Garden Designer
What were you doing before studying and why did you decide to study here?
I was previously working in sales in the food and drink industry. I chose KLC School of Design largely because of the quality of their tutoring team and lecturers as well as their emphasis on Vectorworks and CAD processes. Also Humaira is great.
How do you think studying at KLC School of Design prepared you for what you do now?
The diploma places a real emphasis on getting you ready to work as a professional garden designer from day one, so the course gave me the confidence and skill set to start pitching for design work very soon after graduating. I worked for a studio for a couple of months which was a helpful buffer actually into seeing how all of the skills I learnt work in practice, before I started working on my own design projects.
Can you identify some of the highlights and challenges of your time with us?
Highlights were definitely the range of quality of projects we worked on through the course. They were real projects with real clients and this helped to get me used to the challenges you face when working on and presenting a design. Standing up in front of a room of professionals and presenting my work definitely stands out as a challenging experience but it really helped prepare me for the real world.
How has your career evolved since graduating?
Within 3 months of graduating I started my own design and build practice with a close friend and we now have two teams of landscapers working across London on a range of design projects.
What projects are you currently working on?
I am currently designing two residential gardens in London, one in Clapton and one in Islington. The job in Islington is particularly exciting as I am going to put into practice gardening techniques learned from a recent trip to Japan to connect the space to mature trees beyond the garden boundaries.
What do you consider your biggest achievement to date?
Running a business for nearly 3 years now!
Do you have any tips for recent graduates?
Work for one or multiple studios whose work you like the look of at least for a few months to see how they do it, as everyone's approach is unique and you can always learn something.
