We recently connected with Joshua Faas and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Joshua, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

The landscape industry has been a part of my life for 20+ years. From starting my career as a grunt at Plant Detectives, located in Chester, NJ (bring your boots!), spending a summer with the Owner and nursery czar, Art Laster and fulfilling my internship while getting my Bachelors of Science in Environmental Planning and Design from Rutgers University, graduating in 2008 and immediately taking a larger role in the nursery I had spent the last four years growing in. After graduating, I always had the dream of becoming a landscape designer/architect and making it my future goal, but being so invested in the nursery I decided to do design work for local contractors to tame the itch. As the years went on, I became the wholesale office sales leader for Plant Detectives and eventually ended my tenure after 19 amazing years in January of 2023. The following month I took the nursery sales team lead for SiteOne Landscape Supply for the NJ nursery team and got to learn the corporate side of the industry. Meeting so many great contacts in my short year and a half stint with the company, I decided that life was too short not to do something you love every day. With my amazing wife being a teacher in the Elizabeth School System, my daughter who is excelling in school, an incredible support system within my family and friends, and a contractor network years in the making it was time to take the leap and Paperbark Design Studio was born.

Having worked with the top landscape architects (shoutout to Andrea Buckingham who opened up the world of perennial planting and whom I consider a mentor), landscape designers, and some of the most incredible landscape contracting companies, I used my extensive nursery knowledge and paired it with some of the greatest landscape projects I had seen over the years. Using my Siteone experience I learned the importance of time management and the idea of “unreasonable hospitality” from Steve Heller. My company definitely has a DNA like no other, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I touched extensively on the last question, but my love for the landscape industry definitely has a beginning memory. While my love for being outdoors is a given, building the pond at my grandparents home when i was in my early teens. Now, I may have almost destroyed the deck with the machine at hand, but I loved seeing the project go from dirt to an amazing pond that my family still enjoys till this day.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

After getting married, being a step dad to an amazing daughter, I had to relearn how to live life. I am not one to shut off work. While I loved going on when the day was done, if my phone rang or my texts were buzzing, they were getting answered at all hours of the night. You only live once and it was time to realize there are boundaries and they are there for a reason.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

After 20+ years being a professional in the nursery industry, I fell out of love with that side of the business. While I can walk around a solidly stocked garden center for hours, the thrill of the big sale was gone. It was time to start my landscape designer chapter and create the next story.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paperbarkdesignstudiollc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Paperbarkdesignstudio
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-faas-30998744
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@paperbarkdesignstudio
• Other: Angi – https://www.angi.com/companylist/us/nj/green-brook-township/paperbark-design-studio-llc-reviews-1.htm