the basics

You can quickly make a bracelet that changes color when shaken, a pet collar that blinks in the dark,
or an interactive art piece that plays music when you stand in front of it.

You can sew a remote control for your iPod into your jacket, a dress that twinkles when you get a phone call,
tapestry that shines different colors depending on outside temperatures,
or window blinds that automatically open in the morning and close at night.

Our pieces are easy to use - most don't need programming - so you can get started right away.
All of this stuff is washable! Just take out the battery.

Three important components make these things possible:

• Conductive thread - thin strands of silver spun into conductive thread feel a lot like regular thread, but also conduct electricity like a wire. This works great for stitching electrical components together.
   
• Conductive fabrics - these soft, washable sheets of conductive fabrics consist of silver coated nylon and special plastics that can carry electrical current.
   
• Smart modules - tiny electrical components like chips, lights, and sensors are made into flat pieces that can be sewn like buttons.

With the schemer web interface on my iPhone, I can quickly calibrate it for my needs, or make it do random flashing patterns anytime I want, without breaking out a USB cable or anything.

The 3 volt felt battery holder is eye-catching too, no?

This quilt was made during our March 2010 workshop in Brazil. Each patch is decorated with high- and low-tech materials: paint, felt, buttons, sequins, mimeolight, lightboards, etc.

By far our biggest workshop ever: 5 days, 10 core folks, and more than 300 collaborators. Most participants were passersby who spent just a few minutes sewing, ironing, decorating, or programming. Everyone was free to do something, even if they could only spend 5 minutes. An individual patch could have up to 10 authors, distributed in space and time.

What's more fun than a bristlebot? Why a light-sensitive bristlebot, of course!

A bristlebot is a vibrating robot based on a toothbrush. It uses a motor with an unbalanced weight (like pager motors) which causes the entire thing to skitter across a surface. Popularized by the awesome folks at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, we added a learning sensor to the mix so it runs in the dark, or in the light. You can also make it run only in the right temperature or when it gets loud, or something with the appropriate sensor.
 
 

We combined an off-the-shelf laser pointer, schemer, and a specially-modified magic dock to create an iPod remote control that you can wave at. Instead of walking all the way over to the stereo, or looking for a remote that we can never find, we can change music from anywhere in our shop space just by waving our hands.

"Bright Patches" is a lovely silk halter-back evening dress by Lynne Bruning.

Gorgeous, yes? Now look closely. Notice anything...?

Now why would we ask such a question?
Remember, Aniomagic is about stylishly blending electronics with fashion.

After studying this project, you'll be able to dramatically reach for your dress to change songs on your iPod/iPhone.

In this example, we open the handles, insert some conductive fabrics & thread, and attach the magic dock. Now you don't have to remove your ipod from this stylish bag. Just squeeze the handle to change tracks or volume. Perfect for winter, no?

Want one? Just drop us a line.  

The remote control kit is a pretty easy way to make a unique fabric-based remote control for your iPod or iPhone. Here's how to put one together, using conductive fabrics, our own hand-spun conductive yarn, and the magic dock.

We didn't expect this little cat to be sooo popular   (@_@)   but the response has been sooo wonderful, sooo please do tell the folks at Aranzi Aronzo we said "Hi! & Thx!"

Enjoy these pictures of a workshop in Japan using the bracelet kit.
I really like how she further decorates the bracelet with little gemstones.

See how he seems to look down, wearing a slight smile? That's because he gets happy and blinks his lights when you tickle his feet... or when I get a hug :-)

The touch-sensitive learning sensor can be calibrated to detect direct contact, or proximity to another person.

schemer is such an amazing little widget. The size of a penny, it makes this possible: the world's thinnest, programmable bracelet.

It makes me visible during night bike rides on the way home; it makes an awesome raver strobelight (I have a special accelerometer built into mine); I can set it to count down how many minutes I have left during a presentation; it reminds me to move my car after two hours so I don't get a parking ticket ; and it makes a handy flashlight in a pinch.

And the really cool thing is, if I need to change its behavior, I can do so really quickly and easily whether I'm at my desk, or on the go.

Apparently I am a "nekojita," (Japanese for a person who can't handle hot food). Cats don't like high temperature food (they say), so a person who doesn't fancy molten bits in their mouth is called nekojita (cat tongue).

This smart coaster monitors drink temperatures: green means it's just right, red means it's way too hot, and white means it needs reheating.

The wonderful thing about the learning sensor is that you don't have to hook it up to a computer to use it for other temperature ranges.

I got inspired when I saw this really beautiful patterned cloth while browsing at Joann's here in Boulder. I thought it would be nice if I could take a quick glance and get a sense of the outside temperature.

The emerald lightboards come on if the weather outside is comfortable. Otherwise, the ruby lights come on if it's hot, and the diamonds if it's cold.

This is a simpler version of the tapestry example above. It has only 3 lightboards and uses a tilt switch as the calibrate button.

We've also put all the pieces together into one kit so it's now easier to get started.

This project shows how to sew a learning sensor into a shirt. Different colored lightboards come on depending on the ambient temperature.

I still get a kick out of the cool racing effect when I press the calibrate switch :-)

Isn't this the cutest cellphone cozy ever? I got the entire kit from Yuzawaya crafts in Kobe Japan (think Joann's or Michael's on seven! floors. This store had a whole floor dedicated to beads!)

The white flower centers twinkle when I close the case, thanks to the mimeolight and magnetic snap.

As the title suggests, you can make this leather band in under 10 minutes. To change the flashing pattern, simply aim a flashlight.

I probably should have used a better battery holder than the paper clip, eh?

There's nothing worse than having a wonderfully soft, washable, and slim e-textile project than having to use an ugly, thick, plastic battery holder.

This is a quick tutorial on how to make your own cute battery holder from felt and conductive fabric. Get yours here.

This is a rather straightforward tutorial on the sewing kit. The turtle (tortoise?) is gazing at a pair of mangoes(?) which light up when the sun is pressed.

We love to show this in our children's craft and circuits workshops, as it gets the imagination going, yet still easy to understand.

Avast ye! Dis 'ere be a pulse warrmarrr fer ye lilly livr'd landlubbers wot need to keep ye 'rist waarm d'rin' d' colde hallow'eenin'. Hiz eyes be glow'in' if ye push 'im, aye!

Argh!!!!

Instead of a candle in a carved-out pumpkin, you can embed led sequins into the eyes of this laser-cut jack'o'lantern.

Making this was plenty fun and I got lots of attention showing it off.

I normally decorate my bookbag with all sorts of trinkets and dangly things, and saw this cute dragonly while perusing the aisles of Joann's. I was going to put this on a t-shirt, but it ended up looking pretty nice on the bookbag.

If I was to do it again, I'd use a tilt switch instead, so it would flash as I walked.

Wow... seeing this makes me nostalgic... this is where it all began: our very first commercial kit. We spent many months developing this for our research and thought, "hey, some folks would love to get their hands on this!"

I still have this example hanging from my workstation in the lab, and press it once in a while just to feel that emotion.

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