Hairdressing inventions: rude utilities

In 2006 Sarah Shafi founded Rude Utilities Ltd. Her idea was to market cool, chic and inspiring leather holsters to hairdressers. Each holster is the perfect tool for storing scissors, combs and accessories and they are hand-crafted in London from the finest Italian leather.

Why did you decide to launch this product?Hairdressers are such stylish people, yet their tools can be quite unsexy. I decided that this was a way to give something back to hairdressers that would make their lives easier and make them feel more fashionable. My ex-husband was a hairdresser and couldn’t find a decent holster, so I suggested we made one out of the cow hide from my piano stool. It was initially just for him but when I saw how well it worked and how good it looked, I thought I was on to something.What were the first steps you took to turn the idea into a reality? I researched the market thoroughly. I then sourced leather suppliers and a high quality manufacturer and researched fashion trend predictions. I decided to launch at the biggest hair exhibition in Europe – Salon International. How much did it cost you to get it funded? It always costs more than you ever imagine! Set up was initially about £50,000. How did you raise this money? I re-mortgaged my home, took out a loan and borrowed money from friends and family.How much of a risk was this for you? It’s always a risk when you put your home on the line. However, I am a firm believer that if you don’t put anything in, you won’t get anything out.What major problems have you encountered along the way? Any good idea gets copied and you have to be prepared for that at the outset. This is why all our products have international design and copyright protection. There have been quite a few companies who have tried to copy our products, so having this legal protection has proved very important. If you could do this again, what would you change? I’d have probably looked for the backing of a big company sooner, which could have helped speed up raising our profile. What’s your advice to anyone who has an idea and wants to make it a reality? You have to passionately believe in what you are doing, as this belief is what will keep you focused and determined during the hard times. Research as best you can and get people you can trust to test your ideas. It is worth investing in copyright protection. While it may cost a bit, bankers and investors are much more likely to support you if you have it. What’s the situation now? We now have high quality distribution streams set up in the UK and in parts of Europe. We are in negotiation with some major names in both the hair and beauty industries. We are also getting ready to launch later this year into the general retail market with some exciting concepts in leather wear, which we are hoping to have stocked in top-end retail stores.What’s the biggest achievement about being an inventor? The feedback and loyalty from all our supporters is key to knowing that our products are working and worthwhile. We have some major celebrity stylists behind us now and we regularly receive positive feedback on our products. That makes me feel really proud. At Salon International last year a hairdresser had travelled from South Africa specifically to buy one of our limited edition tool belts. That really was a special moment.