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Clever People | Talks | Living Outside The System
Presented by Swensk Australia Pty Ltd
DETAILS
Free, booking required
Swensk
shop 1/230 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC, Australia
ACCESS
At Clever People Talks, conversations go beyond theory — they are real-world explorations of design, business, and innovation, led by entrepreneurs, designers, and industry leaders. Running from Thursday, May 15, to Sunday, May 18, these sessions challenge conventional thinking, spark new ideas, and offer practical insights from those actively reshaping their fields.
Thursday’s discussion focuses on operating outside the system, questioning traditional models and rethinking sustainability. Living Outside The System confronts the reality that the system itself is broken, and that many so-called sustainable solutions only reinforce its flaws. Instead of working within these constraints, how can businesses, cities, and individuals, design new ways of operating? Speakers will explore how industries can move beyond outdated structures, and embrace new ways of working, creating, and thinking.
Living Outside The System forms part of Swensk’s marketplace of makers. For four days Swenk’s clients take centre stage as creators, designers, and entrepreneurs. The Clever People Market is an opportunity to explore and purchase artisanal goods, fashion, design objects, and creative services—all crafted by the very people who shop at Swensk and share its values of functionality, quality, longevity, and thoughtful design.
See Clever People Market for the full list of events.
Participants
Jane Matthews, moderator
Co-Owner Swensk, and the founder of Dorothy Street, a consultancy specialising in operations and financial services.
Lucianne Tonti
Lucianne Tonti is a fashion journalist, sustainability advocate, and author of Sundressed: Natural Fabrics and the Future of Clothing, a book exploring regenerative textiles and the future of ethical fashion.
Mats Ekström
Mats Ekström, Swensk Australia, is a business developer and Co-owner of Swensk. With a background in curated Scandinavian fashion, Mats has spent over a decade redefining the role of a fashion retailer and challenging conventional industry practices.
Andrew Egan
Andrew Egan is the Managing Director of Egans, a Melbourne-based company pioneering sustainable solutions for commercial furniture reuse, relocation, and ethical decommissioning. Egans has become a national leader in the management of office transitions. His work sits at the intersection of design, sustainability, and business transformation. Andrew brings a systems-level mindset to the panel, shaped by two decades of thinking about legacy, responsibility, and what it means to do things the “right” way in industries not often known for sustainability.