Sophie Lacey – Copy Strategy, Copywriting

Storytelling coach for regenerative & biophilic design

Senses beyond the visual for copywriting blogs by Sophie Lacey creative copywriter

Regenerative storytelling is activism

There’s an awakening happening. Earth is stirring, communities are rising. We’re starting to understand that leading with data doesn’t work for the times we live in, and neither do the simple emotional levers typically found in marketing and the media.

A regenerative future needs storytelling grounded in a holistic understanding of human nature and of the social and planetary system we live in. Otherwise, our words just add to the noise.

Handled wisely, stories can help you and your projects be seen. They can move your audiences from a time of crisis to one of active hope.

Your project stories represent possible futures in the new paradigm. I can show you how.

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We need new stories

Basic storytelling skills remain true: the importance of understanding your audience, knowing what you stand for and what your founder story is, what you have to offer, and how you can show your value by talking about your work.

What’s changed is that nature must now be your co-creator in your stories for a better future. That’s the nature of us as whole human beings, the nature of our societies, and more-than-human nature…life itself.

In order to be truly regenerative, we need to start asking what nature wants from us, seeing that we are not separate from nature, but part of it. Us in nature, nature in us. And this begins with listening.

So along with the brand voice and storytelling skills you’d need in a conventional business context, I’ll help you reconnect with nature, asking deep questions of it – and of yourself – to write your regenerative brand stories.

I’ll help you evolve from ‘business-as-usual’ to ‘regenerative’ by breaking down writing and storytelling into an easy-to-follow approach aligned with new ways of thinking in neuroscience and living systems. We’ll work with current and emergent language to reach your key audiences, joining the dots across complex ideas, glossaries, and unfolding story structures.

And we’ll do it all with only one kind of AI – authentic intelligence.

INNER DEVELOPMENT

Meditation
Nature connection
Facilitation of groups
Sensory writing
Mindful journalling

STRATEGY

Personal and brand voice development
Emergent language & lexicons
Project storytelling skills
Personal leadership stories
Story structures

CO-WRITING

Co-creation of stories
Human alternatives to AI
Creative prose writing
Story editing

Explore my workshops

Inner development is the first step

Working with a meditation teacher and holder of space for nature connection is ideal for the deep, personal work of storytelling. I’ll bring in this additional experience to show you how to write from the body, understanding that the listening, sensory body is the link between nature and the heart-mind…and the hand that writes.

You’ll also get the benefit of my specialist knowledge and interest in biophilia, multi-sensory storytelling and journey creation, placemaking for wellbeing, mindful spaces, and meditation scriptwriting.

Outside my work in biophilic and regenerative design writing, I run a meditation circle locally and teach forest bathing and natural mindfulness for the Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum wellbeing programme. I’m a member of the Habitarmonia biophilic design ecosystem, a co-creator with The Biophilic Design Institute USA, and a co-host of Martin Brown’s Zoom Regenerative community for design professionals.

Visit Linden Tree Meditation's Website

About me

I live and work in the historic chairmaking district of the South Oxfordshire Chilterns, with a home office overlooking the Ridgeway. I share it with my husband, a landscape gardener, and between us we enjoy a simple semi-rural life with our two children.

Both of us come from families full of ‘creative types’ with roots in Northern European design cultures – I’m half-Swedish and despite living here for most of my life, it still shapes my value system.

My education is humanities-based: English literature, philosophy, history, and classical studies. All of those passions and ideas are still a fundamental part of how I move in the world and where I draw out my stories of people and place. I believe being interested in the past is vital for helping guide the future too.

I’ve been a copywriter for 25 years and in design for 13 – working with architect’s practices and leading place branding & marketing agencies. During Covid, something fundamental shifted that changed how I saw my work.

Nature rewrote my business plan.

More and more project briefs had been landing in my inbox that talked about green/blue space, natural light, natural materials, and many other subjects centred on the natural environment and well buildings. At the same time, I’d recently qualified as a meditation teacher and was intuitively drawn to pathways focused on nature connection and natural mindfulness. Lockdown gave me the space to reflect on the confluence of ideas I was immersed in, leading to a niche in biophilic design writing.

The philosophical side of where design is heading – living systems and regenerative design – followed naturally (the student of philosophy in me ever-present!) as I could sense built environment sustainability frameworks weren’t dealing with everything we need to.

I now act from the evolving intersection of ‘biophilic’ and ‘regenerative’, believing them to be at heart one and the same. But regenerative design still seems to me the overarching story.

Regenerative stories ask for co-creation instead of transaction, for soulful community over exchange. This is why I now focus on coaching writing instead of copywriting, working with clients to help them write with their own unique voice.

Who I work with

Architects & designers of space

Biophilic designers, regenerative architects, holistic placemaking specialists, wellbeing designers, and biophilic artists & galleries who want to write engaging stories about their projects and people.

Biophilic & regenerative thought leaders

Trainers & coaches, consultants, course creators, wellbeing facilitators, charities, campaigners, educators and neurodiversity leaders who need stories to be effective in the world as soft activism.

Conscious lifestyle brands

Regenerative and ethical fashion, beauty, food, and homeware brands who want a new way of telling their product or team stories that shift the thinking beyond business-as-usual.

Companies and organisations

Company owners or culture change professionals who want to transition to regenerative and living systems thinking from old sustainability frameworks and need to find their voice to write.

