Interview by Kelly Postiglione. Photo by Theresa Balderas.
Where are you from and where do you live now?
I grew up in the suburbs of Chestnut Hill, MA, which I loved. Boston is a wonderful city — blooming with art and culture and a 15-minute ride from my childhood home. I now live in Larchmont, NY, with my husband, two children, and miniature long-haired dachshund, Punch.
How many children do you have and what are their ages?
I am blessed with two beautiful children — my son Schuylar, who is about to turn nine, and my daughter Sutton, who is almost six. We all have May birthdays in this house (except for Dad and Punch — our “first” baby girl)!
What is your professional background and what inspired you to start Cliff Walk Designs?
I graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a joint major in Business & French. My father always told me, “Emmy, focus on something practical and combine it with a true passion.” My degree also included a special concentration in European History. Upon graduating, I moved to New York City where I started my career at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. in the Aramis & Designer Fragrance Division. I always wanted to work in fashion or beauty, like my mother, and “ADF” was the perfect balance between the two. I had the privilege of working with our counterparts at the fashion houses (Michael Kors, Coach, Donna Karan, DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, Tory Burch, Marni, Missoni, Ermenegildo Zegna, and more).
After 10 years at ELC, I made the move to Cartier North America, where I spent almost three years as the Director of Media Relations. Many trips to Paris and Geneva, many photoshoots, many amazing experiences that helped develop my eye for design and, of course, enhanced my love of jewelry.
I left Cartier to work for a PR agency where I focused on quality home furnishing & lifestyle brands such as Farrow & Ball, L’Objet, Dempsey & Carroll, Windsor Florida, and more.
Upon moving to Larchmont in early 2016, I said farewell to the corporate world and focused on motherhood. In between babies, I worked with a wonderful interior designer, Victoria Kirk, while pregnant with my daughter Sutton. Victoria truly taught me how to run a business while being creative and attentive to her clients. She is extremely talented, calm, patient, and also quite funny. I lost my father in October 2019 and then COVID happened — so there was no other place I wanted to be but in the garden. I brought my then three-year-old and newborn out into the garden and re-designed the spaces. It truly was a healing process for me because I grew up gardening with my father on the weekends. Victoria and her husband moved to Sag Harbor full-time and by then I had already decided that interior design was not for me. I had spent several years promoting a world of excess (and we all love beautiful things…) but the loss of my parents made me question how I wanted to be remembered in this life.
Cliff Walk Designs is very much inspired by my childhood summer home in Prouts Neck, Maine. The Cliff Walk there is likely one of the most beautiful places along the coast, and also the inspiration behind many of the works painted by my favorite artist, Winslow Homer, whose studio was just around the corner from my former summer home.
Photo by Theresa Balderas.
What types of projects do you love to work on?
Cliff Walk Designs LLC was officially “born” in 2022, although I had worked for friends and neighbors on projects starting in 2020. I continue to focus on residential projects locally as well as larger properties in Bedford, Katonah, Chappaqua, and a medicinal apothecary garden on the water in Westport, CT.
For the past two years, I have been working on the former historical home of a very iconic photographer from the 1950s–70s, and I look forward to sharing more details soon! I adore a challenge and I absolutely love working with the natural landscape as it is.
What does sustainability mean to you in the context of landscape design, and how does it influence your projects?
Sustainability has two meanings: 1.) Can the design be sustained? 2.) Is the design and are the plantings sustainable for the environment? Both are equally important. Because I have studied Horticulture & Landscape Design at the New York Botanical Gardens and have a double graduate degree in both, I feel the term “ecological” is really what influences my work. When I begin work on a site, I examine and analyze the existing species, the soil, the presence of wildlife….
An ecologically minded approach entails ensuring you are protecting and creating habitats for wildlife. It helps to ensure you are building healthier soil by planting a diverse group of species. Monocultures do not help our soils. We are led to believe that a hedgerow of Schip Laurels is the “appropriate” design but in fact, if you look at many homes side by side, you will realize that “landscapers” are merely creating monocultures. Our soil has been depleted over the years — a reason why so many families are interested in growing their own food. The produce we buy in supermarkets no longer has the nutrition it once did. This is why our farmers markets are important to support and why we need to re-establish the concept of the “Victory Garden.”
