Architect and author, Nick Newman, explains the connection between the built environment and activism in his new title. Plus, design writer Katie Treggiden discusses the makers that are paving the way when it comes to crafting consciously.
The Business of Antiques
Katie joined Toma Clarke Haines, The Antique Diva on her podcast The Business of Antiques.
You can listen to the full episode here
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In today’s episode, Toma Clark Haines, CEO of The Antiques Diva & Co and founder of The Republic of Toma, talks with Katie Treggiden – author, journalist, podcaster, keynote speaker, and the founder and director of Making Design Circular, a membership community and online learning platform for designers, makers, craftspeople, and artists who want to become more sustainable. This episode is a journey from Katie’s idyllic childhood growing up in Cornwall, surrounded by beaches, moors, and the countryside, going fishing after school on sunny afternoons and having barbecues on the beach for tea to the bright lights of university and then a career in advertising. However, with the disillusionment surrounding what the career in advertising was giving – as Katie puts it,“the simultaneously devastating and the best thing that had ever happened” her at that time in life, and the sudden loss of her job due to the closing of her firm’s London office; this is when Katie Treggiden really started living the design writer’s life she had dreamed of as a child.
Katie’s love for design was the spark that kindled her love of writing, and her severance package bought her six months to makeover her life into that of a full time writer and do that, which she did! Katie’s story, at times, seems straight out of a movie. Her passion and perseverance are an inspiration to listeners who are on their own journeys launching their dream careers in design and antiques. When Toma saw Katie Treggiden’s latest book title–Broken, and the subtitle Mending and Repair in a Throwaway World, she knew she must have this longtime colleague and friend on The Business of Antiques podcast. Broken “celebrates 25 artists, curators, designers and makers who have rejected the allure of the fast, disposable and easy in favor of the patina of use, the stories of age and the longevity of care and repair. Accompanying these profiles, six in-depth essays explore the societal, cultural and environmental roles of mending in a throwaway world.”
“I think the environmental crisis brings up a lot of feelings and emotions and you can’t create a space that is addressing the environmental crisis without holding space for those emotions you know I talk a lot about,” Katie explains. “Defiant hope and that’s not about passive optimism – that’s about waking up every morning and choosing to believe in a better world and acting accordingly but you can’t do that by bypassing the fear, right? You’ve got to hold space for the fear and hopelessness and the defeat that we all feel and then enable people to move through those feelings and empower them with what they need to take action.” This episode leaves listeners empowered and inspired to carefully and thoughtfully craft their own best lives harnessing their defiant hope to spark meaningful change as Katie Treggiden has.
Learn more about Katie, Making Design Circular, tackling the environmental crisis, and more at katietreggiden.com.
The Antiques Diva & Co: Antique buying tours and sourcing services in 16 countries on 3 continents
Antique Dealer Training Program: Antique dealer training and mentorship & services for new and experienced dealers
Republic of Toma Business and Brand Consulting services: Consulting services for entrepreneurs helping you to clarify your vision of your business and how it fits in with your personal goals.
Republic of Toma Fashion: Custom jewelry designed by Toma, inspired by her love of antiques and travel
The Business of Antiques: Podcast on making your antiques business sexy, modern and fun… and PROFITABLE!
The Antiques Diva Furniture Collection By Aidan Gray: Reproductions using classic design mixed with modern materials
Fight to Repair Podcast
The Fight to Repair Podcast: Weekly dispatches from the front lines of the global fight for the right to repair, including interviews with repair warriors on the front lines hosted by Paul Roberts, the founder of SecuRepairs.org and The Security Ledger and Jack Monahan.
Katie Treggiden featured as a guest in episode 019 of the Fight to Repair podcast exploring the surprisingly simple approach to environmentalism that you probably haven’t thought much about is “craft.” talking about why repairers need hope, not guilt!
You can listen to the full episode here
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This week we welcome Katie Treggiden, a speaker, podcaster (https://katietreggiden.com/podcast/), and author known for her expertise in craft, design, and sustainability.
Katie’s journey into the world of environmentalism took a unique path. Before she delved into issues like sustainability and circularity, she was a craft and design journalist. What sets Katie apart in her approach to environmentalism is her ability to see the world through the lens of craft.
For her, repair is not just about fixing what’s broken; it’s about storytelling and connection. She believes in the beauty of mending, where ordinary people can breathe new life into items using readily available materials and simple skills.
Katie’s perspective on repair extends beyond the individual level. She envisions a world where repair becomes a cultural norm, where we value objects for their history and the stories they carry. The intersection of environmentalism and repair, as seen through Katie’s eyes, isn’t about sacrifice; it’s about creating a future filled with joy and connection. Nor is repair just a means to do less harm, instead seeing it as a tool for a path towards doing more good.
Katie’s most recent book is all about repair, and we talk through how it relates to everything from human connection to solving our oversized waste problem.
Learn more about Katie’s work:
Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure
Broken: Mending and Repair in a Throwaway World
Making Design Circular Membership Community
Monocle on Design
To celebrate the London Festival of Architecture, Monocle on Design met with design journalist Katie Treggiden to discuss her latest book on repair and reuse, Broken: Mending and Repair in a throwaway world.
While reuse and repair might not sound glamorous, they are essential practices for designers and industry leaders seeking to reduce their impact on the planet. Design journalist Katie Treggiden discusses her latest book, which spotlights designers, makers and creatives who are disrupting the take-make-waste model.
BROKEN – Book Launch
In May 2023, Katie celebrated the launch of her sixth book, BROKEN: Mending and Repair in a throwaway world at RAEBURN Lab E20.
We live in a single-use society, where fashion is fast, disposability is the norm and it is easier to replace than to repair. We don’t need to mend things anymore – and yet we do. What is it about Homo faber – man the maker – that cannot resist fixing what is broken?
As we start to decouple from the linear take-make-waste model that has dominated Western economies since the Industrial Revolution and seek something more circular, an enquiry into what mending means has never been more urgent.
This new book by craft and circularity advocate Katie Treggiden celebrates 25 artists, curators, menders and re-makers who have rejected the allure of the fast, disposable and easy in favour of the patina of use, the stories of age and the longevity of care and repair. Accompanying these profiles, six in-depth essays explore the societal, cultural and environmental roles of mending in a throwaway world.
Katie was interviewed about her book by Yasmin Jones-Henry, a writer and strategist with specialisms across sustainability, design, fashion & culture.
The Lab E20 is designed & produced by RÆBURN: regenerating London’s creative industries, rethinking retail and bringing circular economy design to the built environment.
You can purchase your copy of the book here
The Restart Project – Restart Radio
The Restart Project helps people learn how to repair their broken electronics, and rethink how they consume them in the first place.
Katie Treggiden featured as a guest in episode 086 of the Restart Radio podcast talking about why repairers need hope, not guilt!
This month we talked to author and communicator, Katie Treggiden about her recent book entitled, Broken: Mending & Repair in a Throwaway World. Katie has put decades of thought into helping creatives and makers become more sustainable but also forgive themselves when they can’t be.
Back to her roots
Having grown up surrounded by nature in Cornwall, Katie tells us about her surprising origin story. She spent over a decade working in advertising before pivoting towards her life-long love of writing. With this, she also folded in a new interest – purpose-driven craft and design. Since then, she has explored what this actually means through writing dissertations, books, and hosting a podcast on the topic. With all this experience under her belt, she decided that she wanted to help makers develop their working practices to fit the circular future that we need to build.
How craftspeople are using repair
Katie has previously written about waste and reuse, and her new book Broken puts the focus on repair. She shares some standout case studies from the book of artists and craftspeople who are incorporating repair into their work. These include Celia Pym, Bridget Harvey, Ekta Kaul – all artists who explore repair in entirely different ways.
Katie notes her interest in the different ways repair can be used for example, as a tool to restore practical value, or to add artistic value, or even for self-care. We talk about where repair and hacking fits into the larger culture of craft, and more specifically the ‘craft of use’. She notes how much more difficult electronic repair often is compared to more traditional craft and making. This is especially true now that manufacturers make an effort to conceal the craftsmanship that goes into making (and therefore taking apart and repairing) our devices.
Letting go of guilt in order to move forward
While individual action is of course important, system change is essential for the scale of the problem we are dealing with. When running her courses for creatives, Katie really focuses on this point as key to forward movement. Instead of being weighed down by the personal guilt of climate breakdown, makers need to be led by curiosity and experimentation instead of sustainability perfectionism. We all have a part to play in helping the planet, but it is not our responsibility alone.
“I think really until companies are responsible for the things they sell for their whole lifetime, repair is not going to be the norm.”
Additionally, she stresses the need to be compassionate. There are so many reasons why people may not repair. These include social stigma, a lack of time or resources, or that their stuff is simply not designed to be repaired. Knocking down these barriers is not something anyone can do on their own, rather, we need collective action to change the system.
Practising ‘defiant hope’
It’s difficult to stay optimistic about our power to enact change but Katie believes hope is one of the most important tools we have. There isn’t a one size fits all solution to being sustainable, but what can join us all together in our efforts is our common goal.
“One of the most important parts of my job is staying hopeful and and helping to keep other people hopeful.”
Links:
Webinar: 5-stage path to sustainability, The Design Trust
Katie Treggiden was asked by The Design Trust to join as a guest speaker for The Business Club, with their topic focussing on creating more sustainable businesses – but not in just a ‘yeah, I do my recycling’ way – but really walking the talk when it comes to eco values – a session for giving really practical tips helping businesses move forwards with this properly and long term.
During this session, Katie shared her 5-stage Path to Sustainability, which helps makers to identify which stage of their journey they are at (Acord, Seedling, Sapling, Tree or Forest) and then provides actionable steps to help them move forward from wherever they are towards becoming a fully regenerative business.
