Sugru: What Is It?

Described by Forbes Magazine as “21st-century duct tape”, Sugru is the worlds first mouldable glue that sets strong by turning into a durable, flexible, silicone rubber.

The invention of Sugru was actually a happy accident. It landed in the hands of a young woman with dreams for a smarter world. The inventor of Sugru, Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh, fell upon the idea whilst studying for an MA in product design at the RCA in London:  

“What if I could fix and improve and reimagine the stuff I already have to make it work better for me?” 

At this current time, there are Sugru users in over 178 countries around the world. As a community, Sugru has fixed more than 20 million things and continue to focus on becoming the go-to fixing solution for this century. Carry on reading to find out what Sugru is, how the brand got to where it is today and how you can get involved.

What is Sugru?

The Future Shapers: The Sugru Story comic strip

Sugru is a mouldable formula that sticks to surfaces like plastic, glass, metal, wood and fabrics. You just push it onto the item you want to stick, fix, repair, seal or even build.

The putty gives you 30 minutes to get the job done before it starts to set – 24 hrs later the Sugru will turn into a durable, flexible silicone rubber that remains in place until you decide to remove it.

Mouldable: 

Out of the pack, Sugru Mouldable Glues are designed to feel soft and malleable like play-dough. Roll the material in your fingers. Press it where you need it, and mould it by hand into any shape. From an ultra-thin patch to a shock-absorbing bumper, you have 30 minutes to shape it, smooth it, and reposition it as required.

Flexible:

Leave for 24 hours. Thanks to some clever science and advanced technologies, Sugru Mouldable Glues react at room temperature, simply on exposure to air. They crosslink into strong, flexible and tactile silicone rubbers overnight. Sugru Mouldable Glues will flex with the materials they’re applied to, so you can fix things that need to bend. They work like nothing else on leathers, fabrics or flexible plastics.

Waterproof & Durable:

Once cured, Sugru Mouldable Glues are waterproof and long-lasting, just like other silicone rubbers. So you can use them in challenging environments like wet bathrooms, shower and sink areas – even outdoors with long-term exposure to the sun, sea and other weather conditions.

How did Sugru start?

Make Magazine – Portraits of Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh, inventor of Sugru

The initial idea came to the founder of Sugru, Jane, when she was studying for an MA in product design back in 2003.

Whilst completing her studies, Jane had a niggling thought that wouldn’t leave her alone: “Do I really want to design more products? There’s far too much waste in the world. I don’t want to buy new stuff all the time. What if I could fix and improve and reimagine the stuff I already have to make it work better for me?”

Jane described the first version of Sugru to be immensely sticky and ’pretty horrible’. However, it did help her fix and improve things around the house. She knew that if she cracked it, Sugru would have millions of uses!

The idea wouldn’t leave her alone. She filled notebooks with multiple little drawings of things people might perhaps use it for. When the questions ‘how much is it? and ‘where can I get it?’ were asked at her graduation show, Jane knew she was on to something!

From this point onwards, a growing team of specialists and investors were gathered to help turn Sugru into a real thing. Although, with factors like the recession and lack of funding, Sugru developments were slow and Jane hit a low point.

On the 1st December 2009 (the day Jane’s world changed), Jane and her team had sent out packs of Sugru to various journalists to try out. However, only one journalist responded. But, he gave it a 10/10 review on one of the UK’s most popular news websites! From this moment, things started to change. The first 1000 packs of Sugru sold out in 6 hours.

Where is Sugru today? 

Founder of Sugru, Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh

Users have been sharing their fixes online since Sugru’s initial launch back in 2010, and currently, to this day, there are Sugru users in over 178 countries around the world. As a community, Sugru has fixed more than 20 million things and grown into a team of 40 different people, based at Sugru HQ in East London. 

The brand has been listed as a top invention by TIME Magazine and the European Patent Office Inventors Awards, has been recognised as a leading ethical brand by the Living Wage Awards, and is in partnerships with huge retailers such as B&Q and Target.

Future of Sugru:

The company is still constantly growing and as a community, Sugru continues to fix a vast amount of things.

With a strong mission to inspire other peoples imaginations, Sugru has recently committed to joining tesa SE. tesa SE, is an international firm with over 100 years of experience inventing and selling breakthrough products for fixers, craftspeople and professionals. This recent partnership means that the Sugru family is still growing and continues to do so in the foreseeable future.

‘Our products are great and our mission is strong. The dream remains the same: for Sugru Mouldable Glues to be the go-to fixing solution for this century.’

Top Sugru hacks:

Over the past several years the team and users of Sugru have come up with hundreds of smart ideas for mending and making with this mouldable glue. From fixing your broken phone cable to creating unicorn bookends, there’s not much Sugru can’t help to improve. Check out a few Sugru hacks below for ideas and inspiration!

Make a custom grip for your camera:

Sugru Hack: Create a custom grip for your camera

Get your cables under control:

Sugru Hack: Get your cables under control

Outer order, inner calm. The feeling of a clean desk is energising and inspiring. Your workspace is clean, you are focused and ready to work! But how are you going to keep it that way? This is a great way to conquer spaghetti cable mountain and keep your desk clutter-free with Sugru cable grips. Learn how to get your cables under control.

Make a holder for your smartphone:

We take our trusty smartphones with us everywhere, but we don’t really have anywhere to put them. Whether you want a space to put your phone whilst you wash the dishes or to use as a docking station, with just a cheap phone case and a pack of Sugru, this tech hack is easy and can be done in a matter of minutes! Here is the full tutorial on how to make a holder for your smartphone anywhere you want.

Are you still looking for ideas? Check out our top 10 Sugru tech hacks for ideas on how to ignite your creativity.

Interested in finding a new tool for fixing, DIY and creative projects? Then head to our website now to get your hands on some Sugru. 

Editors Note: Originally published 2 January 2019 at 11:37 AM, updated 28 January 2020 at 10:20 AM