Britain’s Next Big Thing – Debbie Evershed, BracKit
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Debbie Evershed, inventor of the Frog BracKit, creative designer and engineer, and contender for Britain’s Next Big Thing, tells us how being a co-parent and patience were crucial factors in the creation of her award winning product which is now sold in Habitat and online.
Debbie says, “The idea of the Frog BracKit came about 11 yrs ago when I worked as a carpenter and was setting up a re-claimed wood centre, and I also had to look my daughter who was about 8 months old at the time. I put her in a baby bouncer that usually hangs from the door frame, but instead, I tied it to rafters and hung loads of toys around. She loved it and soon I was rigging it up in parks and the garden.” This practical solution, alongside Debbie’s love of design and her drive to take things forward, led to the exploration of the multi hanging Frog BracKit. Debbie says “I had to do it. The burning question for me was to know if I could do my dream job in design, risk all in the process just to know, and to live without the regret of never trying!”
It took a few years to get the design and development of the BracKit up and running – as a more versatile garden product eventually, rather than a baby bouncer hanger, and in the meantime Debbie learned about CAD, design, Manufacturing, finance, packaging shipping duty, VAT and a million other things. Then one day, the first delivery of the BracKits arrived.
Since then The Frog BracKit has won a platinum award at the British Invention show (2008) and been featured on Britain's Next Big Thing on BBC as well as selling successfully despite the current economic climate. Debbie points out “It is a slow and expensive process though, I made tons of mistakes!” What has supported Debbie throughout the process has been “Friends who have invested cash and skills, which I couldn't have done without, and Business Link.”
Debbie really enjoys the design and developing ideas aspect of the business, and can’t wait to do more of that. Once the setting up of the business is fully established, Debbie hopes to be able to hand over the day to day stuff over to her business partner, and concentrate on the designs. She says, “I love working for myself, and paying myself, when we do well!”
The plans for the future of bracket include selling through Homebase who are interested in doing a test run in 50 of their shops next spring, can't wait for that, and getting established in the market so Debbie can start developing all her other designs! The Frog BracKit has also brought out other aspects of Debbie’s creativity, she says “I also love writing and have started some children's stories”.
