Meet Terra: The “Nature-Nerd” and Creative Thinker Harnessing the Beauty of Wild Spaces
Posted on August 31, 2021
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Terra Weiland, an assistant designer with Lotus, joined the team as an intern in 2019 and has been assisting the designers in creating their trademark stunning designs since then.
Her passion for nature, along with her drive to create beautiful things, led the recent grad to switch from teaching to landscape design a few years ago. Having completed her Masters in Landscape Architecture, Terra now supports the Lotus designers at every stage of the creative process, bringing attention to detail and an artistic eye to every project she is involved with.
As a design assistant, Terra works closely with new clients, helping to familiarize them with the Lotus process and acting as a liaison between the customer and designers. On any given day she can be found chatting to clients in the office, on-site measuring and taking photos, or helping the designers make edits to large-scale projects.
She said: “There’s a huge amount of variety in my job. Working with people and creativity have always been important to me, so I knew I didn’t want to spend my entire career working behind a desk. I spend a lot of time talking to clients and also out in the field, so it’s a nice balance. The thrill of working on large-scale designs is seeing them develop and take shape over time. You literally get to watch this blank state transform into a vibrant oasis that’s just bursting with life.”
In 2019, Terra established herself as an office hero when she rescued a high-pressure hardscape project by picking up a table-sized slab of stone on her way to a Wilco music festival in Massachusetts. She and her husband loaded the stone into the back of her SUV and transported it across the country and back again, just in time for the patio to be completed. Traven still refers to this as “the Subaru Bluestone incident”.
Going forward, Terra is excited to grow her design career, and bring her love of modern prairie plantings and sustainable landscaping to South East Michigan. The self-proclaimed “nature nerd” said she was excited to expand her portfolio of dreamy wilderness-inspired spaces, incorporating her love of fragrant grasses and one-of-a-kind decks and patios.
Fortunately for us, Terra is as enthusiastic about us as we are about her!
She said: “Speaking to customers I hear a lot of horror stories about other landscape companies, so it’s incredible to be a part of a team that always gives it their all. People here really like their job, and if you’re kind and open you always get that in return. I’ve been ill over the past couple of months and everyone has been so supportive and comforting. That’s rare. It’s really special to work for a company that genuinely cares about your wellbeing.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]