Making Design Circular
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Green Maker Initiative
After three years of supporting designers and makers in their journey towards genuine sustainability, Making Design Circular is transitioning its highly regarded online learning platform to MAKE Southwest’s Green Maker Initiative!
10 self-paced short courses, developed within the Making Design Circular framework, are now available from our website, with 3 more coming soon.
The courses, designed to help creatives integrate circular economy principles into their work, continue to be led and supported by Making Design Circular founder Katie Treggiden. As pre-recorded sessions, they provide accessible, high-impact learning opportunities for makers looking to embrace sustainable materials and business practices.
Prices start from £50 + VAT.
HOW IT WORKS
These are self-paced courses, hosted on a platform called Teachery, so you can find everything in one place and track your progress as you move through the content.
You will receive reminders by email to keep you on track.
You will get immediate access to a series of pre-recorded videos and audio files so you can watch or listen alongside your making practice.
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.
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 we can make this programme more accessible, just shoot us an email and we will always do our best to help.
Many courses come with a downloadable PDF workbook which will you give space to engage with the exercises and implement what you learn.
Start whenever you like. This is a self-paced programme so you can join whenever suits your schedule, lifestyle or workload. There are no deadlines or submissions and the programme has been designed to fit around busy lives.
THE COURSES
HOW TO TALK ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY WITHOUT GETTING CALLED OUT
Gain the confidence to shout your eco-efforts from the rooftops
WHERE
TIME
PRICE
Online
4 hours
£150
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
Self-Paced, Single-Module with Carbon Footprint Calculator Included
WHERE
TIME
PRICE
Online
2 weeks, 1 hr/wk
£90
HOW TO RESET YOUR YEAR IN LINE WITH YOUR VALUES
Self-Paced, Three-Part Programme
WHERE
TIME
PRICE
Online
3 x 60-minute sessions
£50
HOW TO UNDERSTAND & REDUCE CARBON AS A DESIGNER-MAKER
Self-Paced, Four-Part Programme with Carbon Footprint Calculator
WHERE
TIME
PRICE
Online
4 X 90-minute sessions
£350
HOW TO USE FASHION WASTE IN YOUR WORK
Self-Paced Two-Module Course Plus Two Making Workshops
WHERE
TIME
PRICE
Online
4 X 60-90-minute sessions
£360
HOW TO STOP FEELING GUILTY & ACTUALLY SAVE THE PLANET
Self-Paced, Four-Part Programme
WHERE
TIME
PRICE
Online
4 x 90-minute sessions
£150
HOW TO TURN PLASTIC WASTE INTO PRODUCTS & FURNITURE
Self-Paced Two Module Course Plus Two Making Workshops
WHERE
TIME
PRICE
Online
4 X 60-90-minute sessions
£180
HOW TO TURN INDUSTRIAL WASTE INTO PRODUCTS & FURNITURE
Self-Paced, 3-Module Course Including Interviews, a Challenge and Bonus Q&A
WHERE
TIME
PRICE
Online
3 x 40–60 min sessions
£125
HOW TO TURN YOUR OWN WASTE INTO PRODUCTS & FURNITURE
Self-Paced, Two-Module Programme Including Interviews and a Challenge
WHERE
TIME
PRICE
Online
2 x 45-60-min sessions
£87.50
HOW TO TURN WASTE INTO PRODUCTS & FURNITURE (MASTERCLASS BUNDLE)
A 12-Module Self-Paced Programme Including Interviews, Challenges and Making Workshops
WHERE
TIME
PRICE
Online
12 x 120-minute sessions
£850
These course are for you if…
You are a designer, maker, craftsperson or artist who is feeling like the year is running away with them
You would love to have absolute clarity on the difference you can make and the confidence to start making it
You believe that climate change is real, black lives matter, no human is illegal, love is love, all genders are valid, women’s rights are human rights, neurodiversity makes the world go round and kindness is everything
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
These courses are NOT for you if…
You don’t believe climate change is real and/or caused by human action
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 have ever used ‘snowflake’ as an insult, you think Greta Thunberg is a silly little girl who just needs to chill, or you believe that we have all quite enough rights now, thank you very much.
