Katie Cordrey is interested in EVERYTHING including the ways that we achieve a high tech - high touch balance in our lives.

She holds a BA in Social Science from Maryhurst University.  Her diverse background includes work in organic farming; food service; textiles; engineering; graphic and fine art; business management and consulting; crisis intervention; computer services; writing; editing; photography; and research. 

In addition to the mainstays of writing and fine art, Katie designs outdoor advertising displays (billboards and banners,) and does a variety of graphic art projects for micro-businesses and entrepreneurs. She has also served as a Director and volunteer for several nonprofit organizations.

She and her husband enjoy hiking and the outdoors. They have two smelly dogs and an arguably tamed feral cat on their homestead in the Columbia River Gorge.  It’s an ever-interesting life and they love it!

Katie Cordrey Interview

I was the first woman licensed as a professional driving instructor in the State of Oregon. I can do basic plumbing. I own, and know how to use, a chainsaw. I love to cook, especially world cuisine. I was a vegetarian for over a decade and can serve up a vegetarian meal that will delight even the most avid meat and potatoes eater.

Being an entrepreneur gives me the biggest sense of accomplishment. The idea that I can cultivate life’s little niches to make a living is a source of endless delight.  I think Andy Warhol was on to something when he said, “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.”

Cool starts as an “ah ha” moment that so crackles with energy, it jumps personal bounds and excites others.

For me, uncovering trends is less a secret than a natural outcome of being persistently curious. I love to read and I love to make connections between seemingly unrelated things. I like the challenge of finding new ways of understanding the world around me.

What I most enjoy about Trend Hunter is the sheer magnitude of discovery and the confirmation of the fact that we humans are endlessly creative.  We bring that creative force not only to the arts, but to business, economics, communication…  it’s in everything.

My favorite trend is the social shift away from competitive achievement toward a more sustainable model;  the movement toward a type of collective consciousness that is expressed in phenomena like Trend Hunter or the philosophy of Environmental Economics. 

The juiciest posts connect reader and story subject quickly, clearly, and emotively. The more dicipline a writer develops, the more she can pare a complex issue to its core without removing the emotive or factual essence that the reader comes to read.

I sleep. I’m least creative when I’m tired, so I sleep. I also hike. When I’m stalled because I’m in a mental loop, physical exertion helps to restore the balance that I need to break the mindlock and express creativity.

I am inspired by paradigm shift.  Seeing how others express themselves in art, vocation, or their life’s passion is exciting because it allows me to see the world through ‘new eyes.’  I am also inspired by nature. When I feel overwhelmed by information or circumstance, getting out into the natural world calms and inspires me on a deeply spiritual level.

Regional economics will fuel business clusters and will have made substantial gains in displacing multi-national mega-corporations as the powerhouses of the economy. This will have the effect of improving not only the health of business, but distribution of resources and wealth, thus improving the lives of millions of individuals.