The story of … the top hat

Throughout the 19th century, the top hat was a mainstay of Victorian life: a man in a topper was well-to-do, respectable, a man of industry. But now the top hat is only a caricature of the upper class privilege it once represented. Its history traces a line through dandies, beavers, silk, and madness...

Moderneja ryijyjä, metritavaraa ja käsityötä : Tekstiilitaide ja nykyaikaistuva taideteollisuus Suomessa maailmansotien välisenä aikana

Modern ryijys, fabric by the yard and handicrafts. Finnish textile art and modernizing applied art during the inter-war years Textile art was in the 1920s and 1930s in the front rank of Finnish applied art and design. Modern ryijys, tapestries and fabrics by the yard by contemporary textile artists were on show in Finland and abroad. Textile art had also become interesting commercially, especially in interior textiles of modern homes. The research uses sources of the Ornamo Association of Decorative Artists, for example the Ornamo year books published from 1927, the Finnish Society of Crafts and Design and the country s only school of applied arts, the Central School of Arts and Crafts and the Museum of Applied Arts maintained by the society and also the national specialist organisation the Friends of Finnish Handicraft. It also refers to the magazines Käsiteollisuus and Kotiliesi. The art historical dissertation studies the renaissance of weaving art of the inter-war years in Finland. It problematizes the relation of the succesfull and appreciated textile art to the concept of breakthrough of Modernism (Functionalism). With the material from textile artists activities it questions the prevailing idea of slow modernization of Finnish applied art and design and challenges the polarization of craft and industry in the discourses of Modernisms of design. The public discussions about modernization of design and applied art where textile art and especially the ryijy got sometimes into difficult positions are interpreted as power struggles. After taking independence in 1917 the Finnish tradition of ryijy rugs was set as a symbol of the original culture of the young nation. The research studies the development of the so called art ryijy and the notions and meanings of hand weaving in the national context and also in relation to contemporary events in international applied art and design. It highlights the continuity of hand crafted production of textiles and the strong position of textile artists working in this field. The research opens new perspectives to Finnish textile artists by showing their activities as entrepreneurs in their own weaving studios or design studios and referring to their many relations and functions as pattern designers and educators in the growing handicraft industries.

Hidden trails: Visualizing arthropod silk

Arthropods are known to use silk for a number of different purposes including web construction, shelter building, leaf tying, construction of pupal cocoons, and as a safety line when dislodged from a substrate (Alexander, 1961; Fitzgerald, 1983; Common, 1990). Across the arthropods, silk displays a diversity of material properties and chemical constituents and is produced from glands with different evolutionary origins (Craig, 1997). Among insects, larval Lepidoptera are prolific producers of silk. Because many lepidopteran larvae are pests, an ability to interfere with silk production or, at the very least, an understanding of how silk is used, could provide new options for pest control. After testing many known fluorescent dyes, we found that Fluorescent Brightener 28 (also known as Calcofluor White M2R) (Sigma-Aldrich Pty Ltd, Sydney, NSW, Australia), an optical brightener used in the textile industry, binds to arthropod silk in a simple staining reaction, causing it to fluoresce under ultraviolet (UV) light. Such brighteners have also been used in insect gut content analysis (Schlein & Muller, 1995; Hugo et al., 2003). Here we describe the method of visualizing arthropod silk on plant surfaces, using as a model the thin, barely visible, single strands of silk produced by Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) neonates.

