Katie Treggiden
Defiant hope
Author, journalist, speaker & strategist helping the design sector understand, navigate & communicate the transition to a regenerative future.
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Biography
Author, journalist, speaker & strategist helping the design sector understand, navigate & communicate the transition to a regenerative future. With 25+ years’ experience in communications within the creative industries, she has worked with Fortune 500 brands such as Emirates and Kia Motors and designer-founders such as Bethan Gray.
She has written six books on craft, design and sustainability and countless articles for newspapers and magazines from The Guardian to Dezeen. Homes & Gardens named her their ‘Eco-Champion Thought Leader’—the first non-designer to be recognised.
She has a degree and two post-graduate qualifications in marketing and a master’s in History of Design from the University of Oxford. And she is a Design Council Expert, BioLeadership Fellow and a Change in Nature facilitator.
What I Currently Do
Publications
Weaving
Weaving is a centuries-old craft with a fascinating history, and one that continues to evolve. It is being revitalised today by designers, artists and modern craftspeople all over the world: from wall hangings and carpets to art installations and technological tours de force.
Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure
We live in the age of the Anthropocene; human activity is the dominant force affecting the climate, and man-made and organic materials are becoming irreversibly intertwined. As natural resources dwindle, designers are exploring the potential of increasingly plentiful waste streams to become the raw materials of the future.
Broken: Mending and Repair in a Throwaway World
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 we cannot resist fixing what is broken?
Urban Potters: Makers in the City
Clay is back: the age-old craft of ceramics is being embraced by a new generation of urban makers and collectors. Katie explores the contemporary revival of pottery, focusing on six inspiring cities and their makers. 27 young and passionate ceramicists in New York, London, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Sydney and Sao Paulo introduce us to their work, their studios and their inspiration.
Speaking Topics
WASTE: THE RAW MATERIAL OF THE FUTURE
Engaging the audience from the moment she steps onto the stage with a simple demonstration, Katie Treggiden will argue that waste is not a fact, but a category and that objects and materials become redefined as waste when they cross a series of ever- expanding boundaries. Explaining that waste is created at the threshold of our skin, the walls of our homes, our city limits, state boundaries, the Brandt line, our coastlines, and finally the Earth’s atmosphere and into outer space, she will leave the audience in no doubt that we have run out of space for our waste. But it’s not all bad news – if our boundaries can expand, they can also contract. If we can recategorise once-valuable materials as waste, we can also recategorise waste as a valuable new raw material. Katie will share innovative examples of designers and makers using waste as their primary resource. From a swing made from human hair to glassware made from dumped domestic appliances – she will demonstrate our capacity for change and spark defiant hope.
CULTIVATING HOPE IN THE FACE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
CULTIVATING HOPE IN THE FACE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS Katie Treggiden signs off every email “Stay curious, imperfect and defiantly hopeful.” She runs a membership community and online learning platform called Making Design Circular, designed to empower designers and makers to join the circular economy – to help them believe that they can make a difference. She writes books and articles and records a podcast – all created to inspire hope in the face of the environmental crisis. In short, she is an environmentalist who has built a public profile on hope. So, what happens when she loses hope? When she drives past a wildfire in a county famous for its ‘mizzle’ (a portmanteau of mist and drizzle)? When she sees temperatures break record after record, railway lines warp and runways melt – all while those in positions of power put profit (and votes) before people and the planet? In this highly personal talk, Katie will share her own story of losing all belief in a positive solution to the environmental crisis and how she found her way back to the ‘defiant hope’ that now offers a daily reminder in her email signature. She will share the three-step process she has created that has already helped hundreds of others move through feelings of despair, reconnect with the natural world and take aligned action.
Media Appearances
Speaker Reel
Speaker reel developed for website
Intro to Carbon Literacy Session for Milliken
Interactive session using 'How Bad Are Bananas' Game
How dare we look to young people for hope?
Stir
The design industry needs to let go of its obsession with the new
Dezeen
London Design Festival, Studio Brière and Katie Treggiden
Monocle24
Feedback
"“Katie's presentation was impactful, concise and engaging, and the audience feedback was nothing short of fantastic. Working with her was an absolute pleasure – I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a dynamic speaker for their next event.”"
Clara Kippelen
"Katie not only highlighted the horrifying scope of the world's waste problem, but helped the audience to think differently and begin to recategorise waste as an opportunity. Most importantly, she left them feeling hopeful and ready to take action."
Daniel Nelson
"Katie cuts through the bluff and bluster of trends to eke out underlying ideas. As a critic and commentator, her analysis enriches the debate with hard-gleaned insight, clarity and charm."
Josh Fehnert
"Katie is the obvious choice when looking for a respected face from the world of design. She engages audiences, keeps panellists on point, and delivers in an authentic and conversational way."
Rachel Newman
""We invited Katie to open the Surface Design Show 2026 programme as host of our opening night debate because we wanted a speaker who could both challenge and inspire our audience on the future of materials and sustainability. With her expertise and fresh perspective, Katie was the ideal choice to reframe waste not as a burden, but as a valuable resource for innovation. On the night, Katie delivered exactly what we hoped for. She opened the debate with clarity and confidence, presenting waste as a category rather than a fact, and spotlighting powerful examples of designers and makers redefining discarded materials. Her chairing was engaging, inclusive and expertly paced, encouraging thoughtful discussion and genuine participation from the panel. The impact was immediate. Katie’s session set the tone for the show’s Material Evolution theme, energising attendees and sparking conversations that continued well beyond the event itself"."
Megan Skene
""Katie is a total pleasure to work with and her authenticity shines through. What stood out most was her ability to balance complex discussion with an open and natural approach. In doing so, she connected effortlessly with both the panellists and the audience, fostering an environment that encouraged truly meaningful conversations. Her energy, dynamism and thorough preparation all played a huge part in making the event such a success.""
Beth Jones
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