It’s more than just an accessory – it’s a statement!
You can’t expect to be disruptive if you keep on doing things the way you always have. Keeping an open mind and being receptive to new possibilities is a step in the right direction. So, with the right glasses on, when accidents happen, it might be a blessing in disguise! That is exactly what happened to our Italian client Budri!
With over 55 years of experience in the marble business, Budri has created a reputation for themselves as being able to deliver high added value, superior product quality, and excellent client service. But even after many years in the niche market of marble, they continue innovating to find new applications of the precious material they are so passionate about.
One day an employee dropped a piece of marble while working on it. The fragment that was left lying on the floor resembled, with some imagination, the front of an eye-wear frame. That event turned out to be the starting point of an ambitious challenge: forging marble into a wearable accessory.
When Inspiralia came into the picture the project had reached a stage where they were looking to develop new techniques and develop their expertise to fine-tune the production process without having to set back on quality. In order to do so, they were in need of additional funding.
Together with the Innovation Strategy team at Inspiralia, Budri decided on the next steps to be taken and preparations were made to apply for public funding through the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument framework. After successfully having submitted a proposal to the European Commission and being granted with 50K€, next “check-in-the-box” would be the second phase of the SME Instrument. When results came in from the phase 2 call, almost 1,7M€ had finally been assigned the project that would admit the development actions our client had planned to carry out but lacked the funds for.
Our Project Management Office has since the beginning been working closely with Budri, taking the weight off their shoulders by handling much of the administrative work related to the project. Now that the project is coming close to an end, it’s a bitter-sweet feeling.
The production process of Budri eye-wear is a work of art. Hands that see and feel the material, creating a connection to nature in a way that could almost be described as spiritual. By making use of this unconventional material to create eye-wear the company would also like to contribute to the reduction of man-made plastic items keeping an environmentally friendly approach. Take a look for yourself.