We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Courtney Fikri. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Courtney below.

Alright, Courtney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

We manage our own social media in-house — just as we do for our clients. Over the past year, we’ve been deeply immersed in evolving this offering, refining it not only as a service but as an extension of our creative direction practice. What we’ve learned is that clients aren’t simply looking for someone to “run their socials.” They’re searching for a trusted partner who understands how to translate the soul of their brand — its tone, aesthetic, cadence, and character — into something magnetic and meaningful online.

For us, social media is an act of care. When we post on behalf of a client, it’s not just marketing — it’s storytelling, it’s design, it’s strategy. We speak in their voice, but with our vision. That’s what makes it work.

Ironically, managing our own channels is the hardest part. Like many creative studios, we’re far more fluent when advocating for others than when turning the lens on ourselves. But it’s taught us a crucial lesson: the power of perspective. Sometimes, what a brand needs most is not just a plan or a calendar, but a trusted outside eye — one that sees the full picture, not just the feed.

Courtney, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Courtney Fikri, Founder and Creative Director of Studio Cadette — a creative studio that builds brands with brains, beauty, and backbone.

I started my career in New York, fresh out of RIT with degrees in Industrial Design and Illustration. Over the last two decades, I’ve worked across interiors, branding, hospitality, and fashion, with clients like Tom Ford, Four Seasons, Robert De Niro, NeueHouse, and Anthropologie. Studio Cadette is the culmination of those experiences: a space where creative direction meets strategy, and where we partner long-term with clients to build, refine, and elevate their brands.

We work with leading design, lifestyle, luxury, and hospitality brands to define what makes them distinct, then express that across every touchpoint. Our services include strategy, brand identity design, creative direction, social media management, packaging & print collateral, campaigns, and web design. We don’t just make things look good — we help brands move with clarity, relevance, and purpose.

What sets us apart is how personally we take the work. We truly treat our clients’ brands like our own — and that has always led to deep, lasting partnerships rooted in trust.

What I’m most proud of is the way we show up: with intention, insight, and a clear point of view on what’s possible when good design meets great strategy.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building an audience on social media has been a slow, intentional process for us — and not always a linear one. As a creative studio, we’ve always prioritized client work first, which means our own content often gets the least attention. But when we do show up with purpose, it pays off.

Our growth really began when we stopped treating Instagram as a portfolio and started treating it as a brand experience. We leaned into storytelling, behind-the-scenes content, and thoughtful design that reflects our point of view — not just our output. People want to feel something when they visit your profile. A polished feed is nice, but a clear voice is what makes them stay.

We also use our platform to seed future directions for the studio. We’re deeply interested in product design, creative partnerships, and collaborative collections — we dream of designing wallpaper, furniture, objects, and more. So we’ve made it a point to feature the designers, brands, and work that inspire us. The goal is to build a world that feels expansive and editorial, so when we step into that space more formally, it won’t feel like a pivot — it’ll feel inevitable.

We believe the best design is created in community. At Studio Cadette, we celebrate great design that inspires us, moves us, and invites new perspectives. Around here, there’s room for everyone at the top — because we’re better together.

For anyone just starting out, my advice is this: don’t chase trends — build trust. Share your ideas, show your taste, and speak directly to the kind of client or collaborator you want to attract. You don’t need to do everything — but you do need to do something consistently. Start small. Pick a format you enjoy, and post with intention. Create a mood, take a stance, show your work. Your audience will grow in response to your clarity and conviction. And when the right people find you, they’ll already feel like part of the story.

Have you ever had to pivot?

One of the hardest chapters in my life was a period where I gave everything: my energy, time, and creativity to someone else’s vision. I spent years working behind the scenes, building up a business that wasn’t mine, with no real ownership over the outcome. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought we were building a future together. But when that chapter ended, I was left with nothing to show for the years I’d given. The fallout was devastating — financially, emotionally, and creatively.

It took a long time to rebuild, not just my career, but my sense of self. The experience left a deep imprint that still shows up today: in how I think about growth, in how urgently I want stability, and in why I built Studio Cadette the way I did.

Studio Cadette was born out of that reckoning. A conscious decision to build something of my own, on my own terms. A female-led, independent creative studio where I would have full agency over my time, my output, and my future. It’s more than a business. It’s a reclamation.

Even now, when I feel pressure about how fast we’re growing or how big the studio should be, it traces back to those early days of starting over. Every step forward is part of a personal safety net I’m weaving, not just for me, but for the future I want to protect.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://studiocadette.com
• Instagram: @studiocadette
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyfikri/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/studiocadette/

Image Credits

WIlliam Brinson
Emily Andrews