Define

In this episode, Katie talks about Define, another element of the Making Design Circular framework, this is all about working out your niche, your unique contribution to environmentalism, and letting go of the idea that you have to save the planet single-handedly. 

 

Here are some highlights:

The Starfish Story

“…this particular story is about a little girl who is walking on the beach, and there's been a big storm. And lots and lots of starfish have been thrown up onto the beach after this storm, and they're starting to dry out in the sun. So there is a danger that these 1000s and 1000s of starfish are all going to die. And the little girl is picking up the starfish one by one and throwing them into the ocean. And an old man asked the little girl what she's doing and says, ‘Well, you know, you can't possibly make a difference, look at all these starfish, there's no way you can throw all these starfish back into the ocean, what you're doing is pointless.’ And the little girl picks up another starfish and throws it back into the sea and says ‘well, it made a difference to that one.’ And I think that is the point, right? We don't have to save the planet but if we pick a tiny area of focus, if we find our starfish, we can make a huge impact.”

 

Doing less will have a bigger impact

“The idea that by offering less, you'll actually have more business success is counterintuitive, and yet absolutely correct. If you tried to be all things to all people, you're much less likely to attract a loyal band of customers. Whereas if you really focus on a very niche product, you'll have much more success, because those customers that are right for you will really be attracted to what you're doing. And that requires bravery because it's counterintuitive, because it requires you to turn down business. But I think when you when you apply that to sustainability requires even more bravery. Because not only have you got to believe that this approach is going to make for a successful business, you've also got to believe that the people around you are going to pick up all the other stuff”

 

The Sweet Spot

“…this idea of finding the sweet spot between the things you love the things you're good at, the things the planet needs, and the things you can make money from doing, that you can support yourself and your creative business from doing. And I think that's really powerful, and really important, because this is going to be the work of your lifetime, I hope. And so it's really important that it fills your cup, and that it nurtures and nourishes you, it's really important that it plays to your strengths, so that you can have a sort of disproportional impactby doing this thing because it's stuff you're better at than other people might be. And stuff that you're better at than other stuff you might try to do. It's something that will enable you to have a financially sustainable business as well as an environmentally sustainable business. And it's also stuff that world needs, right that that is important to the environmental movement.”

 

Books Katie mentioned:

The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley

Values First by Laura Eigel

 

Cultivating Hope, 3 part mini course: Are you ready to cultivate hope in the face of the climate crisis? Sign up to Katie’s three-part free mini course that will help you move through feelings of helplessness, reconnect with nature and take aligned action.

Find out more about The Seed, Katie’s online course to help you Identify your unique contribution to environmentalism – either as a self-paced course or live digital course running in May 2023.

Broken: Mending and repair in a throwaway world, This new book celebrates 25 artists, curators, designers and 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.

 

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About Katie:
Katie Treggiden is a purpose-driven journalist, author, podcaster and keynote speaker championing a circular approach to design – because Planet Earth needs better stories. With 20 years' experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, Crafts Magazine, Design Milk and Monocle24. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through an emerging body of work that includes her fifth book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure (Ludion, 2020), and this podcast.

 

About our partners:

Inhabit hotels, located in the Bayswater area of London, offer restorative environmentally and socially conscious places to stay in the city. Wellness and well-being also play a major part in the brand's ethos Mindfully designed for the modern traveller, everything at this new hotel has been considered with a genuine commitment to environmental initiatives and meaningful community partnerships. To find out more please check out our Instagram @inhabit_hotels.

Surfers Against Sewage is a grassroots environmental charity that campaigns to protect the ocean and everything that the ocean makes possible. They campaign against everything that threatens the ocean; plastic pollution, the climate emergency, industrial exploitation, and water quality, by taking action on the ground, that triggers change from the top. If like me, you'd like to support surfers against sewage, head over to https://www.sas.org.uk/

 

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