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Founder and director of Making Design Circular, Katie Treggiden, speaks about defiant hope and its role in tackling the environmental crisis to creative organisations who want to make a difference.

With an international network of designers, makers, artists and craftspeople as well as 20 years’ experience in the creative industries, six books, a podcast and countless newspaper and magazine articles to her name, Katie is an engaging and thought-provoking speaker.

She not only provides valuable insights into current trends, emerging talents, and innovative design solutions, but most importantly takes complex topics and explores them in a way that inspires clarity and hope.

Why does that matter? Because hope is the precursor to change.

Be warned, inviting Katie to speak at your event may result in outbreaks of hope, optimism and possibly even action on the environmental crisis.

Side effects may include improvements in:

  • Employee engagement, retention and recruitment
  • Creativity, collaboration and innovation
  • Reputation for environmental and social responsibility
  • Community engagement
  • Investor relations and funding opportunities

If you’re responsible for organising the annual conference, internal ‘sustainability week’ or regular ‘lunch and learns’ for a creative organisation, and you want to use your role to make a positive difference in the world, get in touch.

Hire Katie to Speak

Selected speaking engagements

Public Speaking Testimonials
‘Katie never ceases to delight and deliver. She is straight-talking and intuitive with a firm finger on the pulse. She is also a superb commercial matchmaker with a great nose for a story.'
Malin Cunningham
Hattrick
Public Speaking Testimonials
‘Katie is an inspiring, design-obsessed writer, facilitator, speaker and all-round fantastically interesting human. I truly look forward to every opportunity I get to work alongside her and learn from her.’
Emma Morley
Trifle Creative
Public Speaking Testimonials
‘When it comes to business, Katie has all the right ingredients to make amazing things happen. Her non-traditional and highly creative approach to problem-solving is both refreshingly honest and well thought out. Her infectious energy and passion for the business is a huge plus for any brand or agency that aspires to bigger thinking.’
David Angelo
David & Goliath
Public Speaking Testimonials
‘Katie is fantastic to work with and always happy to share her immense knowledge of an enthusiasm for the design world.’
Laura Wasley
Plymouth College of Art
Public Speaking Testimonials
‘Katie shows an infectious enthusiasm for learning and research, approaching subjects in a really fresh way, resulting in new angles every time. Her professionalism and unique insight is coupled with a warm and generous nature that makes her a pleasure to work with.’
Adam Thow
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Client testimonials
"I wanted to take a moment to thank you from my heart. Working with you over the last few weeks has been a sheer pleasure. The way you brought out our brand narrative through hours of conversations and a methodical approach of tying it all together, was simply fascinating."
Kanupriya Verma
CEO, IKAI ASAI
Client testimonials
‘Katie is the obvious choice when looking for a respected face from the world of design. She engages audiences, keeps panellists on point, and delivers in an authentic and conversational way.’
Rachel Newman
Iris Worldwide for Mini Living

“Katie not only highlighted the horrifying scope of the world's waste problem, but helped the audience to think differently and begin to recategorise waste as an opportunity. Most importantly, she left them feeling hopeful and ready to take action.”

Daniel Nelson, Organiser, Atlanta Design Festival

Selected speaking engagements

SVH-Atlanta-Design-Festival-Logo-long-1-black
Atlanta Design Festival
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General Assembly
logo-monocle24
Monocle 24
ual-logo
University Arts London
logo-vancouver-zero-waste
Vancouver Zero Waste Conference
logo-london-craft-week
London Craft Week
logo-tate-modern
Tate Modern
logo-desso-tarkett
Desso/Tarkett
logo-kvadrat
Kvadrat
logo-ikai-asai
IKAI ASAI
logo-mini
MINI Living
logo-design-preis-schweiz-black
Design Prize Switzerland
logo-kohler
Kohler
anglepoise-logo-black
Anglepoise

“Katie cuts through the bluff and bluster of trends to eke out underlying ideas. As a critic and commentator, her analysis enriches the debate with hard-gleaned insight, clarity and charm.”

Josh Fehnert, Radio Broadcaster at Monocle24

Talks

Image credit: Granby Studio

Waste: The Raw Material of The Future

Engaging the audience from the moment she steps onto the stage with a simple demonstration, Katie Treggiden will argue that waste is not a fact, but a category and that objects and materials become redefined as waste when they cross a series of ever- expanding boundaries.

Explaining that waste is created at the threshold of our skin, the walls of our homes, our city limits, state boundaries, the Brandt line, our coastlines, and finally the Earth’s atmosphere and into outer space, she will leave the audience in no doubt that we have run out of space for our waste.

But it’s not all bad news – if our boundaries can expand, they can also contract. If we can recategorise once-valuable materials as waste, we can also recategorise waste as a valuable new raw material.

Katie will share innovative examples of designers and makers using waste as their primary resource. From a swing made from human hair to glassware made from dumped domestic appliances – she will demonstrate our capacity for change and spark defiant hope.

Download more info

Image credit: Emma Oakes

Cultivating Hope in the Face of the Environmental Crisis

Katie Treggiden signs off every email “Stay curious, imperfect and defiantly hopeful.” She runs a membership community and online learning platform called Making Design Circular, designed to empower designers and makers to join the circular economy – to help them believe that they can make a difference. She writes books and articles and records a podcast – all created to inspire hope in the face of the environmental crisis. In short, she is an environmentalist who has built a public profile on hope.

So, what happens when she loses hope? When she drives past a wildfire in a county famous for its ‘mizzle’ (a portmanteau of mist and drizzle)? When she sees temperatures break record after record, railway lines warp and runways melt – all while those in positions of power put profit (and votes) before people and the planet?

In this highly personal talk, Katie will share her own story of losing all belief in a positive solution to the environmental crisis and how she found her way back to the ‘defiant hope’ that now offers a daily reminder in her email signature.

She will share the three-step process she has created that has already helped hundreds of others move through feelings of despair, reconnect with the natural world and take aligned action.

Download more info

Image credit: Adam Hollier

Mending objects to mend people, planet and profit

A grassroots repair movement is starting to affect the decisions made by increasingly large companies and international lawmakers, and yet businesses are still reluctant to engage. ‘If we offer, or even enable, repairs, won’t people buy fewer of our products?’ Actually, the opposite is true.

In this eye-opening talk, author of Broken: Mending and Repair in a Throwaway World (Ludion, 2023), Katie Treggiden, will share the reasons that elongating, and perhaps even eliminating the replacement cycle is good for business, as well as people and the planet.

Building on the research she conducted at the University of Oxford, and her subsequent book on the same subject, Katie explores the complex relationship we have with repair, the social and cultural as well as logistical barriers to mending, and how offering or enabling repairs to your products can improve customer loyalty, more profitable business models and reputational resilience.

Download more info

“Katie's presentation was impactful, concise and engaging, and the audience feedback was nothing short of fantastic. Working with her was an absolute pleasure – I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a dynamic speaker for their next event.”

Clara Kippelen, Event organiser, General Assembly, London

Approach

1/6

Pre-booking call

Katie Treggiden is more than happy to take a pre-booking call to discuss your ambitions for your event and how she can help you achieve them – in fact you can book one directly into her calendar now.
Book a call

2/6

Briefing call

Once booked, Katie is keen to know what success looks like for you and how she can adapt her talks to meet your goals, so she welcomes a detailed briefing call.

3/6

Before the event

Katie will promote your event by sharing it on social media and through her newsletter.

4/6

On the day

Katie will arrive in good time, make herself available for technical checks ahead of the event and engage in any networking opportunities you would like her to be present for. She is also happy to offer additional services such as workshops, breakout sessions, and Q&A and panel event participation.

5/6

The talk

The length and content of Katie’s keynote can be tailored to your needs. She tends to present with PowerPoint slides, but is also happy with a more informal approach. See Organisers Kit for more details.

6/6

After the event

Katie will always seek feedback after an event and is keen to continue the relationship through other services and future events.

“Katie is the obvious choice when looking for a respected face from the world of design. She engages audiences, keeps panellists on point, and delivers in an authentic and conversational way.”

Rachel Newman, Iris Worldwide for Mini

Organisers Kit

This is where you will find Katie’s images, bios, intro scripts, and even her intro music suggestions for your event. If there’s something you need that you can’t see here, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Download organisers kit

Portrait images of Katie

Photos of Katie in action

Selected book covers

Introduction script

Please use this script (instead of a bio) to introduce Katie to the stage.

Friend, colleagues, and esteemed attendees – it is my great pleasure to introduce our first/next/final [*delete as appropriate] speaker for today’s [insert event name here].

This person is the founder and director of Making Design Circular – an international membership community and online learning platform for environmentally conscious designers, makers artists and craftspeople.

She’s also the author of six books, countless newspaper and magazine articles and a podcast exploring about the role that craft and design play in environmentalism.

And she signs off every email ‘stay curious, imperfect and defiantly hopeful,’ so no doubt you’re in for a healthy dose of all three today!

Which is important, because the dominant narrative around environmentalism seems to be focused on certainty, perfectionism and fear, so our next speaker brings a fresh perspective which is actually more likely to bring about meaningful change and aligned action.

So, without further ado, please give a big, warm [Insert event name here] welcome to the defiantly hopeful, Katie Treggiden! [Pronounced: “Kay-tee Truh-GID-un”]

Biographies

Please use these for promotional purposes instead of the copy on Katie’s About Page.

NB please not use these to introduce Katie to the stage – please use the separate intro script above.

[<50 words]

Katie Treggiden is the founder and director of Making Design Circular – an international membership community and online learning platform for environmentally conscious designers, makers artists and craftspeople. She is also an author, journalist and podcaster championing a hopeful approach to environmentalism.

[<100 words]

Katie Treggiden is the founder and director of Making Design Circular – an international membership community and online learning platform for environmentally conscious designers, makers artists and craftspeople. She is also an author, journalist and podcaster championing a hopeful approach to environmentalism. With more than 20 years’ experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, The Observer, Crafts Magazine and Dezeen. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through her sixth book, Broken: Mending & Repair in a Throwaway World (Ludion, 2023), and podcast, Circular with Katie Treggiden.

[<150 words]

Katie Treggiden is the founder and director of Making Design Circular – an international membership community and online learning platform for environmentally conscious designers, makers artists and craftspeople.

She is also an author, journalist and podcaster championing a hopeful approach to environmentalism. With more than 20 years’ experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, The Observers, Crafts Magazine and Dezeen. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through her sixth book, Broken: Mending & Repair in a Throwaway World (Ludion, 2023), and podcast, Circular with Katie Treggiden.

She recently gained a distinction for her Master’s degree in the History of Design from the University of Oxford. She was the co-founder of women’s network Bloom and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an NED of Cornwall’s largest creative hub, Krowji.

Intro music suggestions

High Hopes by Panic at the Disco
“Brave” by Sara Bareilles

Happy – Pharrell Williams

A/V Requirements

Katie usually presents PowerPoint (with occasional video content), but is equally comfortable with a more informal style.

When using PowerPoint, her presentations are finely tuned to work alongside her voice.

While she can use any machine (Mac or PC), Katie prefers to use her own laptop for presentations – right now, that’s a 12” Macbook. This approach guarantees that fonts, transitions, and videos operate flawlessly, ensuring a smooth experience on the day.

Katie brings:

  • A 12” Macbook
  • Power adaptor for her laptop
  • Travel adaptor for local power source
  • A USB and HDMI adaptor
  • Wireless presentation clicker
  • A desktop presentation using PowerPoint and embedded locally playable video files
  • A presentation designed to work on 16×9 screens

Katie needs:

  • A wireless, lapel microphone
  • A projector (with HDMI Connector/Dongle)
  • A speaker system that receives audio output from her laptop
  • Optional: External comfort monitor

Please allow at least 30 minutes for Katie to take part in a thorough tech check before the start of the event.

Contact Katie

Or Email...

katie@katietreggiden.com

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Katie Treggiden is also the founder and director of Making Design Circular — an international membership community and online learning platform for environmentally conscious designers, makers, artists and craftspeople.
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