for myself fulltime and building our business. So, the obstacle became a gateway. The biggest challenge was being the boss and having to bear the brunt of the clients’ expectations.
What is it like being in business with your husband?
Initially, it was the hardest thing I had ever done, because the lines get blurred between business and personal, and you have to establish some boundaries to make sure ideas, discussions, and tasks don’t bleed into other areas of your life. It was hard not to let a design problem become a relationship problem. We have been working together for many years now and have a good working dynamic with set boundaries. Part of that is deciding who the lead is on a project and letting them lead while being the support.
On the positive side, my husband is the most curious, creative architect, who is always exploring and educating himself, so I have no fear of running any idea by him. His input is always constructive, even when it is critical. We have a great shorthand that we have developed over the years, so we can cut out a lot of back and forth and get to the meat of what we are trying to achieve. Proximity is a great thing, too. I can walk into a room with a sketch or idea and he is right there.
Describe some of Studio Parallel’s recent projects.
We have done a lot of residential renovations, but in the last few years we have had a nice mix of restaurants and cafés. Hospitality design is the more amped up cousin to residential, and the clients are that way, too, which has given us new perspective. We did a couple of restaurants in Manhattan—Schilling in the Financial District and Freud in Greenwich Village—for the same owner. In both spaces, the client wanted to evoke the feeling of gemütlichkeit, a German word for feeling cozy and ensconced in warmth.
Another repeat client had us redesign the Tribeca and Red Hook locations for Baked with a particular desire to change the feeling of the space to be a little more modern and robust, but still have the inviting nature of a bakery. He then asked us to design the new space, Ciao, Gloria in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. We got to assist in creating his new brand—diving deep into his vision for the website, the logo, the way he would present menus, and how he would structure special events in the space once complete.
Café and bakery Ciao, Gloria in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn
What is your dream project?
My dream project is one we’re working on right now. We are the architect and designer for a ground-up, 38,000-square-foot K-12 private school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. I have always wanted to design a space for my children and whenever I talked about it in the past, I would say designing a school for them would be a dream. When we were asked to submit a proposal for this school, I was incredibly excited and honored. We are slated to complete construction in 2021.
If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be? Where would you eat and what would you have?
Michelle and Barack Obama for all the obvious reasons that they showed us while in the White House, but also because they just seem like the most relaxed and fun friends you would want to have.
It would be at their house, and we would be grilling out back. I imagine a long dinner with great food and delicious wine. It would be one of those dinners that goes on for a few hours past dessert with a lot of laughter and sharing that eventually leads to a hilarious game of charades.
If you weren’t in your current career what would you be doing?
I would be a Travel + Leisure magazine writer—going to different hotels, resorts, and restaurants around the world and writing about it sounds like a fantastic job.
The design scheme of Schilling aims to evoke feelings of warmth
