Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Below you will find notes from a session attended. This session will be interesting to those interested in crafting, DIY or the intersection of fashion and technology. The discussion was more interesting than my notes. I will add more to this article later.

Traditional crafts such as knitting and sewing are surging in popularity today thanks to the growing Do-It-Yourself (DIY) movement. These modern crafters on the panel not only promote the notion of DIY, they are using technology to reclaim these old techniques. From soft circuits and mathematical knitting to fashion technology and wearable computing, find out more about this new trend of high-tech crafting and how these women look to technology and science for inspiration.

• Natalie Zee Drieu Senior Editor, CRAFT Magazine
• Syuzi Pakhchyan SparkLab
• Alison Lewis Producer, IHeartSwitch
• Mouna Andraos Electronic Crafts
• Diana Eng Fashion Designer, Diana Eng

This trend is about perserving old traditions and mixing them with current technology. Technology will evolve, but when it does, people will look at the high-tech things that are created now and know that it was all a part of a particular time.

Discussion about bringing back the original use of the term 'craft.' Used to be a great label, now it is not. Probably the result of too many macrome projects in the 70s.  

One of the panelists has instrucions on the Web about how to make your purse light up when you open it. It can be made with tools that can be readily found and only takes about 20 minutes to make. To be effective you have to start looking at materials another way, for example, silver beads are conductive. 

Panelist made test tube vases that light up when you hear noise. She partnered with someone from Frog design.

MP3 player sock that you can wear as a scarf. Small nightlights created to display and highlight the technology.

Tech style - how to design fashion with technology. Grandmothers are the influencers.

There are open source sewing patterns. The Brother sewing machine company has a sewing machine that you can upload a picture to and the machine will 'sew out' the picture.

There is a difference between DIY and crafty.  

Note: For the past 3 months a guilty pleasure of mine has been watching America's Next Top Model. I did not pick up Project Runway - even though I am sure it is a better show - because of my ANTM addiction. Now I think I need to start watching Project Runway as well. Paul Smith and I have been joking about how we want to do a panel at SXSW on Django and America's Next Top Model. This panel was not that far from our proposed talk.