Regenerative marketing agencies

Marketing, PR, creative and branding agencies looking for progressive brand voice development, storytelling, and co-creation opportunities.

Biophilic & regenerative solo flyers

Edge-dwellers, renegades and artists who don’t see themselves fitting in to business-as-usual and want to find their creative voice to do good with their own distinctive offerings.

I don’t only work with people who’ve already made the transition to a regenerative mindset. I’m clear that I want to help those struggling to understand or navigate the transition…those who haven’t yet developed a listening relationship with nature to ask what they need to do…those who aren’t clear what their role is in the emerging community…those who aren’t sure what their story is, or how to tell it.

Then there’s the reality that even if you have the knowledge, your clients don’t. So you need a guiding eye, clear language (from an emerging lexicon) and good stories to help them along.

Some of my own projects

As a design copywriter, I’ve written and edited for Portland Design, London (place branding), Coverdale Barclay (property marketing), and a number of independent architects, interior designers, furniture and interior textile designers, landscape gardeners, placemaking consultants, and artists. I don’t keep my portfolio here anymore because I mostly coach, but if you’d like to see clippings of my writing you can ask.

Nicole Craanen, The Biophilic Design Institute – Biophilic Storytelling

Powered by our shared nature-connected energy, I work with Nicole introducing the principles of biophilic storytelling to her trainees. We’re also in the middle of planning some deeper dives into sensory prose, brand story, and narrative structure for practitioners.

“I bring Sophie into every live cohort to lead a workshop on biophilic storytelling. Biophilic design only resonates when people feel it, not just see it, and Sophie helps practitioners find language that connects more deeply and meaningfully with the people they’re designing for. Everyone raves about her workshop!”

Martin Brown, Regenerative Provocateur, Fairsnape – Ongoing Collaboration

Martin and I meet regularly to explore and weave regenerative and storytelling leadership training ideas. He has on many occasions invited me to co-host his Zoom Regenerative community sessions, discussing all things regenerative design, and to present on storytelling for biophilic design through his connection with Living Future Europe’s Biophilic Society.

“Exploring regenerative and leadership themes with Sophie is a delight and a truly nourishing experience. Having found mutual ways of thinking – finding patterns, joining dots and the spaces between them – not only with contemporary ‘regenerative’ approaches, but through important historical, ancestral, literary and philosophical wisdoms. All of which contribute to co-creating threads in a tapestry for better understanding the value and power of thrutopian stories for change.”

Juliet Burch, Jessop & Cook Architects – Tone of Voice Workshop

I delivered a workshop for this forward-thinking team of architects focused on community and social value, helping them define their tone of voice for more impact and clarity in their communications – particularly their project storytelling.

“Sophie’s workshop helps us talk about what we do. We’re still in the process of building our brand and she continues to be dedicated to defining our positioning. She’s an incredibly deep thinker and has helped us see how unique we are and feel even more inspired by the work we’re doing. This is a liberating process and Sophie is an excellent guide.”

Juliette Mitchell, Architypal – Storytelling Collaboration

Juliette’s experience and sage advice as a storytelling consultant for architects encouraged me to shift my focus from copywriting to coaching. We worked together on a couple of projects including an architect’s award entry that made it to the Dezeen longlist.

“I loved working with Sophie. She was always quick to understand what our clients needed, and, as well as being a brilliant and natural writer, she brought empathy, deep curiosity and a fresh and open mind to the table. It was a win for all of us.”

Nuria Muñoz Arce, Habitarmonia – Workshop Collaboration

Nuria’s embodiment of biophilic design, wellbeing, and community-building through Habitarmonia has been a source of inspiration from the very beginning. We’re now collaborating on new training workshops for members, launching in autumn 2026.

“Working with Sophie has been a deeply enriching experience. Her work sits beautifully at the intersection of nature connectedness, forest bathing, wellbeing, writing, and biophilic design. She brings not only knowledge and sensitivity, but also a rare gift for helping ideas become more coherent, more inspiring and more alive, and I deeply value the care, creativity, and integrity she brings to every collaboration.”

Roxanne Darling, Biophilic Artist, USA – Tone of Voice Coaching

I collaborated with Roxanne, a fearless and passionate biophilic artist, to help draw out her true voice for expressing the diversity of who she is and how she works. It was some of the most fun I’ve ever had coaching a creative professional!

“Sophie has a gift for inspiring confidence in how one shows up in the world, using words to convey so much more than ‘just the facts.’ This makes it easier for those who are looking for my flavor of artist and artwork to tune in to the radio signal of who I am. I feel lighter and freer, and am grateful for our time working together.”

Prices

You’ll find different workshop options here. These are suitable for one-to-one development and small to medium group work. I also offer customised courses, one-off deep dives, and coaching webinars.

Please ask me about my 5 NODES™ story web training, which uses the connection points of the body, nature, art, community, and the sacred to help individuals and organisations embody grounded and practical regenerative storytelling skills.

I offer writing and editing for people in the biophilic or regenerative design space. I prefer to work in a co-creative way, working alongside you rather than for you. Prices for writing and editing start at £65 per hour (£450 a day).

A note on AI: I don’t work with GenAI because I believe the current models and ownership structures are inherently detrimental to our regenerative future. My coaching works with authentic intelligence (AI), giving give you the skills to be just as efficient, if not more.