She also shared the Making Design Circular framework which explores how they might choose to be rather than what they might choose to do in order to rewild their creative practice so it enables them, their business and the planet to thrive. This includes practices such as letting go of perfectionism and the idea that there is one “right” way to do sustainability and instead embracing imperfect progress towards a values-aligned approach.
Virtual Keynote, iChemE Sustainability Week
Katie Treggiden was asked by iChemE (The Institution of Chemical Engineers) to deliver a virtual keynote for their sustainability week, as they develop sustainability knowledge for chemical engineers.
The keynote challenged the very concept of waste – does it exist, or is it just a category into which we choose to place things? And if waste doesn’t exist, how can each of us contribute to a zero-waste society?
2022 Zero Waste Conference, Vancouver
Katie Treggiden was one of four keynote speakers at the 2022 Net Zero Conference held in Vancouver, hosted by Metro Vancouver and the National Zero Waste Council.
The Zero Waste Conference is a curated program of thought-leaders and change-makers who provoke new thinking and present new solutions around preventing waste, advancing a circular economy, and taking action on climate change. Nowhere else in Canada can this constellation of innovation and creativity, intentional leadership, radical imagination and practical implementation be found.
For 11 years, the Zero Waste Conference has been at the forefront of Canada’s circular economy journey bringing together thought leaders, innovators and change makers, surfacing some of the best ideas from the past while presenting pioneering solutions that take us to a future we’ve only begun to dare dream is possible.
Katie held the closing keynote Waste: A Category not a Fact where she challenged the very concept of waste.
We tend to think of “waste” as an inevitable byproduct of production and consumption. We even assume that it is dirty, unhygienic, and even pathogenic. But what if there was no such thing as waste? Katie challenged the very concept of waste, arguing that it is nothing more than a construct – a category. She proposed that if we can re-classify once valuable materials as waste, we can also reclassify waste as a valuable new raw material. Her stories begin at the intersection of craft, design and sustainability and involve the thinkers, makers and doers who are bringing us into a regenerative and waste-free future. And find out how you can play your part too.
This was followed by a live Q&A session moderated by Christina Seidel, Founder of Connevera International Corporation & Executive Director, Recycling Council of Alberta
You can watch the highlights here
Image Credit: Metrovancouver Zero Waste Conference 2022
Tarkett Panel Discussion, Clerkenwell Design Week
Katie Treggiden chaired a panel for carpet and flooring company Tarkett during Clerkenwell Design Week 2022. The discussion covered how to break the take-make-waste model from every angle of circularity, what more needs to be done to ensure the right products and materials are specified, their lives are extended as much as possible, and then how materials are reused at the end of their first life.
Panel members:
Marcelo – Tarkett EMEA Sustainability Manager
Sunand Prasad – Principal – Penoyre Prasad
Zoe McLeod – Associate – Sustainability First
Lay Koon Tan – Nature Squared
Nadia Themistocleous – Trifle Creative
Header Image credit Tarkett
Caesar Ceramics Keynote, Clerkenwell Design Week
Katie Treggiden delivered a keynote for Caesar Ceramics as part of Clerkenwell Design Week. Inspired by Katie’s book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure, the circular economy keynote explored the potential of waste as an exciting new raw material. Katie’s talk opened a Clerkenwell Design week-long discussion focusing on waste reduction and reuse of waste as part of a broader circular approach to design.
Header image credit Caesar Ceramics.
Johnson Tiles Keynote, Clerkenwell Design Week
The keynote speech was followed by a hands-on waste workshop led by surface designer Olivia Aspinall, member of Katie Treggiden’s private membership group Making Design Circular. Olivia guided attendees through the process of transforming discarded tiles into terrazzo art.
Image credits Material Lab.
Virtual Keynote, New Balance
Katie Treggiden was asked by footwear brand New Balance to deliver a virtual keynote for their global design team to kick off a week of thinking about how they could become even more sustainable.
The keynote explored the ways in which waste can be eliminated from production and even used as a raw material. 140 members of the company attended the talk, Katie invited the audience to ask questions asked at the end.
Design Hotels Arena 2022 conference, Crete
Katie Treggiden chaired a panel for Design Hotel’s annual Arena* conference in Crete in May 2022. The discussion covered the innovations taking place in biomaterials that combine ancient knowledge with new applications as well as how to close the loop by turning waste into valuable new objects with longevity. Together the panel (which included Henna Burney, project manager and material designer at Atelier LUMA, Lucas De Man, founder and CEO of New Heroes, Nienke Hoogvliet, founder of Studio Nienke Hoogvliet and Suzanna Laskaridis, founder and director of BlueCycle) learned about interior tiles made from salt, dyes made from sewage and seaweed, ‘leather’ made from fish skin, and sun loungers made from ocean plastic.
The 2022 Arena* theme was Circle Back Circle Forward. As the world accelerates, Arena invited attendees to gather to contemplate where the past and present meet, and how the bonds of infinite circularity connect us. The event offered an exploration of circular economies and thinking, the path envisioned towards the sustainable future of travel and living.
The program of diverse talks and workshops covered Design Hotel’s core pillars of art, design and architecture, bringing cross-industry innovators to share their visions and ideas for the future – from regenerative new materials, agricology and principles of biophilia, to emerging technologies in the context of sustainability.
These themes were distilled through a series of breakout sessions, panels and speakers, both on-site and off-site, complemented by a cultural deep-dive into Cretan traditions and hospitality.
Image credit @bluecycle.official
Circle Events Talk, TOAST
Katie Treggiden was invited by clothing and lifestyle brand TOAST to talk as part of the launch or their clothes swapping initiative TOAST Circle. Since launching in 2019, over 1,500 garments have been swapped, fulfilling the second tenet of the circular economy to keep materials and objects in use.
Katie’s talk took place in TOAST’s Brighton store, exploring the ways in which mending and swapping clothes can contribute to both personal wellbeing and community building. The talk was followed by a Q&A and also broadcast live via TOAST’s Circle page.
Keynote for Sustainability Week, Populous
Katie Treggiden was invited to deliver a keynote for architecture firm Populous to kick off their annual Sustainability Week. Katie spoke at their London office and the keynote was also live-streamed to their other offices around the world.
‘I went to SXSW this year and Katie’s talk was every bit as inspirational and thought-provoking as the talks I heard in Austin.’ – Simon Borg.
Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks, Stockholm Furniture Fair
Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks took place from Feb 8-10 as part of Stockholm Furniture Fair.
Katie Treggiden moderated a 2 virtual panels for the event. The first panel included Ana Cristina Quinones, Lay Koon Tan, Simon Ballen and Susie Jahren. They explored the notion of using waste as a raw material.
In the second panel Katie Treggiden explored mending and repair as tools to keep materials and objects in use with designers, makers and researchers. Katie was joined by artist Bridget Harvey, curator Hans Tan and Caroline Till, co-founder of Franklin Till.
With “Being a Game Changer” as an overall theme, Stockholm Design and Architecture Talks 2022 focussed on the most important issues facing the industry right now.
Dezeen Awards 2021
Katie Treggiden joined the judging panel for the Dezeen Awards 2021, Sustainability Category. This included:
Sustainable building
Any building designed with sustainability in mind including zero-carbon or negative-carbon projects, zero-energy projects, circular projects, reversible buildings or buildings that employ environmentally friendly construction techniques, materials, energy sources etc.
Sustainable interior
Any interior designed with sustainability in mind including projects that use ethically sourced products, make use of recycled materials, use innovative materials etc.
Sustainable design
Any product designed with sustainability in mind including products that follow circular principles or that reduce their impact on (or benefit) the environment.
Visiting Lecturer Programme, Carmarthen School of Art
Carmarthen School of Art offer a college-wide Visiting Lecturer Programme, welcoming speakers from the art, design and craft world to deliver a lecture about their practice. Previous speakers have included Dr Zoe Laughlin, Martin Parr, Kirsty McDougall and Jessica Turrell amongst others.
Katie Treggiden was invited to contribute to the lecture programme to talk about sustainability in craft and design, delivered virtually to students across FE and HE courses.
Creative Residency Panel, TOAST
Katie Treggiden was invited by clothing and lifestyle brand TOAST to host a panel discussion as part of their Creative Residency. The annual TOAST Creative Residency brings together their community of creative individuals. This year, they hosted their first blended Creative Residency, with a three-day programme of engaging talks, workshops and live demonstrations both online and in person.
Katie was joined on the panel by New Maker Corrie Williamson, artist Abigail Booth, designer maker Darren Appiagyei and craftsman and environmentalist Sebastian Cox. They discussed the reinvention and repurposing of natural materials and the benefits of collaborating with nature in design.
Science Museum – Climate Change: How Consumers and Businesses Can Make a Difference
Katie Treggiden joined a panel of experts including Rajiv Joshi founder of Bridging Ventures, William Higham CEO of Next Big Thing, and journalist and broadcaster Angela Saini to discuss whether consumer behaviour can really make a difference to climate change, and how can businesses can make it easier for consumers to live more sustainably. The virtual event was part of the Science Museum’s public engagement around climate change in the lead up to the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow. The panel explored how can we transition to a more waste-free, circular economy and who should lead the charge – consumers or businesses, or even (whisper it!) governments?
Goldfinger Design – Circular Panel Discussion
Katie Treggiden in conversation with Goldfinger Design CEO Marie Carlisle to talk all things circular. Goldfinger launched its first circular design furniture collection (made from reclaimed teak) at London Craft Week 2021.
Do Good and Do Well – A Circular Approach
Sarah Fox’s podcast Do Good and Do Well: How to Be a Changemaker Without Losing Yourself is for people who want to create a positive impact in the world. Sarah Fox shares insights and stories from social and creative entrepreneurs and leaders to help you to feel inspired and reflect on what ‘doing good AND doing well’ means for you as a changemaker. Whether that’s impact, recognition, financial independence, or wellbeing, we cover many topics.