Under the skin: Wearable technology futures

Artist statement – Artisan Gallery I have a confession to make… I don’t wear a FitBit, I don’t want an Apple Watch and I don’t like bling LED’s. But, what excites me is a future where ‘wearables’ are discreet, seamless and potentially one with our body. Burgeoning E-textiles research will provide the ability to inconspicuously communicate, measure and enhance human health and well-being. Alongside this, next generation wearables arguably will not be worn on the body, but rather within the body…under the skin. ‘Under the Skin’ is a polemic piece provoking debate on the future of wearables – a place where they are not overt, not auxiliary and perhaps not apparent. Indeed, a future where wearables are under the skin or one with our apparel. And, as underwear closets the skin and is the most intimate and cloaked apparel item we wear, this work unashamedly teases dialogue to explore how wearables can transcend from the overt to the unseen. Context Wearable Technology, also referred to as wearable computing or ‘wearables’, is an embryonic field that has the potential to unsettle conventional notions as to how technology can interact, enhance and augment the human body. Wearable technology is the next-generation for ubiquitous consumer electronics and ‘Wearables’ are, in essence, miniature electronic devices that are worn by a person, under clothing, embedded within clothing/textiles, on top of clothing, or as stand-alone accessories/devices. This wearables market is predicted to grow somewhere between $30-$50 billion in the next 5 years (Credit Suisse, 2013). The global ‘wearables’ market, which is emergent in phase, has forecasted predictions for vast consumer revenue with the potential to become a significant cross-disciplinary disruptive space for designers and entrepreneurs. For Fashion, the field of wearables is arguably at the intersection of the second and third generation for design innovation: the first phase being purely decorative with aspects such as LED lighting; the second phase consisting of an array of wearable devices, such as smart watches, to communicate areas such as health and fitness, the third phase involving smart electronics that are woven into the textile to perform a vast range of functions such as body cooling, fabric colour change or garment silhouette change; and the fourth phase where wearable devices are surgically implanted under the skin to augment, transform and enhance the human body. Whilst it is acknowledged the wearable phases are neither clear-cut nor discreet in progression and design innovation can still be achieved with first generation decorative approaches, the later generation of technology that is less overt and at times ‘under the skin’ provides a uniquely rich point for design innovation where the body and technology intersect as one. With this context in mind, the wearable provocation piece ‘Under the Skin’ provides a unique opportunity for the audience to question and challenge conventional notions that wearables need to be a: manifest in nature, b: worn on or next to the body, and c: purely functional. The piece ‘Under the Skin’ is informed by advances in the market place for wearable innovation, such as: the Australian based wearable design firm Catapult with their discreet textile biometric sports tracking innovation, French based Spinali Design with their UV app based textile senor to provide sunburn alerts, as well as opportunities for design technology innovation through UNICEF’s ‘Wearables for Good’ design challenge to improve the quality of life in disadvantaged communities. Exhibition As part of Artisan’s Wearnext exhibition, the work was on public display from 25 July to 7 November 2015 and received the following media coverage: WEARNEXT ONLINE LISTINGS AND MEDIA COVERAGE: http://indulgemagazine.net/wear-next/ http://www.weekendnotes.com/wear-next-exhibition-gallery-artisan/ http://concreteplayground.com/brisbane/event/wear-next_/ http://www.nationalcraftinitiative.com.au/news_and_events/event/48/wear-next http://bneart.com/whats-on/wear-next_/ http://creativelysould.tumblr.com/post/124899079611/creative-weekend-art-edition http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/smartly-dressed-the-future-of-wearable-technology/6744374 http://couriermail.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx RADIO COVERAGE http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/wear-next-exhibition-whats-next-for-wearable-technology/6745986 TELEVISION COVERAGE http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/wear-next-exhibition-whats-next-for-wearable-technology/6745986 https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/29439742/how-you-could-soon-be-wearing-smart-clothes/#page1

The Apparel Industry and Codes of Conduct: A Solution to the International Child Labor Problem?

This report is the third volume in ILAB’s international child labor series. It focuses on the use of child labor in the production of apparel for the U.S. market, and reviews the extent to which U.S. apparel importers have established and are implementing codes of conduct or other business guidelines prohibiting the use of child labor in the production of the clothing they sell. The report was mandated by the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996, P.L. 104-134.

