The Seed
Self-paced four-part programme (Immersive Retreat and Live Digital versions available).
When
Immediate Start
Where
Online
Level
Beginner
Time
4 x 90-minute sessions
Money
£150
£180 inc VAT if payable
approx $184 or 172 €
Got questions?
When
Immediate start
Where
Online
Level
Beginner
Time
4 x 90-minute sessions
Money
£150
£180 inc VAT if payable
approx $184 or 172 €
Got questions?
Find your unique contribution to environmentalism
– and have fun, play to your strengths, work in alignment with your values and make a big impact in the process.
You care about the environment, but you’re not sure where to start.
And you sometimes wonder how much of a difference one tiny business can make anyway.
Well, the good news is that you can’t solve all the world’s problems, so you can stop trying!
The even better news is that you can actually have more impact by choosing one tiny problem to focus on.
Does this sound like you?
- You sometimes feel overwhelmed by the climate crisis – as if there’s nothing you can do that will make the slightest dent in the world’s problems
- From biodiversity loss to plastic pollution and rising CO2 levels, you’re not sure where to start… Should you be removing plastic from your packaging, offsetting your carbon or offering repairs?
- You know you’re already working sustainably in some parts of your creative practice, but you’re not sure how to communicate that clearly to your audience
- Or perhaps feel like you’re trying to do all the things, but spreading yourself too thin and not making any real progress or impact
- And then you read about something else you “should” be doing, but it falls to the bottom of the list, because… life.
It doesn’t have to be this way…
Did you know that you can actually have more impact by doing less? The Seed will show you how.
★★★★★
Printed textile designer and artist Read More
“Thank you so much for 'The Seed'. I gave myself and my practice a week of learning and conversations – what a gift! I learned so much, and I now have a newfound energy. I am working on understanding myself and how I am connected to all of nature, finding my part in this future – a future that I can and want to be a part of. I was genuinely quite sad when it ended, but the decisions and steps I have already taken as a result feel right and important.”
Katie Treggiden in the press...
Forbes
Monocle 24
FT How to Spend It
The Observer
Dezeen
Hole & Corner
House & Garden
Design Milk
Crafts Magazine
ICON
Introducing: The Seed
A four-part programme with options for self-paced (available now), live digital and a live retreat (coming soon) that will help you to:
- Get super clear on your values so you can make decisions that are aligned for you, instead of constantly trying to keep up with what you “should” be doing
- Find the contribution to environmentalism that you – and only you – can make
- Identify work that plays to your strengths, that you enjoy, and that supports both your business and the planet
- Visualise the difference you will make to keep yourself on track
- Get super clear on who your audience is to make sure this work will resonate with them
- Motivate yourself, your team (whether formal or informal), your suppliers and your audience to come with you on your journey
- Build a support crew to turn to for advice
★★★★★
Furniture designer Read More
“One thing I have been doing since The Seed is 'Woodland Wednesdays', where I leave the lads in the workshop and go to the woods. The Seed helped to make me realise how important this is to me and gave me permission to prioritise it more. The bonus is my clients love it too and I have lots to tell them about my trips to the woods – sharing a passion like this is important and great for marketing!”
Hey, I'm Katie Treggiden
You know that sense of fairness that five-year-olds have? Well, that never left me – and I’ve spent my adult life working out how I can use my skills, talents and time to make the world a better place.
It’s taken me a minute, but I have now found my purpose as a journalist, author, podcaster and keynote speaker telling stories about the ways in which craft can save the world, and as the founder and director of Making Design Circular helping craftspeople to do just that.
Over the past 12 years I have developed and honed a methodology for defining and honing the unique contribution that I can make to environmentalism – and now I want to share it with you.
Seth Godin says that “specific is a kind of bravery” and he’s right – doing less to have more impact feels counter intuitive, but trust me – I’ve resigned 75% of my work (twice!) to do just that – and it works.
I want to give you the courage to do the same.
What we'll cover
Here’s what’s included in this four-part programme:
Before we start:
- Read, Watch & Listen list for those who want to go deeper
- Access to a private online community to share your progress and connect with likeminded souls – specific requires so much less bravery if you can see folks around you doing it too
Session 1:
- Identify the sweet spot between what you love doing, what you’re good at, what the world needs and what you can a living from – so that you can do all those things at once instead of dividing yourself between them
- Get super clear on your values to keep everything in alignment
Session 2:
- Visualise the impact you – and only you – can make, to create a ‘North Star’ to aim towards and keep yourself motivated along the way
Session 3:
- Define your audience and get to know them so you know that what you’re offering will resonate with them
- Identify other stakeholders who might be able to offer wisdom and advice
Session 4:
- Create your own environmental manifesto to inspire you, your team, your suppliers and your customers to come on the journey with you.