My children are also a major influence when it comes to forward-thinking horticultural practices and landscape design decisions. The landscape industry has led many homeowners to believe that leaves are dirty, pests are bad, and lawns must be impeccable. None of this is true. If you have ever walked along a cliff walk, you begin to understand that life is a delicate dance with nature. We are vulnerable, and the gardens we “create” become vulnerable because they are not naturally formed. At Cliff Walk Designs, my goal is to help educate clients and others on the importance of our choices in outdoor spaces and how we can appreciate beauty while honoring wildlife, native plants, and the soil-food-web. In essence, we need nature more than it needs us. The human-plant connection has so much value and we truly can learn from plants — whether spiritually or scientifically — they are living beings and necessary to our own well-being in every way.
Can you share some easy-to-implement tips for homeowners who want to make their own gardens more sustainable?
A garden is a multi-seasonal space. Beyond the beauty of the garden in all four seasons, there are always plants and wildlife that rely on safe habitats and food sources. For this reason, I always gently rake my leaves into my garden beds so that insects can be protected and in turn, nourish our soils during the cold months.
I encourage clients and others not to use pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides. These chemicals travel into our water systems and also into the yards of those who want nothing to do with them. As a sustainable and ecological alternative, composting provides so many benefits to soil and healthy yards. I wish to educate others on the crucial fact alone that everything in our world is connected.
Frankly speaking, mowing your lawn every week is not necessary. A blade of grass that never reaches even an inch means that its root is weak and therefore unhealthy. From there, we are told to apply chemicals to help make the grass green and “healthy” in appearance. It is a vicious, unsustainable cycle and I really encourage others to think about how much time and money is spent on their lawns.
Last but not least, I continue to motivate clients, neighbors, and friends to embrace native plants. Most people do not realize that all bees and other integral insects such as moths, caterpillars, butterflies, and flies are pollinators. We must protect our native insects by continuing to support native plantings. This is all part of a much larger picture which I refer to as the food-soil web. For those that “hate” bees, I “gently” challenge them to consider what our food sources would be without the presence of pollinators. Nature is our greatest tried and true science.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Bringing joy to my clients. I want to know that I have created a space that they will enjoy, spend time in, and cherish. Like jewelry in a sense, gardens are very personal for every client. I enjoy educating clients about the importance of ecological gardening and why we must look at native plants as the foundation of our gardens. At the same time, if a client loves a non-native that is non-invasive, I would never deny them from having that species in their personal outdoor space. It is their garden and at the end of the day, I am going to go home to mine.
What’s next for Cliff Walk Designs?
I am very excited to launch my website this summer! It has been a labour of love and I look forward to also sharing my blog, “Cliff Notes,” which will be accessible on the site. In the meantime, anyone is welcome to follow my Instagram @cliffwalkdesigns. Starting a new business is challenging but deeply rewarding. Like a garden, it takes time. I am eager to hire employees and grow my business but everything must be done thoughtfully. A professor once said, “If you carelessly start off on the wrong foot you will be stuck making up for your sloppiness, rather than progressing in the direction you had intended.” There are more developments to come in the next year or so ~ I love to garden but I also love writing about the garden/gardens.
We love to support local businesses! What are some of your favorite spots here in the Sound Shore area?
We are so lucky to live in this beautiful area! In the summer, we love bringing our children to Manor Beach in Larchmont. Favorite dinner spots include Encore, Heritage, Lala Taqueria, Lusardi’s, and Coriander. We are also so excited about the opening of Bar Aida! The design/fashion part of my heart lures me to my favorite new boutiques in Larchmont and Rye — which include Saujette, Loraine 1986, Village Mercantile, Dabney Lee, and The Stand.
We’re incredibly grateful for our amazing community and the wonderful people and places that make it so special. Explore our Blog page for features that spotlight local businesses and more. Looking for something to do in Westchester? Check out our Local Guides and Calendar pages to discover what’s happening locally and follow along on Instagram for more!