New directions, big life changes, ever changing work environments called for an overhaul of all my systems – enter Cass. Practical. Simple. No manifesting my future business success to whale music – just clean clear systems and directions that make sense to a creative and easily distracted human.
Two hours with Cass is like spending a luxury spring clean of your mind, in terms of unpacking and sorting your to do list for life and business. Greatly appreciated her time and insights that were extremely practical and insightful. We discussed streamlining my accounting systems, goals and structure of business, garden landscaping plan ideas for the future, as well as tips around incentivising my two young children! Great sense of relief with having plans ahoy to move forward with. Thanks so much!
As a freelancer, it’s easy to procrastinate when you’re only accountable to yourself. I had been dragging my feet for over a year on launching my first online course so I engaged Cass to help me with accountability. During our weekly meetings, Cass asked insightful, thoughtful and non-judgemental questions to help me develop a plan of action. It was the reinvigoration I needed and having weekly goals undoubtedly helped me launch my course. Without Cass’s encouraging but firm accountability sessions I have a feeling that I’d still be in the ‘dreaming’ phase of running an online course.
My Goals & Strategy session with Cass has given me clarity and a structure to identify and work towards my goals in a realistic time-frame. Cass really listens and has the skills, experience and compassion to look at the big picture and break it down to give you the focus and motivation you need to move forward.
Working with Cass is much more than goals and strategy. She listens intently and thoughtfully, notices gaps or suggests different ways of looking and tackling challenges, teasing out the lightbulb moments. She gives 100% attention and follows up gently but purposefully to help keep you accountable (and often with another solution to share!).
I can’t thank you enough Cass.
Highly recommend.
Cass’s professionalism, enthusiasm and intelligence coupled with her honesty and integrity is reflected in every aspect of the design process. She offers a strong artistic vision and impeccable standard of excellence. After feeling completely overwhelmed by the scope of the task and the difficulty of the site, it was such a relief to engage her services. I am thrilled with the outcome and can’t recommend her landscaping services more highly.
In the 12 years that we’ve lived in Castlemaine we’ve had many attempts at creating a functional, productive and welcoming garden but nothing was quite right. During our consultation with Cass, she listened carefully to the variety of uses our relatively small space has (entertaining, play areas for the children, growing vegetables and fruit, and shedding and tanking) and then developed a thoughtful, beautiful and spacious design that fit perfectly with our family’s lifestyle needs and low maintenance requirements. Working with Cass was effortless – she has the rare ability to listen and take on board multiple points of view by ‘walking and talking’ through a space, and then creating a design that satisfies everyone’s needs.
Feeling it was time I gave my garden a lift, and not being overly creative or knowing where to start, I decided to ask Cass for her expertise in landscape design. As we walked around my back yard Cass asked lots of questions to get a feel for my vision. She talked through her suggested plan and sketched as she went. I was able to get a sense of how it would look and the steps towards creating the new design. Cass followed up with an email listing plants, nurseries and contractors to assist with the project. If you’re feeling stuck with your own garden design, Cass is knowledgeable, experienced and resourceful when it comes to planning your dream garden project.
Being a new resident in town and a gardening novice, Cass’s advice was very much appreciated. She was recommended to me by the local community. After some onsite meetings, Cass came up with insightful landscaping ideas and clear advice for my front and back garden, and together with the landscaper, they made the garden a million times better. Very happy with the results!
Thank you Cass, for my landscape design consultation. You’re very energising and engaging. I enjoy the way you think and most importantly listen. You bought fresh eyes to the space, came up with suggestions and captivating ideas. Now I’m excited to start my garden project!
I love my landscape plan! Cass created this plan with me while physically looking at my house and garden. She took into account all my ideas, as well as how I use, and could best use my space. Cass saw ways forward that I hadn’t thought of yet, and saw potential in spaces where I was stuck. I gained an overview of my garden, a vision for it, plus a way to implement the design. Her expertise, vision and understanding of the landscape design process was outstanding. The result is a plan that I love and know exactly how to achieve.
The emphasis on our new house build was a north facing dwelling, set well back from the front boundary. This space was to be our primary outdoor living and entertainment area with the major house living areas overlooking it. Professional help was required! Our brief to Cass included screening of unwanted views, design and placement of structures to complement the house and planting advice. One of the outstanding elements of working with Cass was her ability and willingness to listen to our ideas, add her own and translate them into a balanced and harmonious design. Her advice on plantings has proven to be sound as 3 years on, the garden is flourishing. Working with Cass was a very enjoyable experience, right from our initial discussions to completion.
