Craft & Design

From traditional crafts to modern crafts, we’re covering news and interesting projects to educate you and keep you inspired. Design trends and pop culture related projects are here to inspire.

How cars are made…

How cars are made…

ToyotadunkPat sent in this holiday treat, how cars are made! “…a video of the making of a very important (and common) mode of transportation: cars. Thanks to the good people at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Georgetown, Kentucky for supplying the 5-minute narrated video of the manufacturing process. It goes from stamping through painting and powertrain through the end of the assembly process. At the end, you see the car being driven off the line.” Link.

The Elevator Music Box

The Elevator Music Box

ElevatorGreat (old) project from Rocketboom’s Andrew – “This project was designed to create an isolated box which can be placed inside of an elevator to play dramatic sound designs based on the direction and altitude of an elevator. A microprocessor chip is stamped with conditionals to determine the location of the elevator based on barometric pressure and then pulses are sent to trigger an mp3 player which, when amplified, plays out from a complex set of musical relationships to create a dramatic and playful experience for the unassuming passengers.” Link.

Diana Eng on Project Runway

Diana Eng on Project Runway

Dianaeng
Calling herself the “fashion nerd”, Designer Diana Eng brings her technology sense to the fashion world on the TV show “Project Runway” which can be seen every Wednesday nights at 10pm on Bravo. From the site, “She hopes to make the fashion-minded more interested in the research process and the scientific-minded more interested in fashion as a form of self-expression. Diana is currently co-creating an online show called iheartswitch.com, a do-it-yourself fashion website designed to switch girls onto technology by teaching them how to make accessories and apparel with embedded electronics from everyday supplies.” Not only do Diana’s creations incorporate technology in a useful and ingenious manner, they look amazing too! We can’t wait to watch tonight to see what she makes next. Thanks Kevin and Eliot! Project Runway and Link.

The Yarn Spinner

The Yarn Spinner

Yarnspinner
Zoe Ashton-Worsnop crafts old school style by spinning her own yarn. The UK based crafter loves the relaxing and addictive nature of this art. How did she get into this you ask? Zoe explains, “I learnt to crochet about 2 years ago and from there I discovered people like Heidi Kenney from mypapercrane.com and Lexi from Pluckyfluff. I fell in love with their yarns and I wanted to be able to crochet with yarns like theirs but as I was at home with not much money I couldn’t afford to buy any for myself. I met a lovely old lady at a local craft fair who spun and she kindly taught me how to spin on a drop spindle and also gave me two spindles and some roving. ” Zoe has been spinning ever since and her beautiful multi-colored yarn can be found on her site along with pictures of her antique spinning wheel, “Lilian the Louet” (Click on Mango Yarns/Tools). Link.

Nostalgia and Technology exhibit…

Nostalgia and Technology exhibit…

SewingChris writes in about this very Maker-friendly exhibit “Nostalgia and Technology: Embracing the New through Art and Design explores the way in which traditional forms and artful designs have been used to introduce revolutionary new technologies into the domestic space of the people of their day. The exhibition begins with a re-creation of a 17th-century cabinet of curiosities and subsequently highlights key moments in the development of new technologies, such as electricity, sewing machines, typewriters, point-and-shoot photography, radios, televisions, automobiles, space exploration, atomic energy and wearable technology. The exhibition ends with a 21st-century mirror image of the cabinet of curiosities, where 17th-century objects have been replaced by their modern counterparts.” Link.