Hi, I’m Kate – designer, educator and holistic grief coach. I live in London and work in design education and in the creative industries – pop over and see me at Irregular Thoughts. You‘ll generally find me with a coffee and a pen/notebook in my hand, and I’m partial to a good swear as a powerful way to express emotions!
My creative practice covers everything from art to product design, and I’ve worked in a range of fields from design research exploring happiness and subjective wellbeing, through to biomedical engineering innovations and designing products that bring joy. I’m passionate about creative processes as a way of exploring humanity – so many of these skills map to the way we should live our lives – embracing curiosity, finding peace with uncertainty and moving forward with resilience. I’ve worked in higher education for over 15 years, from teaching and research through to programme leadership, and am passionate about working with people and sharing and co-creating knowledge and insights.
I am passionate about my work with grief. I came into this field because I know how it feels to be weighed down by the loss of loved ones, for everything to fall apart. I am fortunate to have experienced the powerful impact of coaching in my own personal and business life, and it’s a privilege to be able to offer that support to others.
In 2017 I lost my mum to cancer, and four years later I lost my dad to cancer and a stroke. I found myself overwhelmed by grief:
- Why was it happening to me?
- What would I do without them?
- Who would remember all those things only a mum knows?
- How was it fair my kids wouldn’t get to know their grandparents?
- Am I grieving right?
- Shouldn’t I be ok by now?
- Why am I feeling this way?
- How can I go to work and act like normal?
- What am I supposed to do with all of these emotions?
- What happens next? I was a new mum, I was working full time, and supporting other family members. My entire life had been broken apart, and I had no idea how to rebuild. I now realise that I knew nothing about death, or about the process and experience of grief – what the emotions even were, let alone how to handle them. Then throw perimenopause into the mix a few years later, and it took me a long time to untangle the grief from those very real hormonal changes.
It saddens me that society doesn’t support or prepare us for this momentous event that we will all endure – the club no one wants to be a part of. I truly believe that knowledge is power, and having a safe space and a knowledgeable guide to gently lead you through challenging times and help reflect back to you your own experiences and insights can be transformational. I hope to be that for you.
You can be confident that I work within a professional and ethical trauma-informed framework, and am trained in the Holistic Grief Coach Certification™ by the very experienced team at Good Grief UK.
This course is accredited by the International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine (IPHM) and Accredited Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists (ACCPH) and I am an insured and accredited practitioner of the IPHM, a marker of ethical practice, professionalism and high standards of training.
In 2024 Irregular Thoughts launched a collection of empathy cards, postcards and enamel pins to help change the language and messaging around grief. The collection takes an atheist and scientific mindset to the human condition, moving away from traditional imagery and icons.
You can find my complete collection of cards and postcards in my etsy shop, along with:
- The Panic Pins (a collection of pins to support anxiety triggers and as subtle reminders of supportive breathing techniques)
- ‘Subtle but sweary’ pins (a collection of binary code enamel pin badges that give you the subtle but sweary words you need for everyday life)
- and lots of other items including cards, prints and stickers. Where possible every item is manufactured in the UK, using recycled card and reused packaging.
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