Katie Treggiden featured as a guest in episode 025 of the podcast. Katie explains the circular economy, what Do Good and Do Well means for her, and how money is an important factor in doing well and continuing to do good, and we discuss if craft can save the world. Katie also talks about her new mastermind programme for designer-makers – Waste: A Masterclass.
Waste in the Workplace – A Panel Discussion for The Great Outdoors
The latest research from Tarkett shows that 65% of office workers are more mindful of their impact on the environment now than before the pandemic. However, while there is a great desire to ‘do more’ to protect our planet, there is also confusion about how. The Great Indoors invited a panel of experts to discuss how we think about ‘waste’ and the importance of the circular economy. Katie Treggiden was joined by Melissa Mizell, Design Director and Principal at Gensler Lay Koon Tan, co-founder of @nature.squared and Neil Usher, author of ‘The Elemental Workplace’ and Chief Workplace & Change Strategist at gospace_ai.
Header image credit Tarkett.
Instagram Live with Sugru founder Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh
Katie Treggiden talks to Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh, the entrepreneur behind Sugru, dubbed the ‘most exciting product since Sellotape’. They discuss waste, reuse, David Attenborough and the dangers of demonising single-use plastic.
Header image credit Sugru.
Repair & Renewal – A Panel Discussion for Toast
To celebrate TOAST Renewal, author and journalist Katie Treggiden led a conversation exploring mending, reuse and repair through the lens of sustainability, culture and storytelling.
The discussion with Katie brought together visible mender Tom of Holland; author of Kintsugi: The Poetic Mend, Bonnie Kemske; renowned textile artist Celia Pym; and Seetal Solanki – materials researcher, designer and author of Why Materials Matter.
Header image credit Toast.
Live talk with Gary Hustwit for Dezeen
In this live talk, Katie Treggiden and filmmaker Gary Hustwit discussed the new media and sustainability Dezeen Awards categories for which they are overseeing judging.
Moderated by Dezeen’s founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs, the talk introduced the judges and the new categories they are judging ahead of Dezeen Awards’ standard entry deadline on 2 June.
Treggiden and Hustwit spoke to Fairs about how media and sustainability are shaping changes in the design industry, and also discussed their work and their roles as Dezeen Awards judges.
The Home Show with Sinead Ryan interview
Katie Treggiden spoke to Sinead Ryan for The Home Show broadcast live on Ireland’s News Talk FM. They spoke about the circular economy and also the joy of repurposing old furniture. Click here to listen to Katie’s interview with Sinead, 16 minutes into the show.
Pictured above, Studio Mama’s upcycled chairs, as featured in Katie Treggiden’s latest book Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure.
Circular-ish: the messy reality of circular design
Katie Treggiden appeared live on The Circular Economy Show to explore the opportunities and challenges in circular design.
Hosted by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, The Circular Economy Show is a fortnightly discussion and debate around how we can move from a linear take-make-waste economy towards a circular economy.
Katie Treggiden was also joined on the show by Lay Koon Tan, co-founder of Nature Squared.
Below is a transcript of our conversation.
Sebastian Egerton-Read
So, we know the circular economy starts with design, but how do you start designing for the circular economy? Is it okay if it is only circular-ish and am I a designer?
We are going to be answering those questions and a lot more on this episode of the Circular Economy Show.
[Music]
Sebastian Egerton-Read
Welcome to the Circular Economy Show by The Ellen Macarthur Foundation, where we develop and promote the idea of a circular economy, engage key actors in that transition and develop system solutions at scale.
My name is Seb, and I am going to be your host for this episode of the Circular Economy Show and the topic of this episode is circular-ish. We are really trying to drop the curtain, not just talking about polished solutions, but talking about the process and the journey of circular design, and we hope to take you with us along the way.
Joining me along the way will be my colleague Joe Isles who in turn is going to be speaking to two innovators who have also been engaged with designing for a circular economy and of course we really do welcome you to join in that conversation. Post your questions, post your comments on any of the chat functions across LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, wherever you are watching this stream.
Welcome Joe. Joe Isles is the circular design lead here at the Foundation. Joe you have worked with the Foundation for close to a decade and are one of the best in terms of understanding the theory and the concept of the idea of a circle economy, but also drain that down to the practical ideas. What does it look like? How do we do it? So why is design so important for a circular economy?
Joe Isles
Thanks Seb, that’s very kind of you to say. I have always been fascinated by the moments where this idea of a circular economy is translated into real examples and the people, designers and creatives who are involved in doing that. Really, that’s why design and the circular economy is so linked, and design is crucial for the circular economy because everything around us is designed.
Some of those things are obvious, like designer clothing, gadgets or mobile phones and things like that. Things that we hold up as a kind of iconic design, but also transport systems, the food we eat and the buildings we live in are all designed too. So circular design really is an important part of the transition to a circular economy because it says, “let’s take a different approach at that design stage, let’s build in those three principles of a circular economy, let’s think systemically and nudge us towards a more circular economy rather than today’s linear one.”
Sebastian Egerton-Read
Again, and you are right, that is why we just know those three principles; eliminate waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use through generational systems. We say they are all underpinned and driven by design. It raises the question who should apply circular design, who is involved in this?
Joe Isles
Well, you know you do not have to be a designer to be involved in circular design. I think if we have this expanded view of design, that everything around us is designed, then it follows that we have an expanded view of who is a designer or who designs. We did a piece of research a few years ago off the back of a kind of a hunch really, saying there’s so much stuff around us, all those things I mentioned a few minutes ago, and in new products and services and systems. There must be a vast number of people who influence how those things work and yes, some of them are designers and designers often have the methods, the tools and mindsets that are useful in navigating messy circular economy innovation, but it’s many more than that too. It is architects, material scientists, even if you think about people in advertising who influence the types of services that we choose or the way that we interact with the world around us. Those people influence whether the economy is more linear or more circular as well.
Sebastian Egerton-Read
That notion of everything is designed is so crucial to understanding the circular economy. We are saying that the economy is also designed and that means, we have the agency to redesign it and rethink it is not some naturally occurring phenomena that is happening to us.
So, Joe at some point last year I feel like you started talking about this thing called circular-ish. You sort of forced it into a webinar that we were doing and finally we just had to give in and do a Circular Economy Show on circle-ish.
What is circular-ish, why are you so obsessed with it and the reason?
Joe Isles
Seb, I’ve become a bit obsessed with this idea of circular-ish. I should say it started out as kind of a fun or colloquial way to describe circular sign efforts, because the good news is that the circular economy idea is really mobilised now. More and more people are talking about it and thousands of designers and creative people innovators from either by themselves or in small or large companies, they’re all trying stuff out which is amazing, but not all circular design efforts are equal, and I think actually we sell the concept a bit short if we think that they are. Some efforts are under the banner of a circular economy they’re well-intentioned, but they might just be a bit more kind of an efficiency on today’s linear model. Some innovation let’s face it is kind of in the wrong direction, it may be products where materials are completely mixed up and are inseparable even though they might contain recycled material. We need to ask ourselves whether that is the right sort of innovation for a circular economy?
Obviously, we are at the stage now where people and some organisations are seeing circular economy as a savvy marketing label, but, and thankfully more and more innovators are trying things out. It’s in the right direction, but they’re not going to create a circular economy overnight it’s work in progress and I think that’s the point behind circular-ish.
No one can create a circular economy alone from their garage or from an r d lab so it’s a creative process and like with any innovation any step forward is also probably going to come with a number of other questions. The bits that the designer is proud of, the things that they’d like to do differently next time, the things that were really difficult or what else would have to change in the system to make their job a bit easier.
That’s really what I mean when I check out this colloquial term circular-ish. It’s about encouragement, about saying you’ve started on this creative journey and to keep going because there is a bigger idea here. Maybe you did start out looking at materials or making a durable product or renting something, but you can always go further and push the ambition of your circular economy innovation.
Sebastian Egerton-Read
Now fortunately, for our audience anyway, the exploration of this is not going to be just the two of us. Indeed, you’re going to be joined now by Katie Treggiden and Lay Koon Tan who have had a bit of an exploration of space. I know you have some questions, so I am just going to hand over to Joe to introduce them and get into the meat of the session.
Joe Isles
Thanks Seb.
I’m really delighted to be joined for this conversation by Lay Koon Tan who Is the co-founder of Nature Squared. Nature squared is a business that focuses on bespoke luxury and sustainable surface design applications and is built on reaffirming the value of artisanal skills by reinforcing the links between nature and human endeavour. The concept of trade, not aid, so a strong material focus to the conversation with Lay which I am looking forward to.
I am also joined by Katie Treggiden, who is a purpose-driven writer and keynote speaker who champions a circular approach to design through several different channels including a great book called Wasted and her podcast as well which I’m sure we’ll touch upon later.
Firstly, I’d love to speak to you Lay as someone who’s maybe a bit closer to this creative endeavour, this journey, that Seb and I were talking about just a moment ago.
Do you think you could just start by telling us a bit about Nature Squared, maybe one or two of the specific kinds of projects or material innovations that you’ve overseen over the past 20 years.
Lay Koon Tan
Hi Joe, thanks so much for having me. Well, I founded Nature Squared 20 years ago and we did it extremely unfashionably by wanting to focus on the bigger sustainability picture. When we looked at the developing economies in which we wanted to make a difference we found craft skills and a souvenir-making ability and of course they used indigenous material, but they weren’t valued and for us that was a real issue. It was about giving the people a platform for developing their livelihoods, but also for revaluing the material that was around them. There is this perception that what comes from abroad from the rich world is valuable and in the rich world you know that common things are less valuable than rarity. That was the paradigm we really wanted to break so we looked at what was indigenous, what was fast growing, what was waste clearly and how we could transform them into things that would be valued.
