Shannon of PolyMath Design Lab  is a 30-year old designer in Oregon and a follower if I Heart Switch. I found her through her comments on this blog and was just facinated by what I found. Not only is she a talented designer in jewelry and unique products, Shannon has been playing around with her first electronic skirt (as you see above). I decided we must interview Shannon and let everyone on Switch see what an amazing project can be done by a first time electronic fashion crafter. The interview, video of the skirt, and more images are after the Break.

According to the Forum of the Future, (FOTF) "The global fashion industry generates over a trillion dollars a year. So what we wear - and how it's made and sold - can have a huge positive impact on our society and environment."

(Above: one of Spiral Magazine's Animated Avatars by Designers Reed + Rader)

Augmented Reality or AR is a term for for "a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer-generated imagery - creating a mixed reality."

Diana Eng's Fairytale Fashion Show from iHeartSwitch on Vimeo.

Wednesday night at Eyebeam Art and Technology Center, Diana Eng showcased her Fairytale Fashon Show with soft glowing dresses, twinkling skirts, modular oragami shapes, and a lighted balloon releasing gown.

"Everything has an end. The cycle of life is a positive thing because it gives room for new things to come." - McQueen

It has been almost two weeks since I learned about Alexander McQueen's tragic suicide. When it happened, I didn't want to blog about it because it felt too personal and deeply depressing. For me, iHeartSwitch is about moving forward with technology in a positive light, not mourning the past. But sometimes, you have to acknowledge and share your pain in order to move past it. I am lucky enough to have a venue to do that and I know many of you were also deeply shocked and hurt by his passing as well, so you won’t mind if I get a little personal.

It may be hard to believe but during the 50s and 60s blow-up bras were manufactured and sold to the mass market by Frederick's of Hollywood ("make the most of you") and Très Secrète ("the most inspired of the sweet feminine deceptions"). Mercifully, they were long buried in the dustbin of history—right where they belong. That is, until a 21st century Chinese company got "inspired" and decided to revive the idea that refuses to go flat (sorry).

The "Klight" dress is designed by Mareike Michel, a fashion design student at the University of Applied Science in Berlin, Germany. What makes this demure LBD so special is the stretchable PCB. For those who don't know, a PCB stands for "printed circuit board" and they are the boards that hold and connect the main components of a computerized system like you find inside your cellphone, computer, and other electronic devices (see below). They are very hard and inflexible and usually difficult to integrate into fabric unless your looking for something with real rigidity. However, with a STELLA, we are looking at a possible future with washable and comfortable interactive fashion and interior design. 

A common PCB (Left) is found in most all electronic devices today. The Knight dress with the stretchable PCB (on the right) was developed in cooperation with scientists from Fraunhofer IZM and TU Berlin as part of the European research project STELLA (STretchable ELectronics for Large Area Applications).

It is 2010, and there is no better time to create your own video chatting controllable robot. Designed by artist, Marque Cornblatt, Sparky Jr. is completely open source, which means all the software, diagrams, and technical specifications are available for free on their website. Also, be sure to see his other "Gomi Style" designs on his YouTube site, H2oboy1. Watch out for Zombies!

This Christmas we had a big gathering up in the hills of Arkansas at my grandmothers farm for a 1930s inspired family holiday. The rule is that everything must be 1930s including the gift for the gift exchange, which has to be hand-made and $10 or under.

Make a Flip Book from iHeartSwitch on Vimeo.