At 21, Hugo Kebrat didn't necessarily imagine himself already being a business manager. And yet. Last May, he created Gwëmon, a company manufacturing decorative objects from a material he designed himself, based on algae. “It’s actually my end-of-year project for the national diploma in crafts and design (DNMADE) at the Vauban high school in Brest,” explains the young man.
Biomaterial and low-tech process
In June 2023, Hugo Kerbrat began to think about his study project: “I wanted to move towards an eco-material,” he continues. The North Finisterian, from Tréflaouénan, near Saint-Pol-de-Léon, therefore naturally turns to the beach to find his raw material: seaweed. “I picked some up and started testing. » It is with brown algae that he is starting to have results by manufacturing a solid material without synthetic glue using a low-tech process, which therefore consumes little energy. “As time went on, I saw that there was potential,” he smiles.
Before even finishing his year, he created his own business. “I waited until I graduated and only started full-time since September. I was afraid of regretting not getting started,” he says. To develop his biomaterial, he was guided by his teachers at the Vauban high school. When he left school, he was able to find other support from the Brest-Iroise technology park and the Brittany region incubator Emergys. “I also applied, somewhat by chance, to the Ensta Bretagne engineering school incubator and I was accepted! »
The young designer continues his research and development work today. “There are still things to improve, properties of resistance to humidity, bending and others to check in order to broaden the applications of the material,” explains the young man. The latter also has in mind other algae that he could use for new materials with other properties, other colors, other textures, etc. “But that’s for later! »
Hugo Kerbrat has launched a website with an online store to market a range for Christmas. You can buy coasters (€34) or displays (between €18 and €36) made in his workshop. “I have installed it for the moment at my grandmother’s near Landivisiau,” he explains. With this first range, also intended for the general public, the designer wants to make himself known. “But the objective is to work with professionals in the catering and hotel industry, particularly to create furniture and layout.” Gwëmon has already convinced a first client: the restaurant L'Atelier Mélanie in Riec-sur-Bélon for whom he created sweet displays. He has already shown some samples to other bosses: “I have had good feedback. It’s encouraging.” It is targeting first contracts in 2025.
