Small Business Spotlight November 2025: Arkifex Studios
Company name: Arkifex Studios
Person in charge: Michael Hampton, Tyler Hellweg, Blaine Whisenhunt
Year founded: 2014
Tell us about the history of your business:
Arkifex started in 2014 with an emphasis on what we call ‘Ozark Modernism’, which in short would be described as a regionalist critique of what it means to live a modern lifestyle in a place that is as wild and natural as the Ozarks. In the years that followed we’ve been fortunate to be able to work with a lot of great clients and consultants to create a lot of great projects, while continuously interrogating and refining the idea of Ozark Modernism.
Describe the services your organization provides and what makes you unique:
We provide full architectural services, from programming and master planning to design and construction administration. In our practice we aim to be as intentional as possible about approaching each project as a work of art that aims to tell a story about its place in the world, and its place in history. Over the years we’ve developed a design philosophy that we think yields beautiful and functional works while remaining simple and approachable.
Tell us something people may not know about your organization:
We appear at first glance to be a small, mild mannered design studio - but in truth we are secretly plotting to overtake world government and rule humanity with a ruthless iron fist.
Best Business Advice:
When we were first starting this business, I asked my grandfather for advice (he is far and away the most successful entrepreneur I’ll ever meet). Pen and notebook in hand, I was ready for the deluge that comes from a lifetime of market observations and business analysis. But his advice was simple and singular, and characteristically humble: it was that his success isn’t his alone, but that he shares it with, and attributes it to, his employees. The key then to running an amazing business is simply to hire amazing people and then keep them around by treating them right.
