Kopper Kreation, founded by Dubliner Emmet Bosonnet in 2015, is an industrial homewares brand that uses reclaimed and recycled materials to create unique and eye-catching homewares. Emmet, who has an honours degree in Engineering, has a keen eye for practical and functional product design. Sustainability is at the heart of the Kopper Kreation ethos and the brand strives to make alternative uses for items that tend to be disregarded or sent to a recycling centre or landfill.
“We love to spend as much time as possible down in the local scrap yard sifting through the various treasure that people disregard and try to create something new and eye catching.”
Inspiration
Emmet had worked in the renewable and manufacturing sector for over 10 years. He noticed that by the end of each month on the manufacturing side of things, there was a large amount of scrap metal sent to the scrap yard- copper and brass in particular.
“This would have been small off cuts or unusable pieces. It added up quite a lot by the end of the month and I decided to try and reuse some of this material to make something new. I am interested in Scandinavian design and noticed their use of copper and brass more prevalently and decided to experiment with some of my own designs back in 2015.”
Research
In 2015, Emmet began researching the Irish homewares market and noticed a gap in the market for sustainability designed products that were designed and made in Ireland. By designing and creating the products himself, he created his own niche in the sustainable, industrial design market that wasn’t prevalent at that time. He began to perfect his product and ran the business alongside his own full time job.
Emmet says; “One of the big hurdles is having the confidence and financial backing to take the leap from 9:00 to 5:00 worker to starting your own business. It is a real minefield and difficult to do on your own with no help from anybody else.”
Making the Decision to Become Self Employed
In 2015, Emmet had started selling small craft and design markets to test out the viability of the business. Kopper Kreation was three years old when Emmet was made redundant in his job. A move which pushed him to really think about where he wanted to take his business.
“I took redundancy from my job in 2018 and decided to use some of that money to start the business up. So from September 2018 I became fully self-employed.”
Challenges & opportunities
Emmet says that the biggest challenge for him, personally, is self-doubt; “As well as self -doubt, I can find that I’m doubting whether or not I’m is doing the right thing with the right path in front of me. Working on your own is difficult as you don't have many people to bounce ideas off. I have been really lucky with some opportunities that I've been afforded by connecting with the Local Enterprise Office and the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland. Both organisations have provided excellent opportunities to me across the board”
LEO Supports
Emmet has availed of many supports from the Local Enterprise Office, both financial and training.
“Initially I did an 8 week Start Your Own Business course. It was excellent and gave a broad view of what would be required when starting the business. After I had started the business I applied for a Priming Grant, which was approved and was a welcome and massive help in growing and developing the business.”, Emmet tells us.
Emmet used the LEO supports to his advantage. He took part in the following;
- Business Advice Clinic
- Training: Start Your Own Business Course & Short training courses in social media and marketing
- Grant supports: Trading Online voucher webinar & Priming Grant
- Management Development Programmes: Building Craft & Design Enterprise Programme
“One of the best things that I did over the last couple of years was the Building Craft & Design Enterprise Programme, ran by the LEO in conjunction with the Design and Craft Council of Ireland. It was a 7 to 8 month course with excellent mentors and tutors with a vast experience in the design and craft sector, I feel this was imperative to developing my business to the point that is at today”
As part of the Building Design & Craft Programme, Kopper Kreation will be exhibiting at Showcase Ireland 2022.
Adapting to COVID 19
Covid 19 has had a positive effect on Emmet’s business, due to people now becoming more aware of buying local and sustainably.
“To be perfectly honest, the pandemic has been very good for my business. It has made people aware of shopping local, supporting local and buying Irish. The promotion from the LEO, the DCCI and other organisations throughout the pandemic has really pointed consumers in Ireland towards the design and craft sector. Loads of businesses have gone online during this time, including myself, which has meant extra sales for us”
Building Craft & Design Enterprise Programme and Showcase Ireland 2022
“The Building Craft and Design Enterprise Programme has been fundamental in my business development. The experience I gained and the information I garnered from the course has been invaluable. I actually still remain in contact with a lot of the mentors and other participants too- we’re in a constant information exchange! The course is excellent and gives a very detailed insight into each aspect of running a successful design and craft business.”
This isn’t Emmet’s first time to exhibit at Showcase but he is extremely excited to be involved and to show his creations.
“I’m excited to be exhibiting at Showcase. It’s an excellent event and in particular, I’m excited to be exhibiting in the Local Enterprise section. Personally, every single year I think that this is the year, this year is the strongest year of new design and designers at the fair-the standard in recent years has really increased. I am thrilled to exhibit can’t wait to see the other amazing businesses on display. I feel that Showcase is very important for businesses this year with the economy reopening after Covid. There’s a chance to meet new potential stockists. Shops will be eager to get new designs and products in. I really feel this year could be very good for my business”.
2022 & Beyond
Exporting is on the cards for Kopper Kreation. The dream is to sell more of his designs overseas and become an internationally recognised Industrial Design brand. Emmet is also working on a website review, which he hopes will make his website even more user friendly.
“I’m participating in a DCCI Exporting Programme and also a review program on my website. I’m hoping I’ll gain the necessary knowledge and experience from this to focus more on exporting. I also want to streamline my website and my online presence and really focus on digital marketing.” Says Emmet.
Contact
Website: https://www.kopperkreation.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kopperkreation/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kopperkreation
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kopperkreation
