Sugru, London
OK, so Sugru is not strictly based in Ireland but the idea was dreamt up by an Irish student.
Irish Product Design student Jane had an idea for a material that would help her “hack the stuff” she owned so that it worked better for her. Two materials scientists and six years later, Sugru was born.
Looking a bit like silly putty, Sugru is a moldable modelling-clay-goo-type-stuff that sticks to lots of other materials and cures at room temperature to a silicon rubber. What that means in practice is that you can use Sugru to fix or even redesign all sorts of everyday objects.
Mass production rarely results in products which are a perfect fit for any one person - which the whole point really, mass produced objects have to suit the masses. Sugru lets people tweak the products in their lives to create things that work better for them in the same way that techies hack code.
“Why are so many mass-produced products just so bad? Uncomfortable tin openers, leaky trainers, they get our goat! Why should you have to spend £20 on a designer tin opener?? You shouldn’t! Hack the one you have instead. Power to the (handy) people!”
And even if you’re not feeling particularly handy, Sugru’s also great for protecting your kit (it’s waterproof and rubbery when cured) and fixing broken stuff.
From Etsy to Make, people are rediscovering their handiness, creating new products and hacking existing ones. No wonder Sugru’s been getting rave reviews in everything from Wired to The Telegraph.
Expect “to sugru” to become a verb soon.
Site: www.sugru.com
[Note: Make sure to check out the Sugru blog for tons of fascinating and creative hacks from users.]
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