First, we’re talking about the design world. We’re talking about value for its form and function. It needs to be beautiful; it needs to be fit for purpose functionally. Joe you asked about an example of something we are very proud of, we are very proud of the work we do with eggshells. The most ubiquitous material you know.We are all so used to having our breakfast eggs chucking away the shells. Of course, eggshell inlay is very laborious you know, but beautiful it has been a heritage craft in East Asia for a long time but that doesn’t use an awful lot of eggshell, so we did two things. First, we said you know what these pretty little birds and butterflies that have a very limited aesthetic that needs to be broken so let’s inlay it all over and you’ll get a very different look and feel. It will use a whole lot more eggshell that we are diverting from landfill so that was step one.
Step two is that you know what instead of 2000 eggshells a square metre let’s use 20 000 eggshells and employ many more people in the cleaning and the processing of those eggshells. So, you know later this year we’re going to be launching a tile product essentially using crushed eggshells.
I guess this is one example of our journey and as you say you know there are many exciting stories out there of people doing similar things.
Joe Isles
I mean that’s a great example taking, like you say a ubiquitous, and I was going to say low perceived value, but I mean certainly very low value. I mean as you say most of my eggshells after a Friday are going to the bin and turning that into something valuable if we just look at something like that for a moment, and you mentioned this word pride and it’s something I’m really interested in when we speak with creative practitioners like yourselves. What is it about that innovation that you are particularly proud of? That you think is a real breakthrough? And maybe as a side note it was what was especially difficult about it and that was what took some time to overcome.
Lay Koon Tan
Perhaps let me take the questions in reverse order because this is something that most people can probably relate to.
You think about eggshells and of course it’s calcium carbonate on the outside and you think that’s great you know that’s easy to work with, but anyone who’s ever peeled a hard-boiled egg knows that there is a layer of membrane in there. That was the technical challenge, how do we deal with it because we don’t want to eliminate it.
That adds a layer of process that is a challenge so the difference between step one and step two for us was how do you come up with a system that allows that membrane to be incorporated in the final product.
You talked about pride. Well, we are very small, we are 200 artisans in the Philippines and pride comes in two ways. I’m super proud of our people and what they have managed to achieve in the last 20 years that we’ve been going, but that doesn’t matter, what matters is their pride in their achievements because when we show them the results of their work you know we can see them sit on the edge of their seats. This is so far away from the way they live and the pride they exude it and with that comes self-respect. It comes with different awareness of the environment around them, and they then come up with ideas themselves, they say can we use this, can we use that, what about this fruit skin? and you get this virtuous whereby you loved the word nudge that you used because that’s what I feel. We just nudge people to look at things differently and to follow a slightly more sustainable path, not a perfectly circular one, not a perfectly sustainable one. That’s why I really buy into the concept of circular-ish.
Joe Isles
That’s good to hear another vote for circular-ish.
Katie I’m going to come to you now and your book and your podcast. The book Wasted features about 30 different designers I believe who are working on projects like this and is this story quite typical? What I mean you’ve known Lay Koon Tan for a while now but what really stands out to you from stories like this?
Katie Treggiden
I think it’s interesting that your approach on this particular episode has been to look beyond the “designer” because it was actually Bethan Gray, I interviewed for the book who collaborated with Lay on a collection called exploring Eden which was a collection of furniture and home accessories made largely from food waste and so Bethlehem I think was relatively typical of designers.
In this space, perhaps slightly atypical in that she’s come to this slightly later in her career so I think her approach to sustainability so far has been to use FSC certified wood to make products that have longevity and will be perhaps passed down through generations, but that’s been about the extent of it so far. One of the things she said to me when I interviewed her for the book was this project had opened her eyes to the wider sort of possibilities and the circular economy in particular but I think I think where Lay is atypical from most of the people, I spoke to is 7:30 actually because of her awareness of the wider systemic implications so the sort of social implications and the economic implications of working with waste. So, all of Lays projects sort of form part of a wider environmental stewardship project and are also helping to sort of support people living on vulnerable income.
For example, fishermen. When Nature Squared buy shells from fishermen that gives them additional income which helps to support their livelihoods and that income is often invested back into things like more environmentally friendly fishing nets and so on. I think there’s an awful lot of designers who’ve cottoned onto the idea of working with waste, but I think not all of them have necessarily taken that step further and that’s where I again think this idea of circular-ish is fascinating.
I think they said I asked a lot of them. Okay so you’re using waste in your product what happens when your product becomes waste and a lot of them would say “oh well it’s not going to because I’ve designed it to last for ages and ages and ages you know it’s going to be handed down through generations”. My question is always okay and then what happens in say 500 years’ time when your beautiful heirloom table is no longer of use? That was a question not all of them had fully resolved yet and so I think I think it’s important that you know we don’t shame people for not having got there.
I don’t think this sort of trend for environmental shaming is helpful. I think it’s brilliant that people are taking those first steps, but I think it’s important to acknowledge that there are more steps to go before we reach a circular economy.
Joe Isles
Yes, and we’re going to come on to that in a little bit but let’s linger on that idea for just a moment then I think.
So, we’ve had some glimpses of a bigger idea behind circular design, but we have spoken a bit about materials and it’s a place where a lot of designers and creative people and innovators in businesses start. They’re looking at what’s in front of them. A mountain of waste material of some type and they’re saying that’s very tangible let’s do something with that. Is there a danger that you might in doing that ignore some of the systemic considerations or maybe to put it a different way just because you can turn waste into something new should you? Can that lead to some unintended consequences?
Katie Treggiden
Yes, I mean I think the answer to that is yes. I think there’s definitely a huge argument in favour of using waste as a raw material. You know a lot of people have said to me in the producing of the podcast. I also wrote a column for Design Milk called Circular by Design. A lot of people have sort of levelled the criticism well using waste is not circular because in a circular economy there is no waste and you sort of think okay but we’re not in a circular economy yet so we’ve got a sort of the 200-year legacy of the linear economy and there’s an awful lot of waste in the environment that if we can scoop up and do something valuable with it would be a good thing. So firstly, I think it’s not always a bad thing I think there is a danger that you sort of legitimise waste and create demand for waste streams.
So, you know plastic came about as a by-product of the oil industry and now in some ways is driving the extraction of oil. I think we’ve got to be careful about that, but I mean there are certainly examples where it’s okay to legitimise a waste stream if you’re using that waste in a product which can go back into the cellular economy.
There’s a city in in Denmark where 11 companies have got together and formed 22 waste exchanges one of them makes insulin and the by-product of that is spent yeast and another company turns that spent yeast into biogas and fertilizer. So, you can see how there are examples where reusing waste stops it from being waste at all and a lot of the designers in my book argued that we shouldn’t be using this word waste we should be talking about secondary materials or second life materials. So, I think it can be valuable in that sense. I think it really depends on the process you know if you’re trapping waste products in epoxy resin in a way that they can’t be separated afterwards and they can’t biodegrade whereas that waste product could have previously biodegraded then that’s not a good idea. Whereas if you can use sort of very organic natural waste materials to replace something that’s perhaps oil-based or chemical-based that would off gas in the home for example then you’re actually using products that are safer and more natural. So, I think I think the answer to your question is it depends, which is so often the case in this stuff.
Joe Isles
Of course, and I think that touches nicely on this idea that part of the reason it depends is because we’re talking about systems and they’re complex and vary from between different contexts and geographies and cultures and so on.
And Lay to come back to you, you’ve said a lot of your work or if we browse the Nature Squared website you can see the specific materials that you work with, but even in our short chat now it’s clear that dealing with materials has taught you a lot about the wider system. What are some of the big learnings over the 20 years you’ve been working with Nature’s Squared that because this isn’t just a material story is it there’s so much more about the wider economic system that you’ve discovered through your work.
Lay Koon Tan
Yes absolutely. I mean first you know people characterise us as driven by material. That’s the very tangible end of it is that we’re actually, as Katie so well described, where our primary driver insofar as you know this sort of one more equal than others the social aspects of it and the economics of livelihood in a less developed community is such that it’s the same concept to us as micro banking, micro lending. You know that if you can augment these low livelihoods by a little bit the marginal impact is huge. Now we don’t want to lecture people, but the fact is if that comes with an educational element then that has in systemic terms you know clearly does good at the other end of the scale.
Let’s not kid ourselves you know we talk a lot with designers and architects and of course also end consumers the designers and architects talk to their own project owners and a lot of this is driven by aesthetics and function and that’s what these guys are paying for. If we come and say look this thing is not particularly beautiful but it is very virtuous please by the virtue it isn’t going to fly so therefore the economic model must be one in which you deliver something that is desirable and at the best at the most optimised sustainability price that you can.
The example that I often give is you know we do what we do, and we try and make it as circular as we can, but then an architect comes along and says I need to put this in a public space, or I need to put this on a cruise ship it needs to meet this flammability standard, or it needs to be a floor that’s walked on. In one stroke you have put a coating and additive, a something, that as Katie says, you know negates an awful lot of it, but this is the real world we live in and I’d rather have that opportunity, have that conversation and carry on that path than lecture them and say no what a terrible thing to do you know how you could possibly want this.
Joe Isles
I think that’s a great sentiment and one that really resonates this idea that you spoke about as a path and an implied journey. I think there is this sense of keep starting but keeping going and Katie I don’t know if you speak to designers and either glean from them or maybe with your experience you give them a steer, but is there anything you could share about how to celebrate those early wins and successes? But to keep going because it is a journey and potentially quite a long one if we’re really thinking about this very ambitious future circular economy.
