Liquid Pattern

If you're interested in infinitely reconfigurable pattern, have a look at the video of Buckyballs. Buckyballs are a set of spherical neodymium magnets named after the carbon molecules which resemble Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes. You can buy a set in the US for $30, where they're become trendy office toys. Check out the video - you'll understand the attraction!

We textile designers are excited by pattern, and many innovators in the field have been trying to offer interactive pattern, where the user can rearrange the geometry of a textile. It's a fascinating activity, for some reason. We like looking through kaleidoscopes and playing Tetris. We like the idea of something being both liquid and rigid, or flexible but structured. Buckyballs are sold as a fun diversion from office work, but they really get to the heart of that relationship between geometry and blobbiness.

Links:
http://www.getbuckyballs.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kaleidoscopes.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgDgqI9_x18

Magnets: Material for the future

image from www.kraeutli.com

When I was a textile design student, and we had briefs looking at innovation in textiles, we looked at example upon example of electronics embedded in textiles. There has been a push to develop textiles that integrate new technology, in the hope that exciting materials of the future would result. However, the marriage of electronics and textiles always seems to lead down the same path - you have a garment that has to be plugged in or battery powered to perform a gimmick.

The real source for injecting novelty into textiles is magnetism. I really believe this, and use magnetic fields (obsessively) in my own work for this reason. Ferrofluid is a fantastic example of the potential of magnetism to inspire. Another example is Paul Cocksedge Studio's giant magnetic coin, that drew people to play with the effects of spare change on the surface of a giant magnet. It is an accessible physical property, much more reliable and durable than electronics.

Here is an example of how textiles and magnets can come together to produce new tactility and new aesthetics. Florian Krautli designed a prototype for a curtain embedded with high power rare earth magnets. He arranged them in a pattern so that the curtain can snap up and shrink. You can imagine how intriguing this material would be to interact with. That is the power of magnets - a material that inspires the future.

http://www.kraeutli.com/index.php/2008/01/31/magnetic-curtain/

Size+Matter: Paul Cocksedge Studio for LDF

Paul Cocksedge Studio has designed this year's Size+Matter installation for the London Design Festival. Size+Matter is a platform for showcasing materially fascinating work by London's talented designers in a public setting. It brings public awareness to the festival and to London's design culture in general.

Below is a special look inside the coin, at the shape of the magnetic field. Being a magnetic materials designer myself, I was happy to have a field viewing wand on hand!

Paul Cocksedge Studio is formed of designers Joana Pinho and Paul Cocksedge. They are based in London, but take on installation projects all around the world. The result of this commission from LDF, an enormous golden magnet, testifies to their talent at using uncanny physical effects to attract attention.In other past projects, you see a variety of fascinating materials from the scientific world being brought into a design context.

The Size+Matter coin uses the wonder of magnetism to engage people. Passerby stop, attach coins to the piece, play around with the coins that are already there, and generally look delighted. Kids love playing with the coins, but so do adults. You can hear whispers of "how did he make the coins magnetic?"

The magnetic coin, hovering on its end just at the bottom of the Jubilee bridge, attracts pennies from the generous (and curious) hands of passerby. By now, hundreds of pennies have been stuck to the brushed gold surface. Barnardo's, a children's charity organisation, is going to match every penny collected with a full pound through the help of its corporate partners.

Floppy Portrait

A recent experiment in my magnetic materials lab: a floppy drawing. That's meant to be Melissa French on the left and Amelie Labarthe on the right. Their friendly visages are stuck to the magnetic wall in my kitchen, lending encouraging smiles to cooking adventures.

The drawing is based on a picture that I took of them in a coffe bar in Milan. Let's hope we're as happy again at this year's Saloni del Mobile.