CREATIVE KIRKLAND

Tell us about your Kirkland background.
I was working for a really small landscape architecture firm in Issaquah, and I was working from my home in Seattle, which, surprisingly, was starting to really drive me crazy. Working at home – not having the separation between home and office, so I was looking around for a job, and through a mutual landscape architect, I ended up at The Watershed Company six years ago. I was already familiar with Kirkland through previous work I’d done for clients here so it just seemed like a good fit. It’s easy to get here, and it’s a great place to work because there are lots of opportunities for meeting other creative professionals. Our firm has been in Kirkland since its inception 27 years ago. It had two different offices on Market Street, and outgrew those, and ended up here in Houghton.

What do you find special about being a creative professional in Kirkland?
There are a lot of other creative professionals in Kirkland – other architecture firms we work with, like Page & Beard, and Tielsen Architects, Curtis Gelotte from Gelotte Hommas Architects – so other professionals are already here. There are a lot of civil engineering firms (i.e., CPH, AESI), other design firms, and even some interior design – so we can get teams together of local, Kirkland firms, if we are going after a project for the city. So there’s a lot of opportunity for that.

What’s unique about being in Kirkland?
A great view! A lot of beach parks, which is great. You can go down to the water and get in touch with the Lake. In a bigger city, you might not have that opportunity, if you’re stuck in the middle. Kirkland is small enough that you can walk around – you can easily get to places you need to go. I appreciate that (because it’s a smaller city and it wasn’t as densely developed as, say, Seattle) it’s got these natural areas. There are the Carillon Woods to the south of us, which is a neat place to walk around. There’s the Forbes Creek corridor, and that’s very wild and natural. You can be in an urban area, but still have a connection to nature – you’ve got the lake and these urban woodsy corridors. I appreciate that aspect of Kirkland a lot, especially since it’s one of [The Watershed Company’s] specialties. I really like that. Kirkland still has its trees.

Are there any special places you like to go in Kirkland for creative inspiration?
I like to get down to the Lake, where The Slip is (THAT is my favorite restaurant in Kirkland.)  It’s got that great view of the Lake; it’s just unbeatable. To be able to relax – if I can get to a beach park, that really helps me gather and focus my thoughts. Usually (and especially in the winter) Kirkland parks are really quiet, so you can be by yourself and do a little thinking.

Has Kirkland influenced your creative outlook? If so, how?
It definitely influences the kind of work we do. Because we’re an Eastside firm, we focus on what used to be bedroom communities and are now these little Eastside cities, and they all have similar features – leftover forest areas, and nature parks that need design advice.