Hello Lisa.

I've been thinking about something this week.

Inside the Garden Design Collective right now, we have so many members who are in the middle of their very first paid project. And watching them work through it has brought back a lot of feelings I remember well. Because this moment, when it's not your backyard anymore, is one you don't forget.♥

Maybe you've been here. Maybe you're here right now.

It's your first paid project. You know what you want the garden to do. You can picture it…the bones of it, the overall mood, the warm brick paving you'd love to include, the plants you'd reach for first...all the beautiful details, the way it wants to be.

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You just aren't sure yet how to get what's in your head onto the paper…in a way your client will see it too. So you work. And you second-guess. And you work some more. You wonder if the design is good. You wonder if they'll understand the drawing. And underneath all of that wondering, there's something quieter and harder to name.

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Here's what I want you to know about that feeling.

It isn't a sign that you aren't ready. It's a sign that you care…and that you're taking this work seriously. Every designer I know remembers their first paid project. Not because it was perfect. Because it was the moment the work became real. The moment it stopped being practice and started being theirs.

A few things I've noticed about this moment that might be helpful: 

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This is when the perfectionism really kicks in. That internal voice that wants the drawing concepts to be completely figured out before they can be seen, that wants to know all the answers before you've asked the questions…it's at its loudest right now. Because you care so much, and caring so much makes you want to protect yourself from getting it wrong. Let it be a little imperfect. That's just how good design works...you try, you adjust, you try again.

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They hired you because they trust you. I know that can feel like pressure. But try letting it be something else for a moment…permission. They saw something in you worth saying yes to. You don't have to earn that trust. You already have it.

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The gap you feel between your vision and your final design will close. Every project teaches you something your own backyard couldn't. The way a client describes what they want in words that don't quite translate to design. The way a site reads differently on paper than it did when you were standing in it. The way your drawing gets a little steadier, a little more yours, each time you sit down to work. You can't see this gap closing while you're in it. You'll see it when you look back.

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If you're in the middle of a first project right now, or getting ready to take one on…I want you to know that what you're feeling is the right feeling for exactly where you are. Not a signal to stop. A signal that you've started. You'll be that much more confident on the other side. Take it one step at a time.

If you're ready for a little support as you work through your first projects…the Garden Design Collective opens again June 15. You're warmly invited to join the WAITING LIST so you're the first to know when doors open.

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While you wait, feel free to check out our 10x10 Garden Design Tips email series.

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If you know someone that needs design inspiration, please feel free to share this newsletter. Anyone can subscribe right here. I also keep a VAULT of past issues if you'd like to explore.

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May you find your footing one design at a time.

From the studio + garden,

Lisa 

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PAPER GARDEN WORKSHOP

Thank you to Mandy Orgler for designing the lovely graphics in all these newsletters.