We arrived at Campus-Party in Valencia, Spain to show Hug Shirts in a performance/demo in the afternoon but we soon learned that we were also scheduled for a big press conference starting almost immediately! The mannequins were already in place and quickly we put the Hug Shirts on them. With only a few minutes to go until the press arrived, we realized that mannequins wearing only shirts look a little… well, naked! We needed to find a way to clothe them and of course no one had extra clothes on hand.

However, in a moment of inspiration Francesca asks our hosts, “Do you have some extra CampusParty t-shirts?” Naively I wondered, “What are we going to do with shirts?” But, Francesca had a plan :) Literally within seconds she transformed the cool black t-shirts into really stylish looking skirts for the mannequins. During the press conference they complimented us on the design of the Hug Shirts and also on the skirts that went with them!

So, since really cool and affordable t-shirts are popping up every where these days (and really cool, affordable skirts are not), we thought you’d also be interested in how to make this kind of instant skirt! So, you ask, how can I make a snazzy skirt from a t-shirt? (in less than a minute?) Here’s how:

1. Get a large shirt you think will make a good skirt and that you are willing to sacrifice to the gods of fashion. Suggestion: Steal your boyfriend’s death-metal shirt! You’ll be doing him a favor.
2. With a fine pair of scissors or a seam ripper, cut the collar in 2 places where the shoulders are and open the top shoulder seam a little. This opening is the waist, so don’t open it too much at first. Try it on and see how much you need to open it.
3. Turn the sleeves inside to make pockets! If you want to get really fancy and make pockets that you can actually put something in you can turn the whole skirt inside-out so that you can stitch across the sleeve opening to close the pocket.
4. Finally, if you want extra refinement you can add a snap or tie-string at the waist to keep that skirt clinging to the hips. And voilá: A new skirt with a fancy 40s style tulip shape!

(click image for slightly larger version)

Thanks to all the folks at CampusParty for hosting a very unique and enjoyable event!

Now you can see all that we do at CuteCircuit at the new pictures page! We update the page very often with albums containing images from workshops, travels, and exhibits.

The most recent albums include the graduation show from Interaction Ivrea and the Future Fashion Show in Pisa.
Please contact us if you need hi-res images, we will be glad to send them to you!

We found these two lovely OwlParrots while wandering in the lane off Cheshire Street (London). Thought they were extremely cool.

Learned recently that this nice image was a solution to the tagging graffiti that was going on (you can see it under the birds). The building owner was getting sick of painting over the ‘tags’ and asked this artist to do something nice there. Now, the tagging has stopped! Cool. Respect.

This is the book to read! John Thackara’s In the Bubble Designing in a Complex World. Published by the MIT Press .

On the south side of Istanbul it is possible to play this interesting game. You pay a small Lira amount for the opportunity to fire a pellet gun at a string of balloons set up in front of the water. The swimmers in the background? Don’t worry, they don’t seem to mind the experience, better… they really think it’s fun to try avoid being hit, so both sides are happy to play!

Friends who know the history of the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea will find this item of interest. In an antique market in the ancient center of Ankara, Turkey, Francesca discovered this early text editor. A very old and dusty, but still functional… Olivetti typewriter!

This is the best design we’ve ever experienced! The Dolmus, a small bus running in Ankara and other cities in Turkey. The driver goes wildly