Category: Finished Projects

For my plush night light project I wanted to explore a more natural yet abstract form.  At the same time I have been becoming interested in nautical design, so I have tried to meld these two ideas into Beacon.

Beacon’s basic form is that of a sailboat, with a central mast, and much like the hull of a ship, the form is stretched over “ribs” giving it the form its structure.  I also wanted to use natural materials, such as rope and unfinished wood.

If this were to exist in the real world, I could picture it as a night light perhaps in something like a private sailboat, a bedside table, or as a guide light, or beacon.

In process shot of the structure.

Initial sketches of the project.

More process shots (thanks Katie)

The Egger is a plush toy/pillow that holds a egg yolk/white. The egg yolk lights up when the switch is pressed. This project was put together using Brown,white, and yellow felt that is doubled up and stuffed after sewing. The egg yolk and white fit inside of the egg shell. This plush toy can also be used to educate children at a young age what is inside of an egg.

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I went with my original plan of creating a plush frying pan that would simulate bacon cooking. Who doesn’t enjoy the smell, taste and sound of crackling bacon? I used an Arduino to create the flickering effect and attached a button that when pressed, causes the bacon to light up.

I added a hole to the handle for easy hanging on a pot rack or wall and the bacon is lit by LED lights

Stoves are obviously dangerous for children, as is splattering oil, so I could see this toy being great for kids who want to help cook breakfast (or breakfast for dinner)! This could also be a good solution for those who do not have a stove in their tiny NY apartment and miss having bacon in their life. In addition, I could see this being THE go to gift for a lumberjack baby shower. If I took this idea further I would add a speaker that plays crackling sounds when the button is pressed and perhaps some sort of smoky bacon scent.

Don’t let the drudgery of chores bring you down. Seize the Rad with This Domestic Bliss!

After weeks of fumbling around with various ideas, I decided to go with a design that I would actually use.

Here’s the preliminary sketch. Initially the skateboard was going to look like the interior of a vintage car with tassels and leather. The association with artifacts changed once I found a more suitable fabric!

Its a skateboard that doubles as…

An ironing board!

And a To-Do List flash light for the skater on the go!

Shred on my busy domesticated friends… Shred on!

Title photo credit to drowsySwords on Etsy.

For my Plush + Light project I originally sketched up an interactive nightlight.

Upon reading one of Richard’s posts, it inspired me to change directions to create a plush speaker.

After further refinement, I decided on a sock form with a speaker that could hang above my desk.

S.A.L.S. stands for Sound And Light Sock. It is essentially a suspended bluetooth speaker with sound activated lighting. The flexible wire arm form is ideal for wrapping around any elevated structure. Adding movement to the sock with a subtle push, creates a unique sound & light warping experience. The S.A.L.S. is sure to add disco delight to any home or office environment.

Thanks for checking out the sound & light show.

Damon

Don’t we wish we had some automatic lights during the hurricane? In my new phase of appreciating candles after Sandy, I decided to create curtains that lit up like candlelight automatically when they detected a certain level of darkness. I used some simple Arduino code, a photo resistor and some string LEDs. Here’s a quick video showing the action:

I sowed the LED’s in the shape of a stage curtain on the back of the fabric. I did very simple running stitch embroidery on the front to complete the look of the curtain

The Octolamp is an octopus-shaped reading light hat made for cephalopod lovers who also like to read in bed.

I began by doing some shape explorations to learn how to make an octopus-head shape.

I also made a full prototype of the octopus hat to see how it could fit onto one’s head.

Once I settled on how to sew the octopus, I started on the tentacles and body. On two of the tentacles are magnetic snaps that complete the circuit of LED lights that run along the rim of the hat.

Inside the bill of the hat are three LED lights; just enough light to read by.

The shape and sewing were very difficult to figure out and execute. Eight is a lot of legs!

The final product is functional and cute. The Octolamp has brass button eyes and gives just enough light to read in the dark!