“If I were a plant or tree, I’d be an Amur Maple because it comes into its own as it ages.”
- JOEL LOBLAW
A bad day for Joel Loblaw is one where he’s either chained to his desk or feverishly racing from one project to another. “I prefer some sort of balance, so I get the best of both worlds,” Joel says. “But my favorite part of the job is design!”
To that end if Joel left landscaping behind it would likely be for a life in front of a canvas. His pastime as a painter has led Joel to exhibit in numerous local shows. Joel’s other hobbies coax him outside the studio – hockey, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and fishing. “My dream backyard would have a trout stream running right down the middle of it!”
A Chicago native, Joel graduated from Ryerson’s Landscape Architecture program in 1997. A short time later he and classmates James Dale and Kennedy McRae founded the award winning landscape design firm, Earth Inc. Lorne Hancock joined the trio as senior designer a few years later. Joel’s first professional triumph, “Seeing an Earth Inc. sign in the neighbourhood I grew up in!”
Joel’s favourite style is a fresh minimalist approach, one of his icons being British award-winning garden designer Christopher Bradley-Hole. “The biggest change in landscape design over the past few years has been the switch from traditional to modern,” Joel says. “Now with people renovating to modernize their homes they’re after more unique gardens. You’ve got to keep it fresh!”
Joel Loblaw is married and lives in Toronto with his wife and young son. They are expecting another child later this year.
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