Patricia van den Akker: Director of The Design Trust

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There are individuals in the making world who are truly special, personalities whose energy, positivity and spirit elevate us all. ‘Supports’ in the true sense of the word, they are the pillars providing steadfastness and strength to the edifice that is our creative community.

 

One of these without question is Patricia van den Akker.

 

‘Force of Nature’ is an overused term, a cliché really, but how else does one describe Patricia? She has single-handedly been the figurehead of The Design Trust for nearly a decade; she presents talks and seminars; mentors groups and individuals; provides opportunities and advice for new makers and designers while simultaneously supporting the more established; she reads books voraciously, one a week by her own admission to further her skills – fifty-two a year! – while writing and self-publishing her own: the invaluable ‘Dream Plan Do’; she runs The Design Trust Business Club, presents webinars, and travels the length and breadth of the UK visiting every event ... All this while radiating the same solar-level positivity. 

 

And then she takes the time to look out for people like me.

 

Voted the Number One Business Advisor in the UK for Branding and Design, Patricia was promptly crowned number one for Sales by Enterprise Nation the following year! In addition, she wrote for the Craft Council’s own publication, Crafts Magazine, for 5 years. She is nothing short of a legend.

 

I could write reams about Patricia’s history at The Design Trust. Over the past decade I have worked with her many times, and I have the privilege of calling her friend. But it strikes me that to dwell on the past wouldn’t be fitting, because Patricia is the embodiment of the present, and not a static or passive present but one brim-full of possibilities. She carries us forward with the potency of her positive energy. She is a current – an ineluctable force – and she is always current, securely rooted in the here and now.

 

Patricia van den Akker is the Pole Star for us all, she helps us navigate. She is the light we know we can follow to find safe, and fertile, ground, and like a star she keeps burning, undimmed, steadfast, sure.

 

A legend in your own lifetime and a linchpin to a whole industry, Patricia van den Akker: I salute you!

 

 

To learn more about Patricia and the extraordinary work she does through the Design Trust click here.