Design thinking using a collaborative model for skin cancer prevention

Physical activity is well recognised as a means to reduce cancer risk; however, outdoor activity can increase sun exposure and consequential skin cancer risk. It is proposed, one of the key potential solutions to promote active lifestyles whilst enhancing protection against skin cancer is design resolution for active apparel that considers Australia’s sub-tropical climate whilst maintaining comfort, aesthetic appeal and performance. Using a design thinking approach, facilitated through collaboration between an NGO and a university, student designers were tasked with developing apparel prototypes to explore this challenge. Through practical ideation of problems, potential design solutions were developed within a modest NGO budget and adherence to specific brand guidelines. This project is novel as it demonstrates a low cost yet effective way of collaboratively creating a product to meet multiple needs, rather than reactively assessing already manufactured sun protection products for endorsement. It is a nimble and unique stepping stone in integrating sun safety considerations into clothing that is appealing to the population and creating cross-industry understandings of how design can better contribute to human health and wellbeing. Outcomes to be shared include empirical insights for updating sun safe clothing guidelines, issues around the aesthetic nature of sun safe apparel, and the role of design education for sun safety.

Semanttisen webin ontologisen tekstiilikäsitteistön kehittäminen ja liittäminen museoiden luettelointitietoihin

DEVELOPING A TEXTILE ONTOLOGY FOR THE SEMANTIC WEB AND CONNECTING IT TO MUSEUM CATALOGING DATA The goal of the Semantic Web is to share concept-based information in a versatile way on the Internet. This is achievable using formal data structures called ontologies. The goal of this re-search is to increase the usability of museum cataloging data in information retrieval. The work is interdisciplinary, involving craft science, terminology science, computer science, and museology. In the first part of the dissertation an ontology of concepts of textiles, garments, and accessories is developed for museum cataloging work. The ontology work was done with the help of thesauri, vocabularies, research reports, and standards. The basis of the ontology development was the Museoalan asiasanasto MASA, a thesaurus for museum cataloging work which has been enriched by other vocabularies. Concepts and terms concerning the research object, as well as the material names of textiles, costumes, and accessories, were focused on. The research method was terminological concept analysis complemented by an ontological view of the Semantic Web. The concept structure was based on the hierarchical generic relation. Attention was also paid to other relations between terms and concepts, and between concepts themselves. Altogether 977 concept classes were created. Issues including how to choose and name concepts for the ontology hierarchy and how deep and broad the hierarchy could be are discussed from the viewpoint of the ontology developer and museum cataloger. The second part of the dissertation analyzes why some of the cataloged terms did not match with the developed textile ontology. This problem is significant because it prevents automatic ontological content integration of the cataloged data on the Semantic Web. The research datasets, i.e. the cataloged museum data on textile collections, came from three museums: Espoo City Museum, Lahti City Museum and The National Museum of Finland. The data included 1803 textile, costume, and accessory objects. Unmatched object and textile material names were analyzed. In the case of the object names six categories (475 cases), and of the material names eight categories (423 cases), were found where automatic annotation was not possible. The most common explanation was that the cataloged field was filled with a long sentence comprised of many terms. Sometimes in the compound term, the object name and material, or the name and the way of usage, were combined. As well, numeric values in the material name cataloging field prevented annotation and so did the absence of a corresponding concept in the ontology. Ready-made drop-down lists of materials used in one cataloging system facilitated the annotation. In the case of naming objects and materials, one should use terms in basic form without attributes. The developed textile ontology has been applied in two cultural portals, MuseumFinland and Culturesampo, where one can search for and browse information based on cataloged data using integrated ontologies in an interoperable way. The textile ontology is also part of the national FinnONTO ontology infrastructure. Keywords: annotation, concept, concept analysis, cataloging, museum collection, ontology, Semantic Web, textile collection, textile material

Verkkokurssilla : Opiskelijoiden kokemuksia toiminnasta yhteisöllisessä oppimisprosessissa Fle2-ympäristössä ja kokemusten näkyminen toimintaan osallistumisessa

