Our 2nd event Makers' Money - The business of making
Rachel Storified our second event at the Crafts Council....
Makers' Guild panel discussion about the business of making
Jane ní Dhulchaointigh, inventor of Sugru
Sugru started as a random material experiment - Jane studied Sculpture and Product Design at the RCA and became interested in materials - mixed bathroom sealant with waste wood powder - exploring aesthetics and materials. Looking for ways the material could be used.
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Makers' Guild - makers' money kicks off with @projectsugru talking how she got sugru off the ground http://t.co/iGTqzW1L
Started to use left-over materials and accidentally realised that it could be used to modify things - realised it had potential to be bigger than Blu Tac!
NESTA Creative Pioneer funding gave the potential to develop into a business. Did lab work herself until she had the funding to work with material science students - ongoing development projects.
Looked for brand partnerships such as B&Q - learnt lots from them, but didn't necessarily have success selling in brand values to bigger corporates.
But had user-trials all the way along - giving people samples, they loved the product - Jane worked on instinct, and persevered.
Next step was £100k of angel funding to develop packaging and build own extruder running on Arduino.
Made 1000 packs for the first launch. Invested in building a brand that they felt would help them get excited.
Retained political and personal qualities - users deserve to have control of their possessions.
After 6 years of being in the lab, they sold out the first 1000 packs in 6 hours.
Now developing a community around it - hosting events and workshops.
Customers in 76 countries; own factory in E London; between 10-15 people; just over £1m in investment funding to get where they are. Not at breakeven yet, but hoping to be in a year or so.
Now have confidence to go to larger multiples, because brand values are inherent.
Sugru is the best material in the world for mending cables! Discovered this through working with user community. Working with large stores to develop packaging so it works in the retail environment.
All packaging is very customisable - able to project different images to crafters, people who want to mend their cars. Developing a system to make that happen.
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At @makersguild business talks at Crafts Council listening to Jane tell the story of sugru - the rather useful stuff :-)
Jane now discussing QA - able to offer certain guarantees to customers. Shelf life is more difficult to guarantee than post-usage, which is very testable, depending on usage levels.
Also important to have excellent customer service to help users.
Christopher Pett, MakersCo
About 16 clients, two people working full time, 6 products on the market and a few more being launched at exhibitions.
Helping other people take their products and prototypes to market.
Pay as you go service to help people prototype - helping people get past a certain level that they might not be able to do without help.
Christopher also runs Pli - makes eco-friendly furniture sold through Liberty, Heals, which provided the background for MakersCo, from 2003.
Then realised that best skill was helping designer-makers realise their prototypes in different ways.
Realised there is a niche around uniqueness - people who don't want to make and work with major companies - a smaller scale and more involved relationship has different kinds of opportunities for designers, realising the value that the designer can offer.
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@katybeale @projectsugru @MakersGuild that is a great ambition/mission statement: 'to be bigger than Blu-Tack". We should ALL use it :)
MakersCo are now developing prototypes, assisting with QA, finding manufacturers, fulfilment, cartonising etc. So taking on many of the complex elements for the makers.
MakersCo don't take any IP in the designs and want designers to take more value from their work.
Heavily influenced by the electronics/Silicon Valley business models.
But not outsourcing to China! All local - often within M25, sometimes as far as Wales, but better to have localness - proximity to materials, customers. Rewarding side to woking with designer-makers - being a part of that makers and that community.
Not always essential to follow traditional paths to make.
Most sales are through retailers and via the designers themselves.
Working with more boutique and independent retailers - large pieces of furniture and lighting, rather than in the FMCG categories that high street retailers tend to be in.
Says that easier to make "big stupid things" closer to the source - rather than small, detailed things!
They hold the inventory and do the storage outside of London.
Not interested in costs! Costs sort themselves out - it's the value. Once value to someone has been realised, and there is a market, then the value become clearer. How much do things need to be sold for - what is the market.
A lot of their clients have another job, and this is a way of helping the makers get where they want to be.
MakersCo make their money at the point where a retailer places an order, so they don't make any money till there is a sale.
This is a way around dealing with the problem of fixed overheads, which can be crippling at early stage for makers.
Why do we make things in a couple of tiny located parts of the world and then ship them all over the place, when we could just be shipping the designs and making close to where they're sold?
Utility movement post WWII as a key reference point. [amazing all wartime utiltiy furniture was locally (usually less than 15 miles) made]
Mark Champkins, Concentrate Design
Concentrate is about makings things for kids so they can concentrate at school. Manufacturing Engineer by background who then studied Product Design.
Comes from background of makers! Family business making dustcovers for computers. Next step of making products then seemed obvious.
Pencil cases and lunchboxes that encourage healthy eating, comfort, hydration, cooler bag that goes with the lunchbox.
Sells through John Lewis and Sainsburys.
Pre-chewed pencils - casual product, made as a joke. Turned into great publicity opportunity. Picked up by radio stations. Had an order for 10,000 pre-chewed pencils! (even though he'd made the first by chewing them)
Attention to this made it easier to direct attention to other products.
Was lucky to initially get a relationship with a sympathetic buyer at John Lewis. then pitched to Dragon's Den as a publicity opportunity, in order to direct attention to products - but also managed to get funding.
Also inventor-in-residence at the Science Museum. Now developing product range based on the archive there.
Things that have worked well:
Easier to sample, design and batch manufacture in the UK
But unfortunately when dealing with High Street stores, not economical to do scale manufacturing in the UK - has had to find counter sampling outside of the UK -- mass manufacture in China.
Design for manufacture
If there are going to be lots of people downstream from a design, it has to be designed as efficiently and effectively as possible to make it make-able.
PR and Press coverage
Making a story is important. Encourages recognition.
Online sales and fulfilment
Tell a story online to enable more story telling
Things that haven't worked as well
Extending the range beyond more than one retail buyer. Life becomes a bit more difficult when dealing with different buyer groups.
Trying to do everything himself has been difficult - was okay at the start, but becoming complex.
Things to do differently
Raise more money!
Let go of controlling everything yourself.
Focussed on designing in one area so it appeals to one buyer.
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