Glasgow City Innovation District (GCID) has announced the six companies set to join Wilson’s Foundry as part of the Venture Studio Make pillar.

The founders of the successful companies will be located in the creative spaces within Graven, Spreng Thomson and Threesixty Architecture, benefiting from expert coaching, tailored mentoring and access to the product and brand advice from the GCID Partners.

Among the companies joining the initiative are SepSense, which is developing a rapid, portable and low cost alternative biosensor to treat sepsis, and Fashion Interrupted, which is exploring new ways of working in fashion with the creation of 3D digital garments, bringing digital craftsmanship to museums and cultural institutions. 

Also set to take part is Cykelworx Design, a design studio focused on developing new and innovative products for the cycling and outdoor industry. Their first product, ‘The Assistant’, is a new automotive roof carrier designed to make lifting a bicycle onto the roof of a car easier for people with reduced strength or mobility issues.  

Rounding out the companies joining Wilson’s Foundry are Rum Cay Rum, a craft rum maker, Cottonrake, an artisanal bakery looking at expansion, and Landscape Soup, a curation and research-based studio, which is working on a new mapping tool to explore human interaction with the landscape.

Alisdair Gunn, director of Glasgow City Innovation District, said: “We’re excited to see the outcomes from this pioneering programme. 

“We’re delighted with the high calibre of applications we received for the Wilson’s Foundry and are pleased that each business will receive much needed support in branding, scaling, innovation, and design from three of Scotland’s market leading studios.”

Through design workshops, participants will enhance their branding, innovation, and scaling strategies. They’ll also gain access to facilities for 3D printing, prototyping, digital visualisation, and crucial business and financial planning guidance.

Spearheaded by GCID, Wilson’s Foundry is claimed to be a first in the UK’s tech ecosystem, by bringing together separate creative studios in a collaborative approach that combines their expertise.

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Threesixty Architecture, for example, has an in-house Creative Lab that can help exploit the benefits of 3D visualisation, graphic design, and virtual reality, while Spreng Thomson and Graven specialise in PR, media relations and digital communications.

GCID is Scotland’s first innovation district, a collaboration between the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurial Scotland, with the Wilson’s Foundry programme funded by Glasgow City Council and the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.