The study examines one case of students' experiences from the activity in a collaborative learning process in a networked learning environment, and explores whether or not the experiences explain the participation or lack of participation in the activities. As a research task the students' experiences in the database of the networked learning environment, participating in its construction, and the ways of working needed to build the database, were examined. To contrast the students' experiences, their actual participation in the building of the database was clarified. Based on actual participation, groups more active and more passive than average were separated, and their experiences were compared to each other. The research material was collected from the course Cognitive and Creative Processes, which was offered to studentsof the Department of Textile Teacher Education in University of Helsinki, and students of the Departments of Teacher Education Units giving textile education in Turku, Rauma and Savonlinna in the beginning of 2001. In this course, creativity was examined from a psychological and sosiocultural context with the aim of realizing a collaborative progressive inquiry process. The course was held in a network-based Future Learning Environment (Fle 2) except for the starting lecture and training the use of the learning environment. This study analyzed the learning diaries that the students had sent to the tutor once a week for four weeks, and the final thoughts written into the database of the learning environment. Content analysis was applied as the research method. The case was enriched from another point of view by examining the messages the students had written into the learning environment with the social network analysis. The theoretical base of the study looks at the research of computer-supported collaborative learning, the conceptions of learning as a process of participation and knowledge building, and the possibilities and limitations of network-based learning environments. The research results show, that both using the network-based learning environment and collaborative ways of studying were new to the students. The students were positively surprised by the feedback and support provided by the community. On the other hand, they also experienced problems with facelessness and managing the information in the learning environment. The active students seemed to be more ready for a progressive inquiry process. It can be seen from their attitudes and actions that they have strived to participate actively and invested into the process both from their own and the community's point of view. The more passive students reported their actions to get credits and they had a harder time of perceiving the thoughts presented in the net as common progression. When arranging similar courses in the future, attention should be paid to how to get the students to act in ways necessary for knowledge building, and different from more traditional ways of studying. The difficulties of students used to traditional studying methods to adapt to collaborative knowledge building were evident on the course Cognitive and Creative Processes. Keywords: computer supported collaborative learning, knowledge building, progressive Inquiry, participation

Yhteinen käsityö peruskoulun 7. luokalla : Opettajien kokemuksia yhteisen käsityön opetuksesta ja organisoinnista

Finnish education politics presume that basic education should be equal to all students. While organising craft education equality can be understood as similarity or as possibility to choose. The possibility to be able to choose whether textile or technical craft despite of one´s gender has been the aim of laws and curriculums already over 30 years. In practice it´s almost impossible to students to ignore feminine and masculine roles that go deep into our culture. Choosing craft has been divided by gender, which is the reason why possibility to choose has not been good enough to educationalists of equality. The latest guidelines for the National core curriculum for bacis education were issued in 2004. According to curriculum craft education consists parts of both technical and textile craft. All students should take part in both sectors of crafts. Furthermore, one can be given a possibility to consentrate his studies in whether textile or technical craft. The curriculum does not set the rules how the education should be organised, which means that it can be organised in many ways depending on city, school or teacher. Teachers and other specialists have contradictory feelings towards shared craft education, because traditional way to see craft in Finland is to separate textile craft from technical craft. Both crafts have some common features that are introduced in curriculum. Besides there is many equal things in craft theories that bind textile and technical craft to each other. The main purpose of this research was to find out, how shared craft education has been organised at the 7.th grade in Finnish comprehensive school, and which things affect in the settlements. Second goal was to describe and compare teachers´ experiences in teaching shared craft education. Third aim of this study was how shared craft has changed craft education. I collected the research material in May 2006 by interviewing both textile and technical craft teachers who teach shared craft. The material consists of fourteen theme interviews. In the analysis of the material I used theoretic bounded document analysis. According to the research there are three different ways to organise shared craft education: 50 50-arrangement, exchanging period and project week. In the schools that carried out 50 50-arrangement teaching was realised mainly in heterogenous groups. Principals had usual a lot of authorization on how to arrange craft education, which means that their views on equality, laws and curriculum affected in the settlemets more than teachers´ opinions. Teachers´ attitudes to shared craft were mainly positive. The changing of craft education can be divided in two parts: the aims and the containings of the curriculum have changed, as well as the meaning of the craft as core subject. Teachers have been forced to decrease the containings of both textile and technical crafts. Despite of eliminations both crafts still have comprehensive containings. Teachers decided what to teach by these argumets: Students should learn some basic things or produce a certain product. Usually teachers had also a lot of experience and special intrests in crafts. According to this research there is four significant meanings for shared craft education: 1) developing readiness for doing things, 2) developing skills of thinking, 3) delight of doing things and 4) teaching attitude.

