We heard about the STEAMhouse Create Programme through a design network contact in early 2022. At the time we were deep in prototype two of the Gaucho BBQ Grill Apron — we had a wearable design with most features working, but we were making decisions in isolation. We needed outside input from people who had actually solved manufacturing problems, not just theoretical feedback.
The application process was competitive. STEAMhouse, based in Birmingham, selects UK product designers and makers at key development stages. We applied during the prototype two phase because that felt like the honest moment — far enough in to have something real, early enough for feedback to actually change the outcome.
What We Applied For
Our application set out three specific things we wanted from the programme:
- Access to fabrication expertise we didn’t have in-house — particularly around hardware specification and load-bearing stitching
- Connection with other makers who had solved similar manufacturing problems and could tell us what we were missing
- Honest, structured feedback on the prototype from people with no commercial interest in telling us it was good
We were selected in April 2022. The programme gives accepted makers access to workshops and prototyping tools at the STEAMhouse facility in Birmingham, and — more valuably — puts you in a room with other UK product designers at similar stages of development. The physical resources mattered. The peer community mattered more.
What We Expected and What We Got
We went in expecting to confirm what we already thought. We came out with two hardware changes, a revised manufacturing specification process, and significantly more confidence in the direction we were heading. Those aren’t the same thing.
The STEAMhouse programme didn’t tell us what to make. It gave us tools — literally and structurally — that we didn’t know we needed until we had them. The Gaucho is a better product because we applied. That’s the only metric that matters.
