Once upon a time ( for 40 years to be exact)

I was a production designer and art director for animated tv, commercials and movies (you can look at my bio at www.carolkiefferpolice.com for some ancient history details). However, somewhere in a parallel universe, I was also a passionate cook, mom, wife, gardener and designer of whatever I could design. I enjoyed the way things were engineered, colors, textures, materials and environmental space - It was a good thing, too, because our first house, a 1911 bungalow, was condemned after an earthquake which required serious deconstruction, design and rebuild. It was that experience that kicked off an intense and practical construction learning curve. I found I loved redoing houses, not just decorating them, inside and outside, and assisting friends and family as they were exploring redesigning their own spaces. I loved the hands on grit of it. This became especially true when my entertainment and commercial work changed from "real" paint and mediums to the digital realm in production (I’ll never stop loving to draw and paint)

a "few" years ago I retired. With kids grown and off with spouses of their own, I was knee deep in reimagining the mid century home I envisioned as my last. As providence would have it, my neighbors and a few realtors began asking for my design opinion. Then folks asked for help. Before I knew it I needed business cards and a DBA for the S Corp I’d kept afloat when I had a production company years before. And thus the unexpected labor and birth of Flourish Homescaping.

I’d come in the back door of a new industry and business in a most unorthodox manner.I realized what I could bring to the table were many of the abilities I’d refined while an art director and production designer: Coming to a project without an agenda. Able to hear and see the client as being unique and distilling a vision for them. A love of research and new stuff. The ability to problem solve and work in an array of styles depending on the needs. The skills to visually express a concept and a hands on background in environmental design, landscaping and installation.I am not a landscape architect. I am not a contractor. If a job necessitates either one I’ll bring them in. I am a small, hands on boutique company - an artist and designer with a unique history and a love of plants, people and two standard poodles.