Käsityön sukupuolirajat ja rajojen rikkojat

Gender-specific division of crafts is significant in Finnish culture. The aim of craft education in comprehensive schools has been to unify education for both girls and boys during the thirty years of modern comprehensive education, but in reality crafts has diverged into two different subjects for girls and boys. Craft education has taught different things: girls have been taught things that are feminine and included in private life, while the boys’ education has been mostly directed at public and working life. At the same time girls and boys have been educated and socialized towards a certain womanhood and manhood. Craft as a hobby is also very gender divided but there are some clues that tell of the changing positions on the border areas. The starting point of this study has been the assumption that gender structures within crafts can be transformed. But it is important to know the background that creates and maintains these constructions and the expedients for dismantling the structures. The main purpose of this study is to find out how the gender-specific crafts are changing and how they are still maintained. My study analyses why men and woman have chosen untypical hobbies and through that I shall discuss how gendered structures can be dismantled. In the autumn of 2008 I interviewed borderline breakers within crafts: men who had an interest in textile crafts and women who had an interest in technical work. Informants of this study were 20-31 years old and they studied behavioural sciences. The data was collected in 12 theme interviews and document analysis was used to study the results. The dismantling of the gender divide in crafts is slow, but new borders are drawn all the time. The informants have started textile and technical handicrafts soon after comprehensive school or during their studies at university. A main motivation for the new hobby has been the possibility to study for a teacher’s degree with technology or textile studies as a main or a secondary subject. Gender-specific division of crafts is constructed early in childhood as different skills are taught to girls and boys. School teaches gender specific skills and the different skills of girls and boys have not been taken into account. Instead, it has been assumed through comprehensive school that both girls and boys share certain basic skills, and attention has not been paid to the differences between genders. At university the same assumption has still thrived. Skill levels between men and women are substantial and that may have hindered a move by women to technical studies and by men to textile studies. Hence an assumption of naturally gendered crafts has been developed.

Tekstiilityötä ja matematiikkaa yhdistävän oppimateriaalin käyttökelpoisuus perusopetuksen yläluokilla

In this study the researcher wanted to show the observed connection of mathematics and textile work. To carry this out the researcher designed a textbook by herself for the upper secondary school in Tietoteollisuuden Naiset TiNA project at Helsinki University of Technology (URL:http://tina.tkk.fi/). The assignments were designed as additional teaching material to enhance and reinforce female students confidence in mathematics and in the management of their textile work. The research strategy applied action research, out of which two cycles two have been carried out. The first cycle consists of establishing the textbook and in the second cycle its usability is investigated. The third cycle is not included in this report. In the second cycle of the action research the data was collected from 15 teachers, five textile teachers, four mathematics teachers and six teachers of both subjects. They all got familiar with the textbook assignments and answered a questionnaire on the basis of their own teaching experience. The questionnaire was established by applying the theories of usability and teaching material assessment study. The data consisted of qualitative and quantitative information, which was analysed by content analysis with computer assisted table program to either qualitative or statistical description. According to the research results, the textbook assignments seamed to be applied better to mathematics lessons than textile work. The assignments pointed out, however, the clear interconnectedness of textile work and mathematics. Most of the assignments could be applied as such or as applications in the upper secondary school textile work and mathematics lessons. The textbook assignments were also applicable in different stages of the teaching process, e.g. as introduction, repetition or to support individual work or as group projects. In principle the textbook assignments were in well placed and designed in the correct level of difficulty. Negative findings concerned some too difficult assignments, lack of pupil motivation and unfamiliar form of task for the teacher. More clarity for some assignments was wished for and there was especially expressed a need for easy tasks and assignments in geometry. Assignments leading to the independent thinking of the pupil were additionally asked for. Two important improvements concerning the textbook attainability would be to get the assignments in html format over the Internet and to add a handicraft reference book.

