Hi, I’m Camilla
Amplifying your design voice
Your ideas are clear in your head…
But hard to express in English?
Site meetings, project updates, portfolio presentations - maybe even an interview. You know what you want to say. But it gets lost in translation.
Call it perfectionism. Or overthinking. Or the small voice in your head that tells you to give a safe answer instead of the right one. Sometimes you avoid saying anything at all.
Most of my clients arrive at the same realisation. Speaking about your ideas, your decisions, your projects - in English, in real time - is a skill.
A skill you can develop. And, I'd love to help you with that.
A garden designer + English teacher (and my lemonade moment)
“Garden designer and English teacher?” people often ask.
Yes. It’s an unusual combination.
And no - it was never part of my plan.
After my History of Art degree, my career took me into the art world - organising changing displays at the Tate Gallery in London, investigating stolen art with the MET Police, and surveying high-net-worth art collections.
By 2010, I knew I needed a more flexible career path around raising my two energetic - though delightful - daughters.
So I signed up for a garden design degree course.
Looking back now, I can see it was the first in a series of life-changing moments.
For five years, I immersed myself in horticulture, wrestled endlessly with Vectorworks (if you know, you know), wandered around glorious Chelsea Flower Shows, visited spectacular gardens across the UK, and experimented constantly in my own garden.
It was hard work.
But I was completely smitten.
Then we moved abroad - to Naples, Italy.
A dream, in many ways.
But also a turning point.
Because suddenly, continuing my UK-based design work wasn’t so simple anymore.
So I adapted.
Or, as they say:
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
This was my lemonade moment.
I retrained to teach English as a foreign language.
And somewhere along the way, I realised something surprising:
I loved it.
Teaching, it turns out, runs in my family. Perhaps it was inevitable all along.
Fast forward to the global pandemic.
The world changed overnight, and teaching moved online almost instantly.
At the time, we were living in Holland, where I taught NATO spouses and their families while continuing to build my experience as both a teacher and designer.
And then one quiet evening, the pieces finally clicked into place.
Boom! Suddenly it hit me …
I realised I could blend my design background with my teaching experience to create my own unique business.
And from that idea, Cultivate English was born.
I know what it’s like to be capable … but not always feel it. Sometimes life hands us unexpected lemons. What matters is what we choose to make from them.
What does this mean for you?
I understand the language and skills you need to do your job. My coaching combines industry knowledge with English communication skills, which means I can target what’s actually getting in the way.
I focus purely on your individual needs. Unlike general English teachers or cheaper group lessons, I offer one-to-one tailored coaching that targets your unique weaknesses and goals.
I understand the context of your work. I know how to communicate with a variety of audiences - whether that’s clients, colleagues, architects or contractors.
I’ve had to do it myself. I know how intimidating it can be to stand up and present a project. And I appreciate that it’s often the actions and words of others that can make a person feel they don’t belong.
Most of all, I love seeing how my clients thrive in unexpected ways. Matilde was my first-ever client - this is what she had to say:
Your English communication coach.
“Your coaching is a constant guide that makes me learn as much as possible - also from my mistakes - and that encourages me to do my best. You teach me English, but you often give me professional hints on my work as a designer, and you guide me in my relationship with others - one of the most important things. Your coaching makes me a better speaker, designer, and, what's best, a better person.”
Matilde tonelli, garden designer, Former Client 2022