Sara Imhoff (Bowerbird) | FS.017
Attract strong partnerships.
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Imprint Architecture + Design LLC
Website: Imprint Architecture + Design LLC
Instagram: @imprint.architecture
Facebook: Imprint Architecture + Design, LLC
Pinterest: imprintarchitecture
In this episode of the Flying Solo Podcast, host Katie Kangas speaks with Sara Imhoff, founder of Imprint Architecture, who designed her firm around personal connections and thoughtful design. After founding Imprint Architecture with her husband in 2008, they have experienced steady, intentional growth. Across residential and commercial work, Sara leads with relationships first, allowing design to grow from trust and understanding.
Sara’s business is like a Bowerbird. Rather than hunting for connections, the bowerbird carefully curates its environment, shaping a setting that attracts the right partner. That same philosophy defines Sara’s work. She doesn’t chase clients through loud marketing or rapid expansion. Instead, she attracts them by being clear about who she is, how she works, and what she values. Every project is carefully composed through light, geometry, and detail, leaving a lasting imprint on the lives of the people who inhabit those spaces. And each project earns a name that expresses its unique story.
Throughout the conversation, Sara reflects on her personal journey as a firm owner, sharing how her desire to “do her own design work” evolved into a practice built on trust, empathy, and long-term relationships. She describes growth not as a sudden leap, but as a series of thoughtful baby steps. She creates chemistry in professional relationships by taking the time to truly understand people’s stories. Sara transforms stories into projects and projects into partnerships and partnerships into enduring connections.
Sara’s bowerbird leaves listeners with three key aspects of a relationship centric practice: the importance of imagining what’s possible before taking action; the value of investing in authentic client relationships; and the power of implementing change through deliberate, incremental steps. Together, these ideas form the rhythm of Imprint Architecture’s guiding words: imagine, implement, imprint. Sara’s story offers a quiet but powerful reminder that architecture isn’t just about what we build, but about the environments, relationships, and identities we shape along the way.
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Sara Imhoff (Bowerbird)
Season 2 of the Flying Solo Podcast is sponsored by the Minnesota Architectural Foundation, whose mission is to invest in excellence, leadership, discovery, and equity within the profession of architecture.
To join this flying solo movement, you can follow Flying Solo Arch on Instagram where Katie posts content to encourage your business life. Find out which bird defines your marketing strategy with the Bird Quiz on the Flying Solo Website.
For even more resources and encouragement, you can find all the Flying Solo episodes on the Gābl Media platform at gablmedia.com - the premier destination for podcasts about architecture and design. And if you’re looking for community, connection, and real conversations, check out the EntreArchitect Network at entrearchitect.com/ . Whether you join one of their Masterclasses or the free Facebook group, you’ll find a community of small firm architects sharing ideas, challenges, and wins - proving that while we may work solo, we’re never alone.
As Mark R. LePage, founder of Entrearchitect, says - it’s all about doing better practice and better work every day.