Katie Treggiden
I mean I think transparency is the most important thing, there is so much green washing out there these days. I think it’s often quite difficult for consumers and even interior designers and architects who are specifying products to sort of tell the difference and I think the brands who I think are doing best and the sort of even young designer makers who are being really honest so sort of saying this is where we’re trying to get to at the moment. We’re here you know we’ve achieved steps one and two we’re halfway through step three, but you know it’s a ten-step plan to where to get to where we want to. I think there are also sort of certifications like the sort of core standard and soil association and you know there’s unfortunately far too many of them. I think some of those sorts of situations where you’re not marking your own homework can be quite helpful end labelling so environmental product declarations, I think that stands for some of those things can be really helpful to sort of combat some of that green washing and have that transparency to sort of say these are the bits we’ve achieved but I think some of those sorts of big certifications are not open to smaller companies.
I think for brands just starting out it’s about just being really honest and transparent about the steps that they’ve taken and the steps they’re yet to take. I think being honest with themselves about that as well because I think sometimes it’s that sense of sort of well you know I’ve done this thing I can rest on my laurels now and I think understanding that it is a journey it’s not you know there is no product that is perfect in terms of sustainability.
There are always compromises to make and I can give you a very personal example which is that when I started writing the book, I said to the publisher it cannot be wrapped in plastic and it must be made of waste. I wanted those things written into my contract before we started, and she sort of said look I can’t write them into a contract, but I promise we’ll do our absolute best. So, at one point in the process, she came back and said look we’ve investigated the potato starch poly wrap and it doesn’t last long enough. It starts biodegrading after six months and the books might be in storage for a year so we’re going to wrap it in plastic. I was just like no we can’t do that you know we have to try harder. In the end we found a polywrap that’s actually made from a by-product of the sugar processing industry so it’s a sucrose. It looks and feels and works exactly like a plastic polywrap. So that was a win and the publisher’s now using that for all of their books which is fantastic.
Paper on the other hand, the cover is made from a waste product of the leather processing industry so the cover’s made from waste. The paper I really wanted to be made from recycled paper but the cost implication of that meant printing the book in China and then shipping it largely back to Europe and America which is where the biggest audiences for it were or making it so expensive that most people wouldn’t have been able to afford to buy it. And so actually we decided the carbon footprint of all that shipping negated the benefit of printing on recycled paper and so it’s printed on FSC certified virgin paper which sort of feels really wrong for a book about waste but actually when you took into account all the complexities it was the most environmentally sound decision.
I only share that example to say that I think there are compromises always and I think the more open and transparent we can be about those not only to sort of prevent green washing and promote transparency but also to sort of encourage our competitors, our collaborators, the other people in the industry to say you know this is not about me pretending I’ve got this perfect, it’s about sharing my journey so other people can perhaps learn from that and learn from it and maybe go further and build on it.
Joe Isles
I know Seb’s been listening intently, but I just have one more question that I would love to get a quick answer from both of you.
We have spoken a lot about materials I think it is something that designers deal with or are in proximity with on a day-to-day basis, so in a sense that’s unsurprising, but we’ve also in this conversation knocked on the door of some of the much bigger ideas around people’s livelihoods and the social benefits of creating products in this way.
I’d just like to get a sense Lay, starting with you what would it be like if the whole economy worked in this way? Can you maybe highlight what some of the benefits would be if it wasn’t just Nature Squared and a few other pioneers but the whole economy worked like this?
Lay Koon Tan
Oh, wow dare to dream is your question, right?
First, may I say you know we’re on a very modest journey. I don’t pretend to give anybody lessons in how this should all work, but if I were to extrapolate from our value system and our approach then I guess my headline would be that people would think through the complexities make those weigh up those choices that Katie you know so graphically illustrated and come up with the sensible answer for that set of circumstances.
I’m sorry to be as vague as that but the fact is that ducking the complexity is where the problem often is you know we want the sound bite and even if the intent is not to green wash, we’ve been watching resins develop for the last 20 years our material scientists and chemists have been watching this innovating on our own and the fact is it’s not there yet but go look at how many brands say we use bio resin. You know our chemicals are responsibly this and that and as Katie says I think it’s very important not to kid ourselves and if everybody were open-minded to balance those factors and to make a sensible choice and sensible includes money no question then I think we might get a little bit further on that journey.
Joe Isles
And what about you Katie just a quick, but massive answer I guess on that question.
It’s quite interesting because I recently came across some research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology that kind of answers this question. So, they investigated what would happen if the whole world adopted a circular economy. What would happen to the economy, to jobs, to people’s economic prosperity, on an individual level and then they looked at what would happen if just Norway adopted a circular economy.
Katie Treggiden
I think for Norway you could probably substitute developed nations, what they found was that if the whole world developed a circular economy there would be a growth of 2.5 new jobs and that would be particularly in developing nations particularly for people with low to medium education and particularly women. The people who are most impacted by climate change, so I mean that’s a brilliant outcome. However they also found that if only Norway were to adopt a circular economy those same people, so people in developing nations people with low to medium education and women would lose jobs and that’s as you can imagine if everybody in developing nations are repairing clothes for example there’s going to be less demand for cheap clothes from countries like Bangladesh and I think what that says is that we have to do this in a really inclusive way. It’s no good certain countries rushing ahead on this and leaving others behind.
There’s actually a beautiful quote which I might leave you with from a book called All We Can Save which is an anthology of women writing on the environment and it was edited by Dr Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine Wilkinson and there’s a lovely quote in the introduction when they say “to change everything we need everyone” and I think that just sort of sums up you know the way we need to approach a global circular economy.
Joe Isles
Thank you so much Katie and Lay Koon Tan for all your great insights there in Circular Design.
We encourage zooming in and zooming out to problem solve effectively I think we’ve done a lot of that today. Zooming into some specific innovations and zooming out to this bigger idea of a circular economy so I appreciate that.
Seb, I know you’ve been on the edge of your seat listening in there. What were some of your reflections.
Sebastian Egerton-Read
You’ve been zooming in and out so much Joe I’m actually feeling quite dizzy, but actually I didn’t prep our guests for this but there are been a couple of interesting contributions online I just want to just throw out there for some really quick responses because obviously this conversation to some extent we’ve done a bit of sort of encouragement like; have a go, do something, design something and then a little bit of like well there’s also these big system-wide implications to think about that might make your exciting design somewhat null and void even and I suppose just picking up on a summing up of a few of the comments that have come in maybe for you Katie to tackle in the first instance.
Can you give us a bit of hope like what the people should still go and dive into this right and give it a go for lots of good reasons?
Katie Treggiden
Yeah, lots of good reasons and I think there’s something really important about embarking on that journey because that’s how you start to learn. That’s how you start to understand the biggest systemic implications and I think you know there’s a danger that we can just sort of get overwhelmed by this. You know there’s a reason they call it a wicked problem it’s so complicated and so interrelated. I think the worst outcome is we can sort of say oh it’s all too complicated I can’t, you know whereas I would really encourage designers, makers, crafts people, anybody sort of working even in the broadest creative industries to start. And I think that’s how you learn, and your first project might turn out not to be the one that’s going to make a difference, but you’ll learn so much from that first project to invest into a second project. And I think the second thing I’d say is none of us are going to solve this problem on our own. This problem is going to be solved by lots and lots and lots of people all chipping away at their little bit of the problem, so I think if you know if your problem is not going to save the world on its own that’s okay.
Sebastian Egerton-Read
Okay good and then finally a good provocative question from Margie on LinkedIn. They ask a question about what makes a product circular, and their question is; if a product is made with good materials designed for disassembly but there is no take back system there’s no system around it to collect it is it actually circular?
I don’t know if you want to take that one on Joe and whoever wants to jump in on that one.
Joe Isles
Well, I mean I’ll throw that over to Lay maybe he is a bit closer to the creative process than I am.
Lay Koon Tan
I mean of course you know the theoretically correct answer is that it’s not. I mean circular is circular definitionally but again you know back to Joe’s concept of circular-ish if there is no take back it’s not, but if you stop a linear something that’s going to be wholly linear at some point and you give it a little bit of a u-bend you’re already doing something better now. I think that your contributor Seb you know is quite correct in the premise that it’s not wholly circular of course but going to Katie’s point about if I’m making something of such good quality that it lives 500 years well I will take the 500 years over 500 days any time because you know in 500 years, we may well have different solutions to these things, well guess what in 500 days we won’t.
Sebastian Egerton-Read
Thank you and Katie thank you so much for joining us on the circle show.
Joe, firstly, circular-ish is taking off you’ve definitely got two advocates for it here, secondly, we’re not quite done with you yet. We’ve got one that we’ll just wrap up in a moment, but before we do that just a reminder to our viewers that this is just one episode of the Circle Economy Show under the Foundation’s wider content and focus on circle design. Let’s take a quick look at some of the other conversations we’ve hosted previously which you can find on our YouTube channel.
Ellen MacArthur
It does strike you as such a strange phenomenon that we can produce a material that I know keeps a salad fresh for two hours, three hours, until it’s bought at lunchtime and it’s good for 500 years. That to me is just a design flaw and it always struck me so what are you asking the designer to design when they design that piece of plastic because it’s amazing science it can you know keep it fresh and let bits of it breathe and all of those things but actually is it designed to last forever or is it designed to do that for a certain period of time? That design question we so often come back to at the Foundation is; what are you asking people to design?
Hanna Ahlberg
I can’t keep on making more products that goes into the world that will not be taken care of or nobody would take responsibility for.
Lilly Cole
I always find it quite an amazing paradox that there’s so much plastic and food which as you say is this weird combination of like the most short-lived objects i.e., food with the most long-lived objects is plastic and that you get so much plastic in kid’s toys and diapers and wet wipes.
Again, it’s like it seems so paradoxical that you’re buying these materials that are going to have a kind of long-lasting negative effect on the planet to use for your children that are going to be the ones that inherit the planets.