Tekstiilikulttuurisen lukutaidon edistäminen museoissa

Purpose: The study focuses on the question, how to advance textile cultural interpretation skills in museum. The theme was actual, because there have been many workshops in different kind of museums, which have raised textile into important role of their museum pedagogy. The knowing of nature of textile materials was highlighted in former studies as the most crucial thing in craft. That is reason for choosing textile to study. The theoretical approach of study was particularized to the meanings which have been given to craft during recent ten years. Furthermore the composition of textile culture and transmitting textile cultural heritage were examined throug the theory. The finnish museum as a place for learning, as well as the contens of museum pedagogy, were analyzed. The fundamental approach to study was cultural research and art education. Methods: The methodological approach was theory-based theme interview. Before interviewing informants the charting was made by using literature, interviews and observation, to find out the most important themes within subject. Specialists were interviewed personally and results were sent to them by e-mail for further comments. There were 8 informants and they were chosen with intentional sampling from different kind of museums, from teacher education and among craft teachers. Research material was analyzed with content analysis by using deductive reasoning. Conclusions: The study revealed that there are three strategies in advancing textile cultural interpretation. The most remarkable strategies are 1) making acquaintance of materials and working with them, 2) getting exiting events with posibilities to use one s whole body and 3) getting textile cultural knowledge by using for example discovery - style learning. In practice those strategies were mixed, which also was considered advisable. Another conclusion the study revealed, is the desirable, acceptable attitude not only to the craft with creative, free beginning but also to the craft made like its model in museum. Learning from model can be felt as a very moving experience, like a journey in time. The side result of the study was the importance of collaboration of museums and schools in advancing textile cultural interpretation skills as well as significance of using internet in collaboration and relations.

Feasibility of Cotton Production in the Burdekin

This project has shown the potential for cotton production in the region developed a range of tactics that can be deployed to minimise the impact of cloudy wet weather. These agronomic tactics have been published in a new book - NORpak - Cotton production and management guidelines for the Burdekin and NQ coastal dry tropics. This publication has been specifically targeted for local sugarcane producers who may stand to benefit by including cotton rotation crops into their current largely mono-culture production systems. This publication is available at http://www.cottoncrc.org.au/industry/Publications/Northern_Production.

Writing fashion’s future: the gods and monsters of the Anthropocene

This paper identifies two narratives of the Anthropocene and explores how they play out in the realm of future-looking fashion production. Each narrative draws on mythic comparisons to gods and monsters to express humanity’s dilemmas, albeit from different perspectives. The first is a Malthusian narrative of collapse and scarcity, brought about by the monstrous, unstoppable nature of human technology set loose on the natural world. In this vein, philosopher Slavoj Zizek (2010) draws on Biblical analogies, likening ecological crisis to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. To find a myth to suit the present times, novelist A.S Byatt (2011) proposes Ragnarök, a Norse myth in which the gods destroy themselves. In contrast, the second narrative is one of technological cornucopia. Stewart Brand (2009, 27), self-described ‘eco-pragmatist’ writes, ‘we are as gods and we have to get good at it’. In his view, human technologies offer the only hope to mitigating the problems caused by human technology – Brand suggests harnessing nuclear power, bioengineering of crops and the geoengineering of the planet as the way forward. Similarly, the French philosopher Bruno Latour (2012, 274), exhorts us to “love our monsters”, likening our technologies to Doctor Frankenstein’s monster – set loose upon the world, and then reviled by his creator. For both Brand and Latour, human technology may be monstrous, but it must also be turned toward solutions. Within this schema, hopeful visions of the future of fashion are similarly divided. In the techno-enabled cornucopian future, the fashion industry embraces wearable technology, speed and efficiency. Technologies such as waterless dyeing, 3D printing and self-cleaning garments shift fashion into a new era of cleaner production. Meanwhile, in the narrative of scarcity, a more cautious approach sees fashion return to a new localism and valuing of the hand-made in a time of shrinking resources. Through discussion of future-looking fashion designers, brands, and activists, this paper explores how they may align along a spectrum to one of these two grand narratives of the future. The paper will discuss how these narratives may unconsciously shape the perspective of both producers and users around the fashion of today and the fashion of tomorrow. This paper poses the question: what stories can be written for fashion’s future in the Anthropocene, and are they fated, or can they be re-written?

Selling surf, sun and fitness: Queensland's mass-market fashion

How two powerhouse brands, Billabong and Lorna Jane, took the quintessential Queensland lifestyle to the world stage.