I couldn’t have been happier with the assistance I received from Cass in establishing my garden. I initially contacted a Melbourne-based landscape designer, who charged me a high fee to visit the site and prepare a quote. A few weeks later that landscape designer told me my budget wasn’t sufficient for the site and that she wouldn’t have the design prepared for several months. So I began designing the garden myself. Thankfully, Cass was then recommended to me by a friend. Cass gave me great suggestions for the design of my garden and prepared a detailed list of plantings that were appropriate to the local environment and climate, which she understood well. Just as importantly, she prepared a list of the different trades I would need, landscape suppliers and nurseries and provided me with recommendations of who to contact. Her local experience and encouragement gave me the confidence to progress the garden. I still have more work to do, but it looks like the garden will come in under budget and my plants are thriving.
Cass is not only an incredibly talented landscape architect, she gets people full stop. She works hard to understand your vision and desires, but couples it with a solid understanding of nature and practicality that achieves your design intentions. She also highlights considerations you didn’t even know you needed to be aware of. We are at design stage, but Cass’ design makes me so excited about building the vision she has helped us create, and if I could build it yesterday I would. This will be the garden of our dreams, and add extreme value to our property, no doubt about it
The moment Cass arrived on site she devoted her time to learning more about me, my lifestyle and my values. She listened closely to what I need from my garden and reflected all of these aspects in the plan she developed during my consultation. She even found a place for my creaky old hills hoist! She helped me establish priorities for the landscape project, provided me with the contact details of local trades who will help me to create my dream garden. I loved the whole process and now feel less overwhelmed and completely in control of this landscaping project. I would not hesitate to recommend Cass to anyone who, like me, may have big dreams for a small space. Thanks Cass.
We were overwhelmed with where to start with our large garden, firstly to get on top of maintenance and secondly, to enhance our garden and create new spaces. Cass provided us with an actionable and creative concept for moving forward. It was a pragmatic, achievable and suited to our site conditions. Since her consultation we have stopping spinning wheels and are on our way ticking off actions. The value in Cass’s landscape consults is that you are receiving professional landscape architect advice in a neat, affordable package to allow you to take that first step. I’d highly recommend Cass whether its simply to get on top of an unruly garden or to create your dream garden.
This Pitch and Publication Tracker puts my Excel spreadsheets to shame! Cass has created the Rolls Royce of pitch trackers. This tool is simply the most powerful and efficient way to keep on top of your editorial contacts, pitches, editor call outs and publication details. This is a next-level resource for freelance writers.
Cass Ewing’s Pitch and Publication Tracker has been a game changer for my freelance writing business. Over 20 years as a travel writer I’ve tried various methods of keeping track of pitches, assignments, contacts and projects. But it’s been a mess. The Pitch Tracker has streamlined my work processes, saved me time and has ultimately helped me to secure more work. Thanks Cass!
It’s not hyperbole to say that Cass’s Pitch Tracker completely changed the way I keep my records – and made accessing them easier and waaaaaaay more efficient. I keep it open on my desktop, and add to it as I need to, so things don’t slip through. I’ve gone from wasting loads of time searching emails and stacking Post-it notes to keeping editor’s contact information and publication’s pitch guidelines in a trackable, systematic format that I can even take with me on my phone. Don’t be dissuaded by the look of the tool, if you’re not a ‘spreadsheet’ person. It’s easy to learn, and Cass provides loads of support in the private Facebook group. I recommend it, 100%.
I really like the concept and once I get all our information in the document I think it will be very valuable. Having everything together on hand in the one spot will be extremely useful. Also when Committee executives and members change it will be a very helpful document for new committee and any new volunteers wanting to learn about our operation and policies. Thanks for developing such a useful resource.
The VIP day was fantastic and very informative. Cass made me feel like I could ask any question and she was happy to answer them. She was able to tailor the Airtable hub to suit my needs based on previous discussions, all of which assists me in being more organised, keeping track of my hours on different jobs, invoicing, and projects. There is a lot that I haven’t unpacked yet, but I see a real benefit going forward to setting up different tables such as plant lists, and expanding the Resources Library in the future to make it a ‘one stop shop’ for locating all information I come across during the journey of landscape design. I really enjoy using Airtable to help manage my business.
Because Cass understands what’s involved in running a landscape design business she has been able to do a lot of the hard work in terms of knowing the type of information that needs to be recorded and the processes involved. The result is a product able to record all the necessary internal business and project specific details. I would recommend the Business Hub for Landscape Designers, designed by Cass, as an organisational tool for your business that allows you to collate all the information related to your business and clients in the one location. Cass is so friendly, knowledgeable and thorough which made the VIP day exciting and efficient.