Brackish - S6 E7 Alex Dunkley & Blackberry Jelly October 22

Brackish (formerly Making Design Circular with Katie Treggiden)

In this episode, Katie speaks with Alex Dunkley - a writer, musician, and independent funeral celebrant – about creativity, courage, and the quiet power of ritual.

Alex weaves all three aspects of her work in and alongside each other kaleidoscopically, and identifies as being AuDHD. Her work invites stories into the room—whether that's through song, ceremony, or the written word—exploring how narrative can hold space for grief, joy, and everything in between. She’s deeply fascinated by the stories of our land and the songs they inspire. When not leading community choirs or sitting in a library researching rituals, you’ll find her on the coast path, filling her pockets with stones and listening to birdsong on the wind.

“We need to live intentionally to really be active in the way we are in the world.” – Alex Dunkley

In this conversation, we explore the liminal – those tender in-between places – and how creativity and ritual help us to navigate them. Alex shares her journey from orchestras in London to community choirs in Cornwall, to her soul-stirring work as a celebrant. We talk about the ritual space between death and funeral, and the need for more honesty and intention in how we grieve and remember.

We cover:

Alex’s journey through music, community work, and into celebrancy

Why she believes ritual doesn’t need to be grand – just intentional

The deep significance of the time between someone dying and their funeral

Her experience writing beside a sacred fugu and the creative awakening it sparked

The tension between logic and belief – and what happens when you choose to trust your own experience

🎙️ Plus: Alex performs Shapeshifter, a haunting and poetic piece written in the fugu itself – a moment of myth, memory, and music that will stay with you long after listening.

This episode is rich with story, personal reflection, and a kind of grounded magic. If you’ve ever struggled to claim a creative identity, yearned for more connection to the seasons or the land, or wondered how to make sense of the unexplainable, this one’s for you.

More from Alex:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexdunkleywrites/

Website: www.soulfulceremonies.co.uk

More from Katie:

Instagram: @katietreggiden.1

Website: https://katietreggiden.com/

Blue Health Coaching: https://makingdesigncircular.org/

Nature-inspired poetry: Brackish

Resources mentioned:

Coaching Outdoors conference: https://www.henley.ac.uk/events/coaching-outdoors-live-2

Guardian Article: The Guardian view on rising sea levels: adaptation has never been more urgent

A Poem For Every Night of The Year by Allie Esiri

What next?

If all this talk of defiant hope has got you wondering where you can find some, I have something for you. Cultivating Hope is my three-part mini-course and it’s the three steps I move through whenever I start to feel despair tugging at my edges.

You will move out of ‘fight, flight or freeze’ mode and into a calm and connected state, reconnect with nature, and find aligned actions that you can take now to keep you to remind you that you can make a difference.

In the current climate, hope is an act of defiance, and it’s one I hope you’ll take with me.

Click here to find out more and pre-order

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