About the owner (that’s me!)
I’m Dave Marciniak, owner and lead designer for this awesome little company. Here’s what makes me tick, and what makes my team the best fit for your project.
I grew up surrounded by the natural beauty of New England. We made frequent trips to the beaches of course, but my childhood was spent exploring the inland woods and swamps of my hometown. It’s easy to develop a lifelong love for nature when your afternoons are spent among plants and boulder fields.
My dad was a music professor, which meant I grew up immersed in the arts. The art building at his college was directly across from the music building. Just wandering the studios and the sculpture garden and taking in the breadth and depth of creative possibilities was mindblowing. There was always paper and pencils available at home and I spent hours doodling complex worlds.
My first experience in the landscape industry was working for my older brother’s company, starting in high school. I loathed landscape work and swore that I would do everything in my power to never have to do it again once I was out of college. Somewhere along the way I began to enjoy it. Following the rhythms of the seasons and helping plants grow and develop harkened back to my days intentionally getting lost in the woods. When I got the opportunity to start building things, it all fell into place.
I started my first business while still in college. To say it was an abysmal flop would be underselling it. Starting a successful business at that age takes an exceptional twenty year old and that wasn’t me. I wasn’t ready yet. After college I helped my brother run a company in Massachusetts for bit, then moved back to Ohio. A few moves later and I was in San Diego.
San Diego was the first big leap forward in my landscape career. First I worked for a residential design-build company in Carlsbad. We created the most amazing, elaborate landscapes packed with tropical plants and I studied every decision the designers made. The commute was brutal though, so I kept looking.
The job that made me realize how awesome design can be was running the grounds crew at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. If you’re not familiar with the facility, it was designed by the architect Louis I. Khan. The Salk Institute is starkly beautiful. Concrete towers thrust from the eucalyptus groves and a stark white marble courtyard focuses your eyes on the Pacific Ocean. I was going through some stuff at the time and the beautiful setting and predictable schedule gave me a chance to settle myself. The longer I worked there, the more convinced I became that I wanted to be a designer. Eventually I packed everything into my little green truck and headed over the mountains to Phoenix.
Once I settled into life in the Valley of the Sun, I enrolled in classes – as an INTERIOR design major. This would prove to be one of the best decisions I could make. I learned about architectural styles, color theory, and fabrics. But the most important class was space planning. My professor, Celestino, was a brilliant designer and a drill instructor in the studio. If your rooms were bigger than they needed to be, if you wasted a square foot of space on hallways or stairs, or your kitchen didn’t flow – you got to hear about it in front of the whole class.
While in Phoenix I met my wife, Mindy. When she finished her PhD in Psychology she got hired at University of Mary Washington and we moved east. I worked for a landscape design-build firm here for three years. I learned all about Virginia’s plant palette; I learned how to design decks, porches, garages, and even additions and houses. Most importantly I had a pair of critical yet supportive mentors who really helped my designs improve. I was feeling like I had outgrown the job when the 2008 recession hit and I no longer had to decide whether to stay or go. I was laid off with a day’s notice and within a couple of days I landed my first client. The rest is history.
What this means for YOU
The point of illustrating my winding journey was to show the decisions and events that shaped me as both a designer and a business owner. I’m an artist who loves the natural world. I’ve learned how to create stunning, efficient spaces that just feel right. And I have a natural curiosity that causes me to constantly explore and look for the next thing to add to my clients’ outdoor spaces. What does this mean to you? It means you should fill out the form below and click the submit button and I’ll show you what a lifetime of creating art and building stuff can do for your property.