Farah Ramzan Golant
I think creative industries bring the notion of impossible as solvable it’s an impossible complex intractable big issue and what the creative industries will bring first and foremost is a mindset which is impossible as solvable. Everything was impossible once and was pretty much everything being impossible until it got solved.
Sebastian Egerton-Read
So in that video, we heard from among others Lilly Cole and Ikea various conversations the Foundation has hosted over a period with leading designers and leading on our YouTube channel and cropping up consistently in episodes of this show and the Foundations of our activities.
Joe we’re back, great, just a couple of final reflections on the conversation we’ve had today and also looking at that video that the circular design seems like it’s something that is extremely varied as an idea, is that true?
Joe Isles
I think that is true and you know this is circular economy in this kind of recent wave of activity of momentum is really the term has really grown in the past 10 years which is a relatively short time scale really and circular design as a discipline that people can kind of organise around and start to experiment with even shorter than that really, so it is emerging. I think what you had some examples of in today’s conversation and in the video, you shared said is that yes circular design is about materials about products about making isolated or coupled innovations more feasible designed for disassembly durability smarter materials choices and things like that, but it’s also about business model innovation about a whole organization. I mean you heard from Ikea they’re rethinking all of their 10,000 different products in their catalogue along a circular economy roadmap so different types of solutions and starting to rethink the value that they provide to their customers not just through one or two isolated innovations but through thousands of different innovations. Then you’ve got even bigger even a bit more kind of abstract is how we design for systems change you mentioned that the economy is designed.
Seb, I mean we can argue about that next time we’re together in the office but really is it designed or is it the consequence of innumerable different design decisions that are combined and kind of ladder up to this to create a system and I think however you look at it those different design decisions can nudge, and we use this word nudge but can shift the economy towards a more circular outcome.
Sebastian Egerton-Read
I won’t be taking you on any debates. Joe one final question from me is obviously we talked about this a bit earlier that when we say that everything is designed, I know we’ve heard Tim Brown from Ideo former CEO of Audio say everyone is a designer. We’ve talked about this before it can feel a little bit almost scary to even for people like yourself and I to think about ourselves as designers. Is your message to our viewership here that we need to get more comfortable with thinking of ourselves at least in having design roles in the economy?
Joe Isles
Yeah, I think so. I mean I think if you acknowledge like we said at the start of the session that everything is designed then there are many more people who can influence the way that things work than those that just went to design school or have design in their job title. We said those people do have a toolkit of methods and ways of working which are helpful but there are many more people who have agency and the enthusiasm to reimagine the world around us along circular economy lines, so yeah, we are all designers in some respects. I also think you kind of must do it, just because I made a loaf of bread it doesn’t mean I am a baker although I kind of am an amateur one. So, you must try these things. I don’t think we can all say that we’re designers if we’re not trying to reorient or change a bit of the world around us so I think you could be a designer too sir but you must do it.
Sebastian Egerton-Read
I hope I’m a better designer than you are a baker. Joe, thank you so much for joining this episode of the Circular Show and thank you to you at home or in your offices wherever you are watching this session and whether you’re watching it live or if you’re watching it in catch up and for those questions and comments that you’ve been submitting throughout.
So, we’ve heard that the circle economy starts fundamentally by designing things differently underpinning those three core principles. It’s a much bigger idea going beyond recycling to how we design the design decisions that make up how our economy fundamentally works, and you have a role in that and hopefully what you’ve heard in this session is that you can embrace the journey and the process of doing that rather than feeling that you have to be submitting these polished solutions.
That’s all for this episode of the Circle Economy Show we’ll be back in the same time place in two weeks’ time but we’re also live on Instagram.
The Foundation is live on Instagram tomorrow at the same time at 3 p.m. and we’re talking to organic basics about their design decisions and how they’re involved in our jeans redesign products so do make sure you follow the Foundation on Instagram and join that conversation. We’ll be hosted by the Foundation’s François Suchet subscribe to all of our channels like and share this video do all those nice things. Otherwise, we’ll see you next time on the Circle Economy Show
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Creating A Circular Society: Turning Trash Into Treasure, Stockholm Design Week 2021
Join circular design champion, author and podcaster, Katie Treggiden, as she explores the latest innovations in sustainable design with a panel comprising of Christian Lodgaard, senior VP of Products and Brands at Flokk, Susie Jahren, Sustainable Research Manager at SINTEF, Simon Hamilton, Founder of Design Career Consulting and Jan Christian Vestre, CEO at Vestre.
Space Available, Space Talks #014
Katie was invited to take part in Space Available, a podcast which connects the dots to build a better world.
Space Available’s founder, Daniel Mitchell has built up a global community of designers, artists, scientists and environmentalists who he believes can work together to solve problems – and do their bit to try and change things.
Katie spoke to Daniel about making space for a sustainable future.
MCD Virtual Event with Glenn Adamson
The Museum of Craft and Design welcomed writer and speaker Katie Treggiden for a virtual discussion of her new book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure.
The program began with an introduction by the book’s forward author, renowned art critic and curator Glenn Adamson. Wasted, chronicles 30 designers who have founded their artistic and entrepreneurial practices upon principles of sustainability, waste reduction, and circular economics. Each of the featured makers and manufacturers have made reclaimed waste their primary material of construction in hopes of confronting Earth’s ever-ominous climate issues by straying away from the “take-make-waste” consumer model and rethinking the ways in which we can minimise our consumption and relative pollution.
They also explored the sociocultural and economic influences surrounding the book’s featured projects, as well as highlighting the people and ideas reinvigorating streams of waste into both functional and decorative objects.
More of Katie Treggiden’s virtual and public speaking events can be found on her YouTube channel.
Textiles and wellbeing: the new normal (Kvadrat)
Katie was approached to interview global textiles company Kvadrat’s Senior VicePresident of Products Charlotte Bastholmas for a live webinar to explore textiles and wellbeing in the wake of COVID-19.
All copy as provided to the company.
In the wake of COVID19, there is a perception that tactile, natural and porous materials like wood and fabrics are somehow less safe than hard, wipe-clean surfaces like plastic, glass and metal. However, the evidence simply doesn’t bear this out. As companies ready themselves for their employees’ return, health and safety concerns are high on the agenda–and rightly so. Social distancing and good hygiene practices are part of our new normal. However, in the maelstrom of a global health crisis, it is important that we don’t neglect mental health and wellbeing. Natural materials, such as wood and wool, not only offer the lowest survival time for the virus that causes COVID-19, but they can also help improve cognitive performance, creativity and mood. Stimulating the sense of touch through their tactility, they also make us feel more connected, trusting and generous–all important factors as employers seek to redefine the office as a hub for culture and collaboration.
Join design journalist Katie Treggiden in conversation with Kvadrat’s Senior VicePresident of Products Charlotte Bastholmas they explore how we can make sure the new normal is better than the one we’ve left behind.
Valued or Wasted: Four Perspectives on Making a Sustainable Impact
In December 2020, I was invited to join a live panel discussion on the challenges of making sustainability mainstream by Dezeen and Material Lab.
The talk, called Valued or Wasted: Four Perspectives on Making a Sustainable Impact, was moderated by Dezeen’s founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs.
I was joined by The Good Plastics Company founder William Chizhovsky, Nature Squared founder Lay Koon Tan and Jason Bridges, who is the head of procurement and production support at heritage British tile manufacturer Johnson Tiles.
MAD Brussels Digital Book Launch and Talk
Design With Purpose; Legacy Without Ego – Decorex Virtual 2020
A digital panel led by Kerryn Harper-Cuss and including Sean Sutcliffe of Benchmark, Jay Blades of The Repair Shop and writer and keynote speaker Katie Treggiden. The panel explore ways in which the design industry can inspire positive change and engender enlightened approaches to the creation of interiors product.
Stitch by Stitch Talk
Stitch by Stitch invited Katie to take part in their series of Instagram Live talks. Katie spoke to Stitch by Stitch co-director Karen Sear Shimali on the subject of sustainability in interiors.
Vancouver Zero Waste Conference
In November 2020 I was invited to deliver the closing keynote for the 10th annual Vancouver Zero Waste Conference.
For 10 years the Zero Waste Conference has been at the forefront of Canada’s circular economy journey. I joined keynote speakers: Beau Lotto, Chelsea Rochman, Michael Green, Suzanne Lee, Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson and Horacio Barbeito.
Sessions included: new materials, the built environment, and how to build back better.
The Human Instinct to Create panel (London Craft Week 2020)
In November 2020 I was invited to chair a panel discussion on The Human Instinct to Create for London Craft Week 2020.
The panel included Kanupriya Verma, CEO of Ikai Asai, with Ikai Asai collaborators Matthew Sasa, Noor Salma, Ayush Kasliwal, and Dharmesh Jadeja.
Photo credit: Ikai Asai
Atlanta Design Festival Talk
In 2020 I was invited to give an online talk for the Atlanta Design Festival on the subject of waste and how it can be turned into something to be treasured once more in a bid to help us to tackle the global waste crisis and climate change.
‘The annual Atlanta Design Festival is an open platform, ideal for fostering international dialogue on the economic and social impact of design. It provides connection, the free exchange of knowledge, design thinking and community building. Each year the Festival brings together independent designers, established brands, young talent, international speakers from academia, NGOs and government entities, exhibitions, installations and architecture tours – all centered on the economic and societal impact of design. We define this activity as ‘the design economy’ – the direct and indirect value created by those who use design in a wide variety of industries.’ Atlanta Design Festival.
DMTV Milkshake: Katie Treggiden Is Making Sense of Waste
In July Katie was invited to take part in an episode of DMTV’s Milkshake. Milkshake is Design Milk’s regular series, asking designers, creatives, educators, and industry professionals to select interview questions at random from their favourite bowl or vessel.
