Press

Release date: 21st Sept, 2007
Meet the tycoons of the future

Universities are laying on MSc courses to encourage graduate students to start up their own businesses. An extract form Chris Green’s original report.

One of the most successful so far has been the MSc in enterprise offered by London South Bank University. Set up in 2004, the course now has eight full-time students, who are all given generous bursaries of £13,000 each to help start their businesses, courtesy of the Higher Education Innovation Fund.

“We set up the course because we had some really good-quality undergraduates doing engineering and design,” says Dr Ed Tinley, the head of business and research development at the university. “We were frustrated that we could never do anything to encourage them to stay on at the university to develop their ideas – they were just being put on the shelf.”

Just such a desire prompted Ronald Thompson to sell the hair salon he’d run for 12 years to pursue an idea that could now be worth millions.

“I felt that I was stuck in a rut and that my creativity was stifled,” he says. “I’d always been interested in the structure of human hair, and when I heard it was actually as strong as steel, I decided to put this to the test. It’s the best move I’ve ever made.”

The result was Pilius X, a unique new material made from human hair which Ronald hopes will take the place of fibreglass in the manufacturing industry. To show what it can do, he created the ergonomic Stiletto Chair, which has already fetched him a pretty penny: so far he has sold three of them for £8,000 each.

“Hair is far better than fibreglass because it’s stronger, more environmentally friendly, biodegradable and also abundant,” he says.

Release date: Sept, 2007
cHair - Friends of The Earth

Ronnie Thompson loves hair. He's spent his life cutting it, and now he's planning a greener future with it. He's designed a chair made from biodegradable resin and human hair. It's a natural replacement for fibreglass - one of the world's worst landfills offenders.

Directed by Susan Tomlinson, with thanks to Ronnie Thompson at London South Bank University.

For more infomation see www.foe.co.uk/green_film

Release date: January 26th, 2007 Sue Norris

Extract from the Guardian article published on the 26th Jan 2007.

The next big thing

These days it's tough getting a simple business idea off the ground. So where does that leave inventors with complex, but brilliant, creations?

Universities are now also providing substantial support for inventors, to ensure that they catch talent in its most raw form, before graduates become sucked into time-consuming jobs that drain them of all their creative energy. London South Bank, Coventry, Manchester Metropolitan and Lancaster University Management School are just four offering impressive schemes designed to help commercialise inventions.

Huge potential

One beneficiary of London South Bank University's support is Ronald Thompson, a name you may be hearing a lot more of judging by the perceived potential of his discovery. Thompson, an environmental designer and model maker, has been awarded an "entrepreneurship" by the university, which has propelled him into the business world.

He stumbled on his idea when working as an assistant on the Batman film set during his gap year. When disposing of some fibreglass waste, Thompson noticed how relatively delicate the fibre is. Having previously run a hair salon, Thompson considered the comparative resilience of human hair and wondered about the potential for turning this into a material, given that hair is a biodegradable waste product that's in plentiful supply (whereas fibreglass leaves a huge carbon footprint).

For his final-year university project, Thompson created an eco-friendly, ergonomic chair made from hair, to demonstrate the substance's potential. The resulting design has already attracted an order from a high-profile London restaurant.

But the applications don't stop there. "The material we've developed has around 20 special properties, such as its crumple zone, which could have applications in car manufacturing, and the fact that micro-organisms can be grown in it, enabling desert land to be reclaimed," says Thompson. "It also breaks down well in soil, so it could have applications in agriculture."

Thompson, who still works in hairdressing, is very optimistic about the commercial prospects of his invention, thanks to his university's Enterprise Associate Scheme. This has so far given him a lump sum of £3,000, a tax-free salary of £1,200 a month (all university fees are covered too), free office space, access to the university research labs, computer equipment, and a series of mentors and business tuition. The university has even formed a company for him, Pilius X, taking him all the way to market. "I'm as impressed with the university as they are with me," he says.

Release date: January 4, 2007

Hair-raising furniture

A London-based designer has developed a new technique to make use of cut human hair from hairdresser shops he’s able to involve the hair in a new fibre mix strong enough to build furniture.

View the hair-raising furniture video

Release date: December 7, 2006

A chair made from human hair? It’s a cut above the rest!

Ever wondered what happens to all your hair cuttings after you’ve been for a trim? Well, you could soon be sitting comfortably on someone else’s locks thanks to a London South Bank University entrepreneur’s chair made from human hair. Ronald Thompson, ex-assistant hairdresser to John Frieda and Nicky Clarke, has invented an eco-friendly material from hair clippings that could eventually replace products such as fibreglass which carry a huge carbon footprint. The 49 year old is currently developing a range of chairs – using his new hair mat product – under LSBU’s Enterprise Associate Scheme.

There are 280 tonnes of spare hair in London alone and Ronald has been out and about collecting samples from salons in the Savoy, Blackfriars, Covent Garden and Wimbledon to mould into his biodegradable invention. He has also written to London mayor Ken Livingstone asking for freepost from all hair salons in the capital. Ronald admits his life been turned upside down by his discovery. “I ran my own hairdressers for 12 years and even worked with several Miss World contestants, but I was stuck in a rut and felt that it was stifling my creativity,” he said. “I’ve always had a burning passion for design and environmental issues so, in 2000, I sold the business. I honestly couldn’t have predicted how things have turned out in the last six years.”

Having given up his Bankside salon, Ronald completed a foundation course in art and design at Southwark College where he gained a distinction and an award of excellence. He then signed up to a LSBU degree in product design and the environment – a decision that inspired his human hair chair. “As part of my course I was doing a work placement on the set of the Batman Begins movie and, as you do on placement, was sweeping the floors which reminded me of my hairdressing days,” he said. “I picked up a piece of fibreglass, which snapped when I stretched it. Then I did the same with a strand of hair, which didn’t. That sparked my thinking about how we could make use of all this spare hair to make a fibreglass-type product that is environmentally friendly and sustainable.”

Twelve months later, Ronald had developed a prototype chair for his final-year project and was walking away with a first class honours degree. He was awarded a place on LSBU’s Enterprise Associate Scheme which supports students from within the University who wish to start their own business and have the necessary entrepreneurial flair. As well as giving them the chance to turn their ideas into a commercial reality, they gain a formal academic qualification – an MSc in Enterprise by Learning Contract. “I’ve had free office space, a setting up budget, advice on grant applications and my own business mentor,” Ronald said. “I’ve also got access to the University’s science and engineering facilities and technical support, as and when I need it. I couldn’t have manufactured my prototypes and models without LSBU’s support.”

Ronald is looking at extending his hairy range to applications including structural beams, shoes – and even mascara. “I know some people think I’m bonkers, but products like fibreglass are damaging the environment and we need to look at alternatives,” he said.

ENDS-