70 30 Design Studio

10/07/2026

This year‘s Fall Festival on Sat, OCT 10 will have plant sales, kids’ activities, bake sales, a flower show, food trucks, gardening demonstrations, local organizations + vendors, and more! I’ll be volunteering at the Virginia Native Plant Society - South Hampton Roads Chapter booth. We’ll have LOTS of affordable native plants for sale, plus folks who can answer your questions. It’s going to be a good time. Come on by and say 'hi'!

🗓️Saturday, Oct 10, 10 am - 3 pm
1444 Diamond Springs Road, Virginia Beach, VA
Free and open to the public!

09/11/2026

🌿Art and ecology for everyone! In this short talk I’ll go over 3 ways you can implement artistic design principles to invoke inspiration AND help pollinators in your garden. This talk is hosted by the Virginia Native Plant Society Hampton Roads Chapter - of which I am a proud member. Each month they have a guest speaker who helps folks learn about how to support our local ecosystem in various ways.

🌸When: Thurs, Sept 24th
6:30 pm
Norfolk Botanical Garden, Rose Hall

If you don’t have an NBG membership, when you pull up to the entrance gate tell them you’re going to the VNPS event.

See you there!

07/05/2026

WE LOVE TO SEE IT.

Oh.. okay 🤷‍♀️🌿

07/05/2026

Help pollinators during heat waves with a simple "sipping station". Use filtered water if possible, but honestly, any water will help. Don't add round objects - bugs can slip on them and drown! Instead, use craggy objects where they can creep down safely to the water's edge. Place in a sunny area, and pat yourself on the back. Dump & refresh water daily to keep mosquitos from breeding.Whether you've got a balcony or an acre, every bit helps.

07/05/2026

Each year as part of Arbor Day the Norfolk Tree Commission recognizes people and organizations helping the environment in our fair city. Applications for this years nominees are now open! I was selected of Leader of the Year 2025 for Soundings, an ecological art installation in the Norfolk Botanical Garden that helped the public visualize the possibilities of vegetated roof gardens in their own yards and city buildings. There are free trees to help grow our tree canopy, and its a good time!

06/19/2026

I attended my first CreativeMornings at the Virginia Beach chapter. It’s held at the Creative Well Arts Foundation. CreativeMornings are ongoing, free short talks one Friday morning per month for creative communities (and anyone, really). I had heard about CR, but only recently found out there was a local chapter. This month’s speaker was Kendrick Hopkins Jr, Multimedia Producer at WHRO. He is a 11x Capital Emmy award winner, 24x Telly Award Winner, & recipient of the Inside Business Forty Under 40 award in 2016.

I am really glad I set aside the time to go. It’s inspiring to learn about what other creative folks are doing in Hampton Roads. the path is never straight to creative, success and striving, and events like this remind me that there are a bunch of folks who care about community and bringing the arts to a larger audience because they are our human birthright.

06/12/2026

As my collaborator and I have been crafting this breakout session, one of the main themes that has emerged is 'no'. Sometimes a 'no' is about boundaries or interests: of a collaborator, a community, or budget. Often 'no' is the knee-jerk response from cautious city officials, organizations, or suppliers. What approach to take to convert their 'no' to a 'yes'? Other times, 'no' comes from other people's lack of experience with the type of art you want to make. How can you keep convincing yourself and others that your project is worthy of the effort before it's ready to be unveiled? Finally, how can you expand your circle of 'yes'?

It's going to be an intestesting session!

02/02/2026

Just because a design uses primarily native plants doesn’t mean the garden style has to be “naturalistic”. This is an initial sketch for a small, oddly shaped yard that has a drainage easement AND an electrical utility box. The client likes geometric, modern design and wants to get rid of her lawn. A fun new challenge!

Pro tip: Reach out to us garden designers *in winter* so that by the time spring comes, everything will be ready to go!