Construction of the Fluid Dress

Maker Faire 2009

The Maker Faire is over and it was spectacular.  The projects on display, as always, were some careful mixture of brilliant, hilarious, and dangerous.

I had an amazing time talking to everyone and hearing your kind words.  I showed only a portion of what I had hoped to, and the dress I did show was kind of sloppy, but nonetheless it was a completely gratifying weekend.

There was one question I got frequently that is worth answering, and that is: “how did you think of this”?

Forgetting for a second that we’re talking about a dress made with tubes and a pump and not, for instance, something useful (the ShamWow, par example.)  I would like to propose that the origin of this, and most any idea, is a bit absurd and mostly irrelevant.

What is vital though, and of greater influence on any project, is how it perpetuates.

The Maker Faire is what motivated me.  The receptive, forgiving, and care-full group of people represented there and on the internet is of much greater consequence to my project than whatever random elements fused at its conception.

There is another story behind all of this — one I didn’t really understand until recently — that I would like to share one day too.

"I've been waiting since I don't know when, and now it finally seems about to start"

Finally: I will be at the Maker Faire this Saturday and Sunday.  I’m not sure if the little sculpture in the video (above) will be running.

However, I have made a dress and a backpack pump unit that will be on a model.  She will be floating around and, if you’re there, I promise you’ll see her.

I am in booth 240 in the fashion/crafts section in Expo Hall.  I had grand plans for my booth, but those seem to be impractical now.  It may only be a re-fueling station for the dress, but I can live with that.

Videos, pictures, and words about the dress will be posted soon-ish.

"Last day in May the afternoon, remember?"

Happiness is here.  Now, so much to do.

“I swear I swear that I will do my part.”

Panta Rhei

Into the fluid fashion waters again, although the river has changed:

“On those stepping into rivers the same, other and other waters flow.”
ποταμοῖσι τοῖσιν αὐτοῖσιν ἐμϐαίνουσιν, ἕτερα καὶ ἕτερα ὕδατα ἐπιρρεῖ.
Potamoisi toisin autoisin embainousin, hetera kai hetera hudata epirrei

More soon.

DIY Fashion Show 2008

The Superfluid Skirt made its first appearance on a lady at the DIY Fashion Show at Arise! Bookstore.

The fit was horrible, the style was….¿Cómo se dice “whack”?  But everything still worked well enough to make smiles.  The redeeming moment of the night came after the show when my model remarked: “I kinda feel powerful”

(and it made me smile.)

Going to 11

Here’s a “Behind the Music” video that begins to convey the noise, the mess, the leaks, and the general nuisanceness associated with liquid clothing.

Some notes:

> Pump-powered skirts make for bad neighbors, at least I imagine so.  Good thing I moved.
> “Steadicam”, in a word
> Can a brother get some non-staining dyes, for serious?

Coming and coming soon: weaves, dresses, oil/water/air mixtures, pole vaulting, sensor-based fluid routing, on-board fluid-reactive sound synthesizers, shoe-powered fluid pumps, hang-gliding, drink-stealing auxiliary fluid intakes, and more.

Poetaster

It works (in a mechanical sense.) The skirt works and the powerpack too. Although it’s not fashionable or long-term-interesting yet.

Here, I put together a bombastic video to lend it that extra pathos (or is it bathos?)

Watch for my favorite bit of this video, it comes at the end just as the tube dangling from the left side of the skirt (not the galloping one on the side) changes from transparent, to white, to blood red.

Skirt Ingredients:

• 200 ft. tubing
• 1 pump
• 400 ml. mineral oil
• 400 ml. water
• 2 valves
• 1 Lexan main plate
• 1 transparent vinyl backpack
• 1 fluid reservoir
• 1 fluid reservoir holder (top)
• 1 fluid reservoir holder (bottom)
• 1 main battery
• 10 ml. water dye
• 10 ml. oil dye
• 2 dress quick-disconnects
• 1 microcontroller
• 1 microcontroller battery
• 1 electrical terminal block
• 1 on/off switch
• 1 speed controller for pump
• 2 relays for solenoid valves

about Casual Profanity

Casual Profanity, according to Webster’s (aka the valedictorian version):

ca·su·al
Unconstrained by rigid standards or ceremony

pro·fan·i·ty
Irreverence towards sacred things.

OR, if you prefer, Casual Profanity according to the American Softball Association:

“The Casual Profanity Rule pertains to expletives and verbal un-sportsmanlike language not directed at an umpire or opposing players or coaches. This is most likely uttered by a player out of frustration. This type of behavior is penalized by an out being charged against the offending team…”

But, really, Casual Profanity is this: the name and philosophy behind a series of ridiculous clothing experiments.