Tidey - Gareth James
Golden opportunity for budding local product designers & dreamers
State-of-the-art workshop offers series of fully-funded sessions to the Greater Brighton area’s most inventive design ideas.
Plus X Brighton and the University of Brighton have announced the launch of Product Foundry – a fully-funded innovation and product prototyping programme for the South-East’s budding product designers and dreamers.
Product Foundry is open to anyone in the Greater Brighton area with an idea for a great product, but lacks the facilities or know-how to see it through to design and production.
Gareth James, founder of sustainable tide clock Tidey, is an example of how the Product Foundry programme can support individuals with product prototyping. Gareth first came across Plus X Brighton and its workshop facilities when the marketing agency he works for was looking for a new office space. Product design had, until recently, always been a passion project.
Like so many Brighton & Hove residents, Gareth found solace on the beach during the COVID-19 lockdowns and had an idea for a clock to display the tide and help coastal locals pick a good time to swim. Tidey uses live data to stay accurate for 1000s of coastal locations around the world, and doubles up as an attractive light fixture.
Speaking to swimmers and paddle boarders, he saw an opportunity to create a product that not only connected sea lovers to the sea, but also inspired conservation – making the ocean a safer, more accessible space for everyone.
“In my conversations on the beach I was reminded that the tide is fickle, and you really need to know when’s the right time to go for a dip” says Gareth. “That was the tipping point for me on my Tidey journey. And as I was now working from Plus X Brighton I had all the tools at hand to turn my idea into something more commercially viable.”
“Meeting people in the workshop, bouncing off their ideas and speaking to experts in-house has really helped me make Tidey as sustainable as possible. It’s 100% recycled card and bioplastic, is modular and repairable, and has a take-back recycle scheme – something I’m really proud of. Sustainability can’t be an add-on any more, it has to be designed into our products.”
Gareth has now launched a kickstarter campaign for Tidey alongside his day job in marketing. He’s set to launch later this summer.
Andrew Sleigh, workshop manager at Plus X Brighton says: “Since COVID-19, everyone is questioning their assumptions and thinking of new ways to do business. We’ve seen this gear shift in the number of entrepreneurial people bringing ideas to the workshop, and being brave enough to embark on these journeys.”
Qualifying Product Foundry participants will get a grounding in the design process, at no cost. Groups of 8-10 will take part in several weekly workshops with experts from Plus X and University of Brighton, with fully-funded access to Plus X Brighton’s state-of-the-art workshop and guided support from a product development team.
Those already signed up to the Product Foundry programme include:
• Protective Bubbles, offering a range of protective products including an anti-drink spiking product
• Fung and Bedford, a bespoke, architectural origami that’s 100% recyclable
• GettaGrip, affordable console controller accessories for players of first-person shooter video games like Call of Duty
“We really want to encourage anyone with a good idea to apply. Whether you’re an established business that has a product you want to scale, or like Gareth, someone that needs some support to make a project a reality,” adds Andrew.
Product Foundry is part of BRITE (Brighton Research Innovation Technology Exchange). Led by Plus X in partnership with the University of Brighton, BRITE aims to support leaders of companies that have ambitions to grow and scale their business, receiving up to £5.5m of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund.
Applications for Product Foundry close in September. To apply, or to find out more, visit briteinnovation.co.uk/product-foundry.