TCNJ

35 moments within the landscape — that's really where he shines." What's perhaps most startling about Fierabend's success is that he came to landscape design as a second career. He spent his 20s in retail, starting in "I watch how people carry themselves through space and time." the executive training program at Macy's. By 30, he owned a clothing store outside Princeton, and within seven years, he had started two more retailers, amassing 20 franchises in all, with stores at Faneuil Hall in Boston and South Street Seaport in New York City. But he sold the business in 2001, and two decades after graduating with a marketing degree from TCNJ, Fierabend earned a master's degree in landscape architecture from Florida International University. FACING: GROUNDSWELL DESIGN GROUP; THIS PAGE: MATT STANLEY every apple and Girl Scouts who carefully curate the folding table from which they sell cookies. "I honor how people live their lives in a very basic way. I have a purpose — making experiences to be experiences." Joe Forkin, the president of the Delaware River Waterfront Commission, who worked closely with Fierabend on Spruce Street Harbor Park, likens Fierabend's approach to that of a theatrical set maker. "On a movie set you're creating an environment. When I sit down with David, that's where I start," Forkin says. "Creating small impactful Continued on page 44

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