Master Gardener & Carpenter
Hi I’m Terri and I offer eco landscaping & design/build services for clients that are interested in becoming stewards of their land and homes.
Contact me directly for consults and full on services! Have a great day!
When I was a young girl…
I went to a summer camp in New Fane, Vermont called Hearts Bend.
I learned about animals, nature and how to hammer a nail on the head
while repairing
the floors in this barn! Michael was the guy who showed me how. He was a former pro basketball
player for the LA Lakers and was impressed that a girl could do such a great job!
I became fascinated with the barn’s architecture, textures and feel. I studied drafting in high school, dreamed of becoming an architect and
graduated with honors in my drafting and art classes. During the summers, I worked for Michael as a designer, draftsperson and painter for his building company, Rocky Dell Builders. They built second and third homes in Stratton, Vermont and I learned about quality materials, stains, wood, construction, carpentry, roof lines, and by the time I was 15 years old, I designed
my first house.
(This is a photo of Timber hanging out in the barn at Hearts Bend.)
First House - Stratton Mountain
Here is a photo of the first house I designed and drafted. I was 15 years old! It was built when I was a sophomore in college. BTW I put myself thru college by walking on and then earning a basketball scholarship for Florida State University. I graduated with honors with a BS in Interior Design. It was a FIDER accredited program, with a strong graphics emphasis and I went to work as a Junior Designer for Swanke Hayden & Connell in NYC. However, I missed playing ball so I took a break and played professionally in France and returned a year later to NYC with a life experience I would never forget. Unable to find work in now a slow architectural market, I marketed my graphic and drafting skills and went to work for an advertising firm as an Art Director.
Then….
As an Art Director, I designed many campaigns for ESPN, No Nonsense, MTV, Minolta, Reebock, just to name a few. Eventually I merged my architectural, interior design and graphic skills with my new “In Your Face” branding and advertising skills to lead and design an ad campaign and a retail space for WilliWear in Bloomingdales, NYC.
I earned the title of Creative Director.
Imagination
I went on to conceptualize, design and manage projects utilizing out-of-the-box and sustainable approaches for the retail, restaurant, residential and theme park industries such as:
Disney Imagineering
Disney MGM Studios
NASA Kennedy Space Center
Russian Tea Room
Tavern on the Green
Wonderworks
Jack Travis Architects
CDI!
Expressions by Design
Orsini Design
Kodak
Nature Calls
Craving for purpose, and wanting to gather all my skills and put them to good use, I moved to the Catskills and founded a company called Dream Builders. It offered design & building services for homes, local stores and restaurants utilizing green principles. It was one of the first in the area to use non or low VOC paints and finishes, denim insulation, up cycled wood for unique trim and architectural details, re purposed furniture and heirlooms to create special soulful environments. Then, I started to patch up the lawn or holes that had been dug for foundations or footers and planted bushes and perennials. I found I enjoyed being outdoors and planting trees and voila. I became a landscaper.
Hearts Bend Landscaping
I started to incorporate the sustainable principals I had for Dream Builders and to offer “eco-scaping” and garden design implementing natives and pollinators and founded my new company, Hearts Bend Landscaping. I encouraged clients to become stewards of their property by regenerating wild life habitats into their yards. Last fall, I designed and installed several perennial and pollinator gardens for Bread Alone in Boiceville, NY. It is the first ever carbon neutral bakery in the United States. I, like Bread Alone, am committed to saving the planet in bringing awareness of our impact on the environment by what we do in this life.