Investing in the family tree
29/04/2004
"NESTA's Graduate Pioneer Programme will arm the next generation of creative entrepreneurs with the skills to thrive in business."
Georg Tremmel has been awarded £35,000 through NESTA's Graduate Pioneer programme to establish the company Biopresence, with business partner Shiho Fukuhara. The company uses a specially developed method to encode a human's DNA 'underneath' the DNA of a plant cell, without affecting the tree genetically or visually in anyway or harming the environment. The result is a living memorial that could offer an alternative to traditional graves and headstones, especially in overcrowded inner city cemeteries, and a greener world for all of us.
The Graduate Pioneer Programme is designed to apply creative thinking in developing new types of products and services and give the future pioneers in the creative industries the skills needed to succeed in business.
It was developed in response to research commissioned by NESTA[1]. This identified the need for improved business and financial skills for those working in the creative industries to ensure that the UK retains its global lead in this sector.
The creative industries an important growth sector for the UK economy, contributing 7.9% to GDP in 2001, and growing an average of 8% between 1997 and 2001, compared to an average of 2.6% for the whole economy during this time.[2]
Thirty graduates were invited onto the Graduate Pioneer Programme to attend a three-week course known as the Academy. Here they came face-to-face with creative entrepreneurs who have experienced what it's like to set up a business. They were taught business principles; explored entrepreneurship, and received coaching for personal and professional development.
From the thirty, 11 have received funding of up to £35,000. Others include:
· Mark Champkins, who is making products that help school children concentrate on lessons, including a pencil case that doubles as a water bottle.
· Sarah Raffel, who is developing a combination of jewellers' workshop and retail space in Glasgow. What Paris is to fashion, Glasgow could be to jewellery design.
· Deborah Szebeko who is working with front line health service staff to design products and services that will improve the patient experience within the public health sector.
Chris Powell, NESTA Chairman, said:
"NESTA's Graduate Pioneer Programme will arm the next generation of creative entrepreneurs with the skills to thrive in business, but more still needs to be done to help others in the sector access appropriate finance if the UK is to retain its position as a global leader in the creative industries."
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Name: Alex Gore Brown |
Company: alex gore brown |
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Awarded: £34,800 |
From: London |
alex gore brown is a womenswear range produced entirely from knitted fabrics that aims to increase the wearers' confidence without detracting from their personality. The collection consist of coats, jackets, dresses, skirts, sweaters and tops. Currently in its 8th season 'alex gore brown' is currently stocked in the following countries and stores: UK: A La Mode, Browns, Harrods, Matches, Net-A-Porter, US: Henri Bendel, NY; Saudi Arabia: the Art of Living. Satisfying customers by creating clothes that are innovative but at the same time flattering.
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Name: Cassie Robinson |
Company: Lorelei |
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Awarded: £18,310 |
From: Cambridge |
Lorelei design, produce and style clothing in the form of uniforms, merchandise and unique one-off pieces representing exceptional fashion products to develop and enhance its clients' profiles.
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Name: Deborah Szebeko |
Company: ThinkPublic |
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Awarded: £33,286 |
From: Peterborough |
Thinkpublic's mission is to improve the patient experience within the public health sector, focusing on developing better communication systems within the NHS. Working with frontline staff they aim to identify communication failures and help solve them through design. It is a working process that determines a match between the information needed to communicate and the best platform to convey it. Its future aim is to develop a way of working which can be applied to other areas in the public sector, improving the standard of communication and design throughout. Education is a large part of the company's ethos, as it envisions this as the core to future change, ThinkPublic wants to encourage more designers to start a career in the public sector.
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Name: Georg Tremmel |
Company: Biopresence |
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Awarded: £35,000 |
From: Austria |
Biopresence sells trees, which carry human DNA. By using a specially developed coding method the company (run by Georg with business partner Shiho Fukuhara) is able to encode a human's DNA 'underneath' the DNA of a plant cell, without affecting the resulting tree genetically or visually in anyway. As a result, the person's DNA will live on as an integral part of the tree. These new kind of trees can be seen as 'Memorials for Life' or as 'Transgenic Tombstones'.
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Name: Helen Amy Murray |
Company: Helen Amy Murray |
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Awarded: £35,000 |
From: Yeovil, Somerset |
The core of Helen Amy Murray's business is fabric innovation. Her invention is aprocess of manipulating fabric that employs the use of traditional, craft based techniques and crosses the boundaries of art, design and innovation. The effect is a tactile, versatile material that has an inherent sculptural form. The end product is bespoke, one-of-a-kind and limited edition upholstered pieces, including chairs.
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Name: Indri Tulusun |
Company: Teko |
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Awarded: £35,000 |
From: Germany |
Teko is the only service design agency that specializes in the conception and realization of services that create and improve consumer experiences of health style products. For example, pregnancy tests that offer a clinical and support service to new mothers. In the future, it is anticipated that consumer choice will force the health industry to move beyond its traditional outlets into everyday life and consumer products. Teko's aim is to help empower consumers through these new services, enabling them to take a more proactive approach to their own health in everyday life.
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Name: Mark Bickers |
Company: Mark Bickers |
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Awarded: £35,000 |
From: Essex |
Mark has developed a way of producing lighting that combines mass manufacturing methods with hand-made skills to create one of a kind products. He does this through outsourcing the initial stages of glass-making to industrial manufacturers or other makers and then introduces uniqueness through a process of re-heating and distortion. Mark aims to expand into a family of products.
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Name: Mark Champkins |
Company: Concentrate |
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Awarded: £26,150 |
From: Biggin Hill, Kent |
A business that works with teachers to develop and design products that assist primary school children to concentrate in lessons. Examples include a water-bottle pencil case, designed to serve as a useful school tool that also helps re-hydrate children in lessons to retain their concentration.
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Name: Robert Brown |
Company: Sprout |
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Awarded: £35,000 |
From: Taunton |
Sprout operates as an industrial design consultancy specialising in products that minimise harm to the environment and are easy to use. It also educates manufacturers, retailers and other designers about the benefits and methodologies surrounding sustainable design and inclusive design. Inclusive design involves researching with older and less able people in order to gain a full appreciation of the problems people have using certain products. Sprout achieves this by offering training days, workshops and written design guidelines. Sprout aims to share its knowledge and use training as a way of staying ahead of its competitors.
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Name: Sarah Raffel |
Company: Brazen Studios |
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Awarded: £35,000 |
From: Glasgow |
Brazen Studios is an evolutionary combination of jewellers' workshop and retail space. It is intended to provide an essential workspace for the best work of the new jewellery design graduates and take a bold approach to jewellery retail. There is a real lack of equipped facilities and settings that encourage alternative approaches to contemporary jewellery. By establishing Brazen Studios the intention is to retain the talent within the jewellery sector and spotlight the diversity of design in contemporary jewellery. What Paris is to fashion, Glasgow could be to contemporary jewellery design.
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Name: Ulla Winkler |
Company: Action Time Vision |
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Awarded: £35,000 |
From: Germany |
Action Time Visiondesign stimulating environments and products that enable the user to physically interact with a client's messages or image.
It aims to produce interactive environments that react in real-time to human inputs such as voice, touch and movement. Action Time Vision's reactive systems and products are supported by a combination of digital media and electronic technology that offers users
intuitive interaction and personalised technology without the threat of lengthy manuals.
[1] New solutions to old problems: investing in the creative industries by Tom Fleming http://www.nesta.org.uk/assets/pdf/creativeindustriesresearch.pdf
[2]Creative Industries Economic Estimates Statistical Bulletin July 2003, DCMS