★★★★★
Designer, craftsperson and upholsterer Read More
"The Seed really helped me to work out what my values are - and how they are actually a bit different from what I had thought before. It also helped me to get more clarity on who I am designing and making for and what change I am trying to bring about. Now I can get on and do it - and hopefully in a more focused way!"
How it works (self-paced)
- The Seed is a self-paced course, hosted on a platform called Circle, so you can find everything in one place and track your progress as you move through the content
- A comments thread on each video, as well as a dedicated community space, enable you to share learnings and “aha” moments, ask questions and connect with likeminded souls on the same journey
- A downloadable PDF workbook will you give space to engage with the exercises and implement what you learn
- The videos will remain accessible for as long as this course exists, so you can go at your own pace and come back to it as many times as you need to.
- Having taken this course, you will become eligible for my *free* quarterly “Ask Me Anything” sessions via Zoom so can get clarification or dig deeper on any part of the course.
- All videos are fully captioned and written transcripts and audio-only versions are provided to cater for different learning styles. If there is another way I can make this programme more accessible, just shoot me an email and I will always do my best to help
Your investment
£150
£180 inc VAT if payable
Approx $184 or 172 €
★★★★★
Multi-media artist Read More
“Katie opened a space where kindness – to oneself and to the world – is the main element of the equation. The Seed was an inclusive and respectful environment driven by an uplifting energy; an invitation to question and observe where and how to start; and to realise that by just being there you have started already – no action is too small. The seed! Or the sparkle that relights the hope that we can all be part of the solution wherever we are on our path.”
Looking for a different learning experience?
The Seed Live Digital Waitlist
I run a live version of this course annually, which follows the same format, except that it is delivered live over four lunchtimes Monday–Thursday (UK time) via Zoom.
The dates for the next one are still TBC, but you can sign up for the waiting list to be the first to find out when they’re announced:
The Seed Retreat WAITLIST
I am also hoping to run an in-person retreat in Cornwall in early 2024 covering the same content over three days, combined with yoga, swimming, delicious food and time to connect and reflect.
Again, dates are currently TBC, but you can sign up for the waiting list to be the first to find out when they’re announced:
The Seed is for you if...
- You are a designer, maker, craftsperson or artist who is feeling stretched too thin, trying to do all the things, but not really making the impact you want to – yet
- You feel overwhelmed by the sheer scale and complexity of the environmental crisis and aren’t sure where to start
- You would love to have absolute clarity on the difference you can make and the confidence to start making it
- You are already doing feminist, anti-racist, anti-ableist and LGBTQIA+ inclusion work or, at the very least, you firmly believe in equity and equality for all people and are open to learning more
- You have any specific learning needs that I can support by adapting the way materials are delivered or conversations take place – just let me know
- You are willing to make the time to watch four videos at your own pace and do the exercises
The seed is not for you if...
- You don’t believe climate change is real and/or caused by human action
- You are part of a big company where you don’t have agency to bring about change. (If you are part of a smaller craft-based company and you do have that power, you are very welcome!)
- You are looking for answers to be handed to you on a plate – this course will encourage and support you to find the answers within yourself
- You are uncomfortable with traditionally marginalised voices being centred in conversations. My aim is always to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for everyone and that includes women, people of colour, disabled people, people in bigger bodies, those with neurodivergences and members of the LGBTQIA+ community
- You have a terrible internet connection– everything is delivered digitally!
Frequently Asked Questions
The course is delivered on a platform called Circle. It’s easy to set up (and we can offer tech support if needs be) and combines the course and community in one space, so you won’t need to hop between something like Thinkific or Kajabi and a Facebook Group – in fact, by popular demand, you won’t have to engage with Facebook at all!
Four videos together with workbooks and a Read/Watch/Listen list, which is a bit like the reading lists you might have largely ignored at university or art school, but hopefully more interesting and definitely more inclusive of different learning styles
Each video is no more than 90 minutes long and if you engage in all the exercises fully, you’ll need no more than one working day or a week’s worth of lunchtimes.
For as long as the course exists, so you can work through at your own pace and revisit as many times as you need to.
It is an online self-paced course, but you will be invited to live quarterly Q&As via Zoom where you can bring any questions.
All videos are captioned and written transcripts and audio-only versions are provided. If there’s anything else I can do to make the course more accessible, please just ask and I will always do my best.
If you are in the UK, we have to charge you VAT. If you are not in the UK and outside the EU, we will not charge you VAT. If you are in the EU, we have to charge VAT unless you provide a VAT number, in which case we don’t. Simple, huh?! But don’t worry – our payment system will work all of this out for as you add your details. (If you’re having any trouble entering your VAT number, make sure the two-letter prefix, e.g. DK for Denmark) matches the country you’ve entered in your address. Give us a shout if you’re having any trouble and we’ll get you sorted.
Email me and I’ll be happy to answer it!