Jane ní Dhulchaointigh has invented a malleable silicone that allows consumers to repair, adapt and improve personal possessions
While studying product design at the Royal College of Art Jane ní Dhulchaointigh realised that much of her chosen discipline depended on providing people with products that they didn't really need. She wanted to do something more useful. What if consumers were able to make their shoes more comfortable or mend that toy car so it didn't end up in landfill? "I wanted to make that possibility exist," she says.
With the help of two "amazing" materials scientists, she developed Sugru. When first taken from its pack, the innovative material is similar to modelling clay but then hardens to a tough, flexible silicone using moisture from the air.
Launched nine months ago, Sugru is already widely used to make protective iPhone bumpers, insulate saucepan handles, repair sunglasses, and even make comfier edges on a plaster cast. It is being hailed as the best thing since Sellotape and Blu-Tack.
Around 5,000 packs of Sugru are sold each month, mainly via a website. It comes in a variety of colours and costs £6.50 for six five-gram sachets. The business is on track to turn over more than £500,000 in its first year. It took five years to bring Sugru to market. The biggest challenge was fundraising. "Winning the confidence of investors when the product wasn't ready for market was difficult," says ní Dhulchaointigh, who keeps in touch with customers via a blog on her website and posts pictures of how they have "hacked things better" with Sugru.
"We learn so much about where needs and common uses are. We would never know about that unless people were sending us their pictures," she says.
