MILI JOHN THARAKAN
NEOCRAFT
Electrokit
Postcard - front with materials
Postcard - back with instruction
Example of how to use the materials to create an embroidered circuit
Electrokit postcards
Weave Fair 2011, Boras, Sweden
Simple postcards consisting of LEDs, battery, battery holder and conductive threads were handmade and sold at the 12th Handweave Fair in September 2011.
Materials inspire makers. The purpose of this postcard is to introduce smart textiles and circulate new materials such as conductive threads to grass-root level weaving craft communities. It would give them an opportunity to experiment with and find ways to integrate materials such as light (through simple soft circuits) into their work.
The keen response to the postcards showed the need for further such kits to be developed and made available to traditional craft communities who at present have very little access to these materials.
Soft Hardware
Workshop - Touch and Feel Soft Hardware
Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interactions conference [TEI'12], Kingston, Canada 2012
The participants in this workshop were mainly from the HCI community developing OUI and other Reality-based interfaces.
This was an introduction for them to the various textiles and soft electronic materials available today and a chance for them to experiment with some of these materials. There was also a time of show and tell about various ongoing projects by the participants and knowledge share regarding new and smart materials that makes it possible to integrate interfaces into our everyday environments and products.
For many this was the first time they were using textiles and trying techniques such as block printing, embroidery, crochet, needle felting and crochet with conductive yarns and wool. The participants who are usually working with electronics and programming were inspired by the hands on making process and learned about thinking through making; noticed how mistakes couldnt be just 'deleted' and became more sensitive to the materiality of everyday materials.
In collaboration with Anna Vallgarda and Ylva Ferneaus
Soft Electronics
Learning to make soft electronics
Soft electronics can be made using conductive textile materials. Sensors, switches and actuators is made with conductive fabric and conductive threads (as well as other new materials) in combination with traditional textile materials such as felt, beads, buttons. thread
Soft electronics allows us to integrate electronics into our everyday environments and clothes without the hardware quality of electronics, rather enhancing the qualities of materials such as textiles and turning them into possible interfaces. Textiles can now take on new roles, functions and aesthetics, blurring the boundaries between gadgets and crafts.