As far back as she can remember, Clare has always had a curious mind, with a keen interest in design. ‘Why did they make it like that?’, ‘How does this work’, and ‘I wonder if I could make that better?’. These were the questions she usually found herself wondering.

Over the past few years, Clare became increasingly aware of the need to encourage others to reduce, reuse and recycle, to lessen each of our impacts on the environment.

“I think it's really important for all of us to think about how we can live our lives more sustainably, and that even small changes we make can collectively have a big impact on our planet.

Sometimes we do have to buy bottled water, even if we’re left with a piece of single-use plastic afterwards. Whenever this happens to me, I wash them out with warm, soapy water, in the hopes of getting a few more uses out of them.

Today, I make a conscious effort to ensure I’m always equipped with a refillable canteen when I leave home. But even these can end up looking a bit worse for wear rather quickly - and we all like to carry something about which looks stylish.

I started to think about how to extend the life of reusable bottles, both in form and function. That's when Bottlesoc was born.”.

The pandemic gave Clare the chance to realise her passion for running her own business, and focus on bringing Bottlesoc to life. “I really enjoy the freedom of being my own boss, but it doesn’t come without its challenges!”.

After conducting extensive user research, Clare set about improving and building upon the idea of Bottlesoc. “One person loved the concept but wanted to be able to personalise it. Another wanted an adjustable strap to meet their accessibility needs. Being an independent business meant that I could incorporate this feedback into the work I’m doing, to create something which can be used anytime, anywhere and by anyone”.