Available to book
Tom Lawton
Tom Lawton helps organisations think differently about creativity, innovation, and sustainable design. A British inventor and artist behind Million Mile Light, Uplift, and Wonder, Tom holds a granted British patent and wrote An Inventor's Tale.
Tom Lawton is a British inventor, artist, and storyteller whose talks explore imagination, invention, and what it takes to keep creating when you can't see how the story ends.
With a degree in product design, Tom has been developing sustainable products since 2003. His inventions include Million Mile Light, a battery-free running light powered by the runner, and Firewinder, a wind-powered light that won a US Green Dot Award. He spent seven years developing Wonder, a kinetic sculpture that moves continuously yet appears to stand still.
His biomimicry work has led to a granted British patent and an idea he calls Gentle Force: achieving meaningful change with the least necessary force. Tom applies it to engineering, sustainability, creativity, and leadership. Wonder is now heading for a permanent home at the Palestine Museum of Natural History in Bethlehem, a journey called The Bethlehem Quest that's also being developed as a documentary. His book, An Inventor's Tale, came out in 2026.
Audiences come away with practical ways to spot ideas in everyday situations, a different way to approach change without forcing it, and a clearer sense of how to take the next step when the path isn't obvious. His delivery is candid, funny, and highly visual.
For events built around creativity, innovation, or sustainable design, Tom brings stories grounded in things he has actually built.
Topics, sessions and talks
What happens when a life built around imagination doesn't go according to plan? British inventor and artist Tom Lawton tells the story of a lifetime spent making things, taking risks, succeeding and failing. From childhood inventions and award-winning products to Wonder, a granted biomimicry patent and an invitation to take his work to Bethlehem, this is a funny, candid and highly visual exploration of creativity, resilience and the courage to keep going when you don't know what happens next. It's about remaining curious enough to find the next step. A path appears as you walk it.
What if the most effective way to change something isn't to push harder? Drawing on a lifetime of invention, biomimicry and a granted British patent inspired by natural movement, Tom Lawton explores an idea he calls Gentle Force: achieving meaningful change with the least necessary force. From engineering and sustainability to creativity, leadership and human relationships, Tom asks what becomes possible when we stop trying to overpower problems and start paying closer attention to how living systems actually work. Gentle Force, intelligently applied.
What happens to us when we stop long enough to wonder? Tom Lawton spent seven years developing Wonder, a kinetic sculpture that moves continuously yet appears somehow still. Its journey has taken it from an inventor's imagination to extraordinary places, and now towards a permanent home in Bethlehem. Using Wonder as both an artwork and a way of thinking, Tom explores curiosity, perception, creativity and our human capacity to see the familiar differently. This is a highly visual talk about making space for uncertainty, asking better questions and rediscovering something adults are remarkably good at losing: wonder.
Testimonials
often considered together
Simone Giertz
Creativity
Innovation
Resilience
Michael Pawlyn
Climate Change
Future Trends
Sustainability
Jim Rokos
Creativity
Storytelling
Neurodiversity
frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
To book Tom Lawton, email tom.lawton@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Tom's availability and speaking fee. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and about your audience.
Tom Lawton builds his talks around the things he has made, using Wonder, his kinetic sculpture, as both an artwork and a way of thinking, and telling the stories behind inventions such as Million Mile Light in a candid, funny, and highly visual style.
Tom Lawton specialises in creativity and invention through An Inventor's Tale, change and biomimicry through Gentle Force, and curiosity, perception, and uncertainty through Wonder. He holds a degree in product design and a granted British patent for his biomimicry work, and his inventions include Million Mile Light, Uplift, and Firewinder, which won a US Green Dot Award.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
Get the right person
Tell us what you’re working on and we’ll match you with the talent your audience won’t stop talking about.
