The Inventables marketplace

If you haven’t heard of Inventables before, you’re in for a treat – this Chicago-based company is dedicated to connecting material manufacturers and suppliers with designers, having amassed an impressive collection of materials and technologies up for grabs on their website.


The fully searchable database is free to use and materials are categorized according to potential applications and keywords ranging from sensorial qualities, such as smoothness, texture and transparency, to functional properties like flexibility, conductivity and weight.


Selecting a material brings up detailed information about its properties, possible uses and a contact form to put you in touch with the manufacturer. In the spirit of Web 2.0, there is also a list of suggested materials to take your research further and you can leave feedback and suggestions for other users.

To give it a try for yourself, visit www.inventables.com

Sugru launch

We’ve written about sugru before, but just to recap in case you missed that, sugru is something so unusual as a new material, invented and commercialised by a designer, with a little help from the materials science community. London-based designer Jane ní Dhulchaointigh describes her invention as ‘a kind of permanent, updated version of blue tack’ that can be used to repair, ‘hack’ or create new products altogether.



Sugru was launched at the beginning of December last year and the 2000 packs that the team had prepared sold out in just a few hours! Rumour has it that another batch will be up for sale in February, so be sure to head over to the online shop to get your hands on some of this durable and tactile silicone material.