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A little bit brilliant.
Just when you think that the world is doomed by collective stupidity, along comes someone really smart with an idea so simple and clever that you just wish they could be elected World President for a couple of hours to sort everything out.
Jane ní Dhulchaointigh is a product design graduate from the UK Royal College of Architects with a proudly unpronounceable Irish surname who has just developed ‘Sugru’ – a silicon-based, mould-it-yourself design fix-it and add-on that sold out just hours after it was released.
Sugru looks and can be shaped like coloured modelling clay, but cures to a tough, flexible silicone overnight when exposed to the air.
It’s waterproof, dishwasherproof, flexible, temperature and impact resistant, and designed to stick to as many other materials as possible, including aluminium, steel, ceramics, glass and plastics.
Sugru will tolerate temperatures from -60°C to + 180°C without softening, hardening or melting, and with a working time of around thirty minutes, is just perfect for design ‘hacks’ – customising your favourite objects so they fit you perfectly, or holding them together if they break.
According to Jane, her idea behind Sugru was to get people who were not designers to think how their products could be different for them and how they could be improved sustainably.
‘I don't want to buy new stuff all the time,’ explained Jane.
‘I want to hack the stuff I already have so it works better for me.’
Along with a couple of ‘clever materials scientists called Ian and Steve’ she manufactured the first two thousand packets of Sugru after a six year development process – and was stunned to see it sell out in just six hours via the internet.
‘Sugru can help you dramatically prolong the life of your stuff,’ her website claims.
‘Why should you have to spend $35 on a designer tin opener??
‘Hack the one you have instead!’
As examples, just ten grams of Sugru is enough to hack your bike’s brake handle, make a nifty camera grip, a perfect cook’s knife handle, or make a stool nice and quiet.
Five grams is enough to fix a pair of thongs, customise your sunnies so that they don’t fall off, or modify your mobile phone.
It would be ideal for making or modifying design mockups too.
With the initial Sugru production sold out, Jane and her partners are frantically upgrading their manufacturing capabilities, and are also looking for investors to share in the predicted bonanza.
You can find out more about this amazing product at www.sugru.com
(Images courtesy of Sugru.)
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Jane ní Dhulchaointigh is a product design graduate from the UK Royal College of Architects with a proudly unpronounceable Irish surname who has just developed ‘Sugru’ – a silicon-based, mould-it-yourself design fix-it and add-on that sold out just hours after it was released.
Sugru looks and can be shaped like coloured modelling clay, but cures to a tough, flexible silicone overnight when exposed to the air.
It’s waterproof, dishwasherproof, flexible, temperature and impact resistant, and designed to stick to as many other materials as possible, including aluminium, steel, ceramics, glass and plastics.
Sugru will tolerate temperatures from -60°C to + 180°C without softening, hardening or melting, and with a working time of around thirty minutes, is just perfect for design ‘hacks’ – customising your favourite objects so they fit you perfectly, or holding them together if they break.
According to Jane, her idea behind Sugru was to get people who were not designers to think how their products could be different for them and how they could be improved sustainably.
‘I don't want to buy new stuff all the time,’ explained Jane.
‘I want to hack the stuff I already have so it works better for me.’
Along with a couple of ‘clever materials scientists called Ian and Steve’ she manufactured the first two thousand packets of Sugru after a six year development process – and was stunned to see it sell out in just six hours via the internet.
‘Sugru can help you dramatically prolong the life of your stuff,’ her website claims.
‘Why should you have to spend $35 on a designer tin opener??
‘Hack the one you have instead!’
As examples, just ten grams of Sugru is enough to hack your bike’s brake handle, make a nifty camera grip, a perfect cook’s knife handle, or make a stool nice and quiet.
Five grams is enough to fix a pair of thongs, customise your sunnies so that they don’t fall off, or modify your mobile phone.
It would be ideal for making or modifying design mockups too.
With the initial Sugru production sold out, Jane and her partners are frantically upgrading their manufacturing capabilities, and are also looking for investors to share in the predicted bonanza.
You can find out more about this amazing product at www.sugru.com
(Images courtesy of Sugru.)
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