Ariene Dennis Bethea ’00 talks about the career path that led her to open Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio in 2015.
Owning an interior design store was not the destination Ariene Dennis Bethea ’00 had set for her career path.
Armed with a corporate communications degree from Elon University and a master’s degree in management communication and organizational development from Emerson College, Bethea’s original path led her into the corporate world.
Her shift from human resources to interior design came about, ironically, because of her former employer. “We always met in my boss’s office, and it was never enough space, and I always thought it could be configured differently,” Ariene says. “When she decided to go on vacation, I told her I was going to redo her office. … When she came back, she was like, ‘Oh my God, you should do this for a living.’”
After this lightbulb moment, Bethea began pursuing design. She worked briefly at Bassett Furniture to receive formal training but found she did not enjoy the hard selling of being employed by a major furniture company.
That experience paired with watching her husband, Daren Bethea ’00, open his own chiropractic practice gave her the confidence to branch out independently. She had an eye for acquiring vintage decor, so she decided to start selling her finds on websites such as Etsy. That’s when she realized there was a market for what she offered that extended beyond her local community. “Most of my pieces were going out to other states, so I started doing local pop-ups,” Bethea says, adding she also briefly sold in a multi-merchant space.
Throughout the process, her communications degree has certainly come in handy. It has not only helped her with marketing her products, but also provided her the skillset to temporarily contribute to local interior design publications. After gaining a solid social media presence and following, Bethea had the confidence to finally open Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio in 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. She sells vintage decor and the occasional handmade item, as long as it matches her brand. “I buy things that I love,” she says. “When I look at an item, I try to ask myself, ‘Is this on brand?’”
As a Black female business owner in the South, opening the physical store was no cakewalk. “When I first opened the store, I would get some questions like ‘Oh, is this your store?’ or ‘Are these things consigned?’ or ‘Who’s the business owner?’” she says.
Luckily, the support system she had built through fellow Elon alumni, her husband and other designers on social media has helped her not only overcome this but thrive. And industry leaders have taken notice. In recent years, Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio has been recognized by House Beautiful, HGTV and Essence magazines, among others.
But Bethea does not let the numerous accolades go to her head. “I don’t think about them, actually. I just keep doing the work because work still has to get done,” she says. “I give it its moment, but all the other things still have to get done.”
Case in point: Even when the brick-and-mortar store was closed due to COVID-19, Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio continued to flourish. Going forward, Bethea hopes to hire an assistant and continue growing her business while inspiring others, especially her clients. “I want people to be free to create whatever space they want in their homes,” she says. “I have to constantly remind clients it’s their home and they can do whatever they want.”
Keep up with Bethea at dressingroomsinteriorsstudio.com.