December 2008

  • Published On: December 1, 2008

    Vlieger & Vandam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, is a fashion accessories company now offering a series of handbags called “Guardian Angel.” Each bag appears to contain a gun or a knife, but the outlined shape has actually been formed into the felted wool of the bag. The idea grew out of an increasing number of news [...]

  • Published On: December 1, 2008

    Problem: Manufacturers using radio frequency (RF) welders want higher production capacity, reduced labor costs, minimal power usage and ways to meet more stringent quality standards. Solution: The FIAB 900 is the latest in RF traveling welders, with a faster generator, a control system that makes more precise adjustments and a user-friendly interface. FIAB enhanced the [...]

  • Published On: December 1, 2008

    When Florence Broadhurst established her hand-printed wallpaper company in Sydney in 1959, it was one-of-a-kind in its output of vigorously modern designs intended to radically change design attitudes in her native Australia. Signature Prints has re-released a number of her styles, featuring a range of bold and dynamic designs, including this iconic Japanese Floral, which [...]

  • Published On: December 1, 2008

    Sheila Clark, a research fellow at the Royal College of Art’s School of Fashion and Textiles and Vehicle Design in London, England, explores a variety of innovative materials for applications in the automotive industry, predominantly as upholstery. Her materials are imbued with health-giving properties that add to driver/passenger comfort and safety. The blue seat combines [...]

  • Published On: December 1, 2008

    London’s Maharishi Hardy Blechman Ltd. began by producing hemp and other natural fiber clothing, and soon turned to adapting and customizing camouflage, then creating its own versions. Collaboration with artists and designers, including the graffiti artist Futura, are a vital element in the creative process. Gorscuba uses a 3M Scotchlite™ reflective print often customized with [...]

  • Published On: December 1, 2008

    Grade Zero Espace, Florence, Italy, is the research and development department of Cove Nove, with the mission to develop new materials and technologies to improve quality of life, work and the environment. The Hinoki LS jacket and coat endeavor to redefine natural fibers using ‘Hinoki,’ a genus of conifers native to eastern Asia, whose processed [...]

  • Published On: December 1, 2008

    Rebecca Earley’s radiotherapy treatment gown series was originally commissioned by the Queen Elizabeth Centre for the Treatment of Cancer in Birmingham, U.K. Each of the 100 gowns was designed using her heat photogram technique of printing plants directly onto fabric. The imagery used shows homeopathic plants used in the care of cancer patients. Earley, currently [...]

  • Published On: December 1, 2008

    Bill Burns, director of Safety Gear for Small Animals, is using a branch known as the Museum of Safety Gear for Small Animals to spread a message of animal rescue, relocation and rehabilitation. The itinerant museum consists of 19 scale-model pieces, including a trio of tents for bio-hazard, radiation and triage, a mosquito net, safety [...]

  • Published On: December 1, 2008

    Bedding products made with phase-change materials by Outlast® Technologies, Boulder, Colo., can help mitigate the hot flashes and night sweats associated with menopause. So when Outlast found an opportunity to team with the 2008–2009 “Menopause: The Musical” Out Loud Tour™ to raise funds for and awareness about ovarian cancer, it was a natural fit for [...]

  • Published On: December 1, 2008

    By mixing high-quality natural fibers with lower quality synthetics, textile fabricators can make it tough to be certain that wool, cashmere and silk are the real deal. Applied DNA Sciences Inc., Stony Brook, N.Y., offers a proprietary SigNature™ DNA that can be used to authenticate textiles at all points of the supply chain. In collaboration [...]