You have a terrible internet connection– everything is delivered digitally!
Testimonials
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“Katie’s respect and admiration for designer-makers shines through everything she does"
★★★★★
Jaime Derringer
Founder, Design Milk -
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“Katie shows an infectious enthusiasm for learning and research, approaching subjects in a really fresh way, resulting in new angles every time. Her professionalism and unique insight is couple with a warm and generous nature that makes her a pleasure to work with.”
★★★★★
Adam Thow
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew -
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"Katie’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm for design is infectious. She’s a pleasure to work with – always friendly, open to ideas and reliable."
★★★★★
Anna Winston
Editor, Dezeen -
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"We love Katie’s energy and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her."
★★★★★
Charlie Smith
Charlie Smith Design -
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"Katie has all the right ingredients to make amazing things happen. Her non-traditional and highly creative approach is both refreshingly honest and well thought-out. Her infectious energy and passion is a huge plus for anyone who aspires to bigger thinking"
★★★★★
David Angelo
Founder and Creative Director, David & Goliath -
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“Katie is an inspiring, design-obsessed, all-round fantastically interesting human. I truly look forward to every opportunity I get to work alongside her and learn from her.”
★★★★★
Emma Morley
Founder and Creative Director, Trifle Creative -
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“Katie is fantastic to work with and always happy to share her immense knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the design world.”
★★★★★
Laura Wasley
CEO, Make Southwest -
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"Katie is straight-talking and intuitive with a firm finger on the pulse."
★★★★★
Malin Cunningham
Owner and Director, Hattrick -
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"Katie is generous, energetic and knowledgeable and has created something really special!"
★★★★★
Stefanie Cheong
Jewellery designer -
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“I just want to say a huge thanks for running Cultivating Hope - it's been a really lovely way to think through reasons for being hopeful over the past couple of weeks!”
★★★★★
Mary Michel
Ostrero -
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“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.”
★★★★★
Charlotte Warren
Printed textile designer and artist -
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“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!”
★★★★★
Nick James
Furniture designer -
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"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!"
★★★★★
Harriet Page
Designer, craftsperson and upholsterer -
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“I’d often felt a disconnect between my work as a furniture designer-maker and my personal values; so I decided to bring them closer together. ... I now have a job that I love and care about and I am excited about my future as a maker again.”
★★★★★
Sarah Christensen
Product & furniture designer -
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“I left the second session feeling lucky and grateful. Cultivating Hope was just what I needed – thank you”
★★★★★
Imogen Taylor Noble
Ceramicist -
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“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.”
★★★★★
Virginie de Man
Multi-media artist -
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"I just signed up for Cultivating Hope. It feels ever so relevant as I was having a big discussion with my husband last night, where he was all “There is really no point in trying, what I do doesn't matter anyway." I don't agree. But for sure it's hard to keep believing. Thank you."
★★★★★
Elisabeth Graff Espevoll
Furniture designer
FAQs
Got a question we haven’t answered?
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All the course materials are hosted on a platform called Teachery, so you can find everything in one place and track your progress as you move through the content. You will receive immediate access as well as a series of reminders by email to keep you on track. (You can cancel or reset these at anytime.)
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The exact content varies by course, but most include a series of videos and workbooks, a ‘Read/Watch/Listen’ list for those who want to dive deeper and email reminders to keep you on track.
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Again, it varies by course so check the fact box at the top of each course page. Most videos are 30–90 minutes long and you can usually do the exercises as you watch. Some courses include additional homework or “challenges” which you might want to dedicate more time to – but you can do everything at your own pace.
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You have access to all the course materials as long as the course exists, so you can work through at your own pace and revisit as many times as you need to.
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This is an online self-paced course so you can work at your own pace, around other commitments and from any time zone.
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All videos are captioned and written transcripts and audio-only versions are provided. If there’s anything else we can do to make the course more accessible, please just ask and we will always do our best.
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All courses have some sort of payment plan. The higher-priced courses have longer payment plans to split the cost over multiple months. Check the ‘Buy the Course’ section of each course page.