Katie answers include an insight into her latest book Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure.
How to Read an Object (Plymouth College of Art)
In August 2019, Plymouth College of Art invited Katie Treggiden to give a lecture entitled ‘How to read an object’ and host a workshop on the same theme, arming Masters students with the skills to derive knowledge from close visual and material observation of objects that had been designed and made by others, as well the confidence to articulately describe their own work.
‘It was a fascinating lecture, very thought-provoking and an object lesson in how to research in the depth and level of insight our students should be aiming for,’ said Vicky Sykes. ‘Delighted to take part … An insightful experience to reflect upon,’ said Sue Lewry.
DESIGNING HUMAN-CENTRED WORKSPACES (TRIFLE* x WORKSTORIES)
During Clerkenwell Design Week 2019, Katie Treggiden was invited to host a talk for workplace interior design practice Trifle* at Workstories’ showroom entitled Designing Human-Centred Workspaces. Katie was joined by (L-R above) Kursty Groves, workplace strategist, author and founder of Shape Work Life; Emma Morley, founder and creative director of Trifle*; Innocent Drinks’ environment and culture leader, David McKay; and Andrea Pattico and Susan Stanley, chief people officer and head of space respectively at MVF. Katie conducted extensive research on the topic and interviewed all of the panelists in advance, ensuring an insightful and free-flowing conversation. The event was fully booked and well attended (despite the sunshine outside!) and broadcast via Instagram Live to those not able to be there in person. ‘That was the best panel event I’ve ever taken part in’ said Kursty Groves afterwards.
Key insights from the talk…
‘The right environments can be healing, and time spent in nature – even if it’s just a moment staring out of a window or even looking at artworks or photography depicting nature – enables us to focus and concentrate better.’ – Kursty Groves, Shape Work Life.
‘Organisations get stuck and workspace design becomes more about numbers than people – then you get genuine sickness, stress and imbalance.’ – Emma Morley, Trifle*.
‘We are providing a variety of spaces, so instead of just open-plan desking and cafes, we are now providing quiet zones for deep work and ‘scrum spaces’ for problem-solving, so we’re supporting different types of work and different types of people.’ – Susan Stanley, MVF.
‘We have to understand what people need to do their best work and how their space needs to function to support that, before we can even start to think about how to make it look pretty.’ – Emma Morley, Trifle*.
‘People are asking for quiet spaces and one-to-one spaces – and that’s not just from introverts, that’s from everyone. Second to that is a desire for flexible working, so we need to enable that, while making sure Fruit Towers is still the hub our people want to come back to.’ – David McKay, Innocent Drinks.
‘We’re putting in a library for deep work; a ‘green room’ full of plants, a zen space, a corner with just one chair and a light, smaller meeting rooms and private spaces that can be booked out as prayer rooms or for new mums to express milk – and all of that came from really listening to our people.’ – Andrea Pattico, MVF
‘My ‘elevate model’ – or 6Es of workspace design – elevates the conversation from floorplans, beyond desks and up into hearts and minds: Establish the vision and objectives; analyse the Efficiencies and free up budget from the inefficiencies; look at Effectiveness – how people actually work, what they really need; then work on Expression – what are the values you want the space to express; Empower people by involving them in the process; and then finally Evolution – it’s going to change so think about what future employees might need.’ – Kursty Groves, Shape Work Life.
‘Workspace design is really about curating employee experiences. I worked with one organisation that wanted their people to whistle on the way to work, and I loved that, so now I always start with that ambition.’ – Andrea Pattico, MVF
‘It has to be genuine and authentic – if you haven’t got under the skin of the people and the brand, it’s not workspace design, it’s just decorating. When you get it right, people can sense a different atmosphere the moment they walk in, the space tells a story and people intuitively feel the values that it embodies.’ – Emma Morley, Trifle*.
‘People want to feel connected to their local communities, so we have partnered with local business, shops, cafes, pubs, gyms and yoga studios in the area to offer MVF-ers a discount. It gets people away from their desks and out into the world and also means we’re supporting local businesses instead of bringing everything in-house.’ – Susan Stanley, MVF.
‘Workspace design is just a tool to nurture culture. We have a large area that is used for Monday morning meetings, lunches and Friday beers – that enables us to share information, supporting transparency; it enables accidental interactions that encourage collaboration; and it builds connections and community.’ – David McKay, Innocent Drinks.
‘I spend time with my nephews, and I draw a lot of inspiration from them when I’m thinking about the future of workspace design. If you spend time with children, they will give you clues about the future. We have got a lot to learn from them.’ – Andrea Pattico, MVF
‘Change is the only constant, so question what really has to be fixed and what can remain flexible so it can respond to the future. Workspace design needs to be hyper-agile. It’s really exciting – we could be having a totally different conversation in two years’ time.’ – Emma Morley, Trifle*.
Photography: Trifle*
Making It In London – Craft at risk (Cockpit Arts)
Katie Treggiden was invited to host the opening event of London Craft Week 2019, a panel event for Cockpit Arts entitled Craft at risk: Making it in London and held in the iconic Leatherseller’s Hall.
Katie was joined by CEO of Cockpit Arts, Annie Warburton; weaver Majeda Clarke; ceramicist David Marques; and Culture at Risk Officer for the London Mayor, Ed Bayes to discuss the challenges and rewards of making it as a craftsperson in the UK’s capital.
An interview with each of the panellists before the event ensured the conversation ran smoothly and unearthed new insights from the perspective of both makers and those trying to support them.
The event sold out and live-streamed via Facebook to enable those outside London to take part.
All photography by David Mirzoeff / Cockpit Arts
Right to Repair (Skinflint)
Skinflint approached Katie Treggiden about an event during their pop-up at the MARK Product showroom for Clerkenwell Design Week. Katie worked with Skinflint co-founder Sophie Miller to come up with the topic of restoration, mending and repair, playing into Skinflint’s USP while providing editorial value.
Katie wrote the copy for the Clerkenwell Design Week guide and secured three panellists to sit alongside Katie and Sophie’s partner Chris Miller – textiles artist Celia Pym; artist, maker and Hackney Fixers co-organiser Bridget Harvey; and Justin South, recovering addict and volunteer at Restoration Station.
Katie conducted extensive research into the topic and pre-interviewed each of the panel, resulting in a fascinating conversation that covered built-in obsolescence, design for repair, the ‘right to repair’ movement, the gender and class implications of mending, the layers of stories in a repaired object, the dangers of westerners appropriating terms like ‘wabi-sabi’ and ‘kintsugi’, conscious consumption, and repair as an act of sustainability, recovery, wellbeing and activism. The event sold-out and secured an engaged audience on the day as well as being live-streamed on Instagram for both Skinflint and MARK Product.
Designing for Worklife Panel Discussion CDW 2019
During Clerkenwell Design Week, Tarkett invited Katie Treggiden to chair two talks exploring a piece of pan-European research they had recently undertaken into the blurring lines between life and work. In the first talk, entitled Rethinking Stereotypes, Katie was joined by editor Elle Decor in the Netherlands, Evelien Reich; Senior Associate at HASSELL Studio, Catherine van de Heide; and Marc Richard – managing director at contract furniture manufacturer Roger Lewis to expose some of the more surprising findings from the research.
Findings included the fact that staggering 60% of UK workers report negative associations with work, such as feeling ‘like a number’ or ‘relieved to get through the day’ – the worst result in Europe; the UK are most dissatisfied with the look of their office (with men placing higher emphasis on aesthetics than women); less than 10% of UK workers are impressed with the ‘playground’ style offices that Google made famous – instead they want simple, functional, Scandi-style interiors.
Health and wellbeing matter most to UK workers – with particular concerns over air quality, temperature and noise – and younger people are most likely to resent the blurring of boundaries between life and work and want more barriers in place between the two; men are more likely to report struggling with work-life balance than women – and despite most UK employees wanting open plan spaces, only 10% describe their role as collaborative and most prefer to work independently.
The second talk was entitled Designing for Worklife and looked at the UK results in particular. For this talk, Katie was joined by Hannah Nardini, workplace consultant and designer at WK.space; Russell Glover: head of design at Peldon Rose, strategy director at FranklinTill, Julian Ellerby; and Measuremen’s Noel Brewster. Both talks were fully attended and broadcast via Instagram Live to an even wider audience.
Weaving: Contemporary Makers on the Loom (Tate Modern)
The Terrace Bookshop at the Tate Modern hosted the launch event for Katie Treggiden’s fourth book, Weavers: Contemporary Makers on the Loom. Katie chaired a talk with a panel comprising four of the weavers from the book: Lauren Chang, Jen Keane, Eleanor Pritchard and Karin Carlander.
The panel explored some of the themes raised in the book such as where weaving sits on David Pye’s spectrum from the workmanship of risk to the workmanship of certainty, the weavers’ relationships with the producers of their yarn and with industry and the purpose of their craft.
The event sold out within a few days of tickets going on sale, and again when more capacity was added – in the end 150 people attended for a packed event (with over 500 more following via Instagram Live), followed by a book signing.
Photography by Yeshen Venema
THE WORKSPACE OF THE FUTURE (DESSO/TARKETT)
Katie Treggiden was invited by Desso/Tarkett to chair a panel event to close their Clerkenwell Design Week programme of events with a panel that ‘re-imagined the workspaces of the future’, bringing together everything that has been discussed across the week.
Working closely with Hattrick PR, Katie put together a panel, comprising applied futurist Tom Cheesewright, Gensler’s Ankita Dwivedi, Richard Francis of Monomoy, and workplace consultant Hannah Nardini and interviewed each of them before the event to ensure a smooth-running and informed debate.
The conversation covered about everything from why today’s organisations are like Melanesian Cargo Cults to the impact that Generations X, Y, Z and Alpha are having on contemporary workplaces, from the technology-driven transparency that driving better air and sound quality to a Royal College of Art conceived model for person-centric office design.
The event was fully-booked and the audience was engaged, participating fully in the audience Q&A and joining the panel to network over a buffet lunch afterwards.
TACTILITY IN THE WORKPLACE (DESSO/TARKETT)
Desso/Tarkett commissioned Katie Treggiden to put together a talk exploring contemporary trends in office design. She secured Caroline Till, co-founder of futures agency FranklinTill, for an ‘In Conversation With’ style talk exploring one in particular – tactility. They explored emerging trends such as ‘flesh’, ‘digital reality’, ‘messy play’ and ‘luxe touch’ before talking about their implications for workspaces.
In Conversation with Alejandro Villarreal (Hayche)
Katie Treggiden was invited by H Furniture (since renamed Hayche) to interview founder and creative director in front of a live audience to celebrate the launch of the WW Chair at Clerkenwell Design Week.
The WW Chair was designed by Alejandro Villareal. Inspired by the classic lines of the Windsor chair, its solid wooden seat is given a modern twist in the form of the structured wire backrest. The event was a great success, drawing people into the exhibition space to interact with this piece and the wider collection.
Urban Cabin Press Conference (MINI Living)
MINI Living invited me to host the press conference for their Urban Cabin concept at the London Design Festival – journalists came directly from the V&A as part of the British Land installations tour. I introduced the project and then interviewed the key players involved – Esther Bahne, MINI’s Head of Brand Strategy and Business Innovation; Oke Hauser, Creative Lead for MINI Living; and collaborating architect Sam Jacob – before directing people towards tours of the installation and the book swap that was taking place throughout the week. “Katie is the obvious choice when looking for a respected face from the world of design. Her consultation in the planning stages is invaluable and on the day she engages audiences, keeps panellists on point, and delivers in an authentic and conversational way.” – Rachel Newman, Iris Worldwide for MINI Living
URBAN POTTERS (MILLIKEN)
As part of a wider project, Milliken invited me to be “in conversation with” Monocle24’s Josh Fehnert on the subject of my latest book, Urban Potters. Josh grilled me for 45 minutes on the themes raised within the book, which explores the contemporary ceramics movement in six cities around the world – London, New York, São Paulo, Sydney, Copenhagen and Tokyo. We talked about the heritage of ceramics in each of those cities, what’s driving the contemporary revival of studio pottery in urban environments, and finally the research methods I employed in putting the book together. Members of the audience then had the chance to ask questions before I did a book signing, and then raised a glass in celebration. “We all thought the launch event was perfect,” said Lucie Parkin, PR for Milliken.
Professional Practice (Plymouth College of Art)
I recently gave a lecture at Plymouth College of Art for second and third year craft and surface pattern design students about how to engage with journalists and bloggers to gain coverage of their work. I also worked with the course leaders to select just nine students from the summer show whose work will appear at the London Design Fair in September. Part of my lecture was about how to make the most of this opportunity for those selected, while also ensuring those not selected were given advice they could use at other fairs or when not exhibiting. I have worked with Plymouth College of Art for three consequetive years to curate their London Design Fair stand. “Katie is fantastic to work with and always happy to share her immense knowledge of and enthusiasm for the design world.” – Laura Wasley, Plymouth College of Art
Design in Education (Milliken)
Milliken approached me about putting together and chairing a panel event that would drive footfall to their showroom during Clerkenwell Design Week. I suggested a talk exploring the theme of Design in Education, building the Designing Futures campaign they’d been involved in the previous year. I secured high profile and passionate speakers on the subject – cofounder of Barber Osgerby Jay Osgerby, creative director of the Crafts Council Annie Warburton and principle and CEO of Plymouth College of Art Andrew Brewerton. The resulting conversation was informative and inspiring and offered a real insight into what Annie Warburton described as a “wicked problem.” The event was well attended by key industry members and journalists, and the conversation continued into the evening long after the panel event formally concluded.
Sustainable Upholstery (Second Sitters)
Second Sitters took over the Geffrye Museum 02 – 21 May 2017, showcasing a timeline of the evolution and new revolution within the craft of upholstery, in an exhibition entitled Upholstery: Evolution to Revolution, supported by the Arts Council England. As part of the programme of events that ran alongside that exhibition I chaired a panel event about sustainability in upholstery with panel members designer Ella Doran, founder of Frame and Cover Corinne Webb, Tim Cox of Coakley and Cox Ltd, and Alex Law, founder of School of Upholstery.
100% Norway in 60 Minutes (London Design Fair)
In September 2016, I was asked by The Royal Norwegian Embassy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (DOGA) to chair a panel event to coincide with 100% Norway, a showcase of the country’s design during the London Design Festival. The panel comprised exhibition curator Max Fraser and two of the design brands featured, Kim Thome and Vera & Kyte. We explored Norway’s design heritage, its role in the current trend for Scandinavian design, and what it means to be a Norwegian designer today.
(R)evolutionary Education (Design Prize Switzerland)
In September 2016 I was invited by the curator of Design Prize Switzerland, Michel Hueter, to moderate and chair (R)eveolutionary Education – a series of presentations from students studying in Switzerland, followed by a panel comprising lecturers and course leaders from Switzerland’s top design schools to explore the country’s design education system. “Thank you for your precious collaboration,” said Michel. “It was a pleasure to have your support and I was really pleased with how quickly we connected and you understood and also embodied the both questions we wanted to address and the insights we wanted to pass on. Everyone was really happy.”
The future of the home (Monocle x Kohler)
During the London Design Festival 2016, I was invited by Monocle to take part in a panel event about the future of the home, as part of Kohler’s Design Forum: Design in Everyday Life series. Led by Monocle’s Josh Fehnert, the panel, which comprised creative consultant Hugh McDonald, Kohler’s Mark Bickerstafffe, and me, engaged in a lively discussion about everything from the Danish concept of Hygge to the internet of things.
The Quest for Identity (Desso)
In May 2016 I chaired a panel event entitled The Quest for Identity for Desso as part of Clerkenwell Design Week. My panelists were Novocastrian’s Richy Almond, Hampson Wood’s Jonty Hampson and The New Craftsmen’s Natalie Melton. The panel was part of a wider project for which I also curated a small exhibition and accompanying workshops programme and commissioned the showroom’s hero window display.
You can listen to an audio-recording of the event here.
The Making of a Magazine (magCulture)
In May 2016 I was invited to take part in a special edition of the magCulture Meets series of events for Clerkenwell Design Week entitled The Making of a Magazine. Stack’s Steve Watson interviewed Fiera Magazine’s creative director, Jeremy Leslie, Issue 04 illustrator Alice Bowsher and me about the making of the current issue.
You can listen to an audio recording of the event here.
Design Undefined (Clerkenwell London)
In May 2016, I chaired a panel event entitled Design Undefined for Clerkenwell London as part of Clerkenwell Design Week. Introduced by CEO Sara Carter, I interviewed Seetal Solanki and Kia Utzon in front of a live audience about their non-traditional routes into design and their cross-disciplinary practices today. The breakfast panel formed part of a wider event, for which I also curated a selection of products from the latest issue of Fiera Magazine around the same theme.
Designing Futures (Milliken)
In April 2016, I was invited by Milliken and Jade Ilke to chair a panel event exploring how we can lessen the barriers for young people entering the design, manufacturing, installation, building and construction industries. The panel event was part of Designing Futures, a programme of workshops, activities and work experience for young people during Clerkenwell Design Week.
In Conversation with Sir Kenneth Grange, Anglepoise
In Conversation with Sir Kenneth Grange, Anglepoise, May 2014
I was commissioned to interview legendary British designer Sir Kenneth Grange in front of a live audience as part of the Clerkenwell Talks programme at Clerkenwell Design Week.
Here are some snippets from our conversation and you can find an edited version of the film below:
“I went in to Jack [Howe] and I said look there’s this job that I’ve been offered and I’d like you to do it. And to my horror, to my absolute horror he said, ‘No I don’t think that’s a good idea, I think you should resign and do this yourself.’ He had the wit and the generosity [to realise] that this might be the making of a man’s life, and it was.”
“I’ve worked a lot more, not necessarily better, but I bloody worked more hours, so you can’t avoid overtaking anybody else can you? You can make the biggest blunders in the world, but the likelihood is on average you’re still going to overtake your competitors just because you’ve put more time in. Somewhere in my makeup I’ve got an instinct for work.”
“My advice for a young designer? Work 80 hours a week.”
“It’s a marvellous world to be allowed into isn’t it? I mean, to even get paid for enjoying yourself. You wake up and you’ve got something to do, something which is creative, it’s uplifting isn’t it? Even if it’s only repairing an old window – if you do it really well and make light of it or do it better than the tradesman is going to do, it’s all part and parcel of what makes our life worthwhile. Anybody who has the good fortune to get into this trade… it’s not easy and you do get knocked about a lot, but I think underlying it all, it’s still worthwhile waking up in the morning.”
“I come from a very modest beginning and family. I don’t start with an assumption that I know better, therefore the only thing I can get hold of is whether something will work well or not.”
“You’ve got to embrace the notion that someone’s going to enjoy using [what you’ve designed] and as long as we’ve got hands and feet and eyes, using it means the engagement of our senses with the thing itself. You should aspire to make every damned thing better somehow.”
“I’ve got two Apple computers. Both of them are bloody difficult to find the switch for on and off. It’s a conceit that they assume that you’re part of their world, that you’ve been such an ardent admirer that you’ve been allowed through the door of knowing where the button is. If you’re smart enough and your fingers are delicate enough, just around that corner is something that you won’t even know you’ve moved, but just around that corner, you know you’ve been successful because the light comes on.”
Short version:
Long version: