Why did we set up Digital Landscapes?
Digital Landscapes was born out of a frustration at existing training for the technical tools needed in our professional work. The courses we attended were often very technical (and dull) and we found learning more advanced techniques tricky as they often assumed a base knowledge, yet it was never clear how to build it.
Founded by Emily Sharpe and Fiona Silk, it was borne of conversations about how there must be a better way - courses that help people incrementally build skills whilst developing their confidence with complex pieces of software; training delivered with precise (and concise) instructions; no jargon-filled waffle; and warm friendly tutors that make learning, dare we say it, fun.
Our aim is to create courses and resources to help landscape professionals not only improve their graphics skills, but also to improve their efficiency, productivity and profitability. We believe in interactive learning through demonstration and hands-on exercises, amongst a group of like-minded people who are willing you forward.
Founder
After graduating with an honours degree in Computer Science, Fiona promptly decided she didn’t want to work in an office full of IT technicians and entered a career in marketing. A decade later, tired and disillusioned she moved to Japan and spent two years teaching English to primary school students, before returning to the UK and studying at the prestigious London College of Garden Design, graduating in 2011, with two weeks of work experience with Andy Sturgeon and the class prize from Cleve West under her belt.
Since then she's has done a mix of private design work and freelancing for other designers (including Jo Thompson, Butter Wakefield, Adolfo Harrison, Mark Gregory, and James Alexander Sinclair). In 2014 she started tutoring for The London College of Garden Design, where she still works, taught for Capel Manor from 2016 to 2020 and has recently done some work for KLC too.
Fiona moved out of London in 2021 and can be found running around the glorious hills in peaceful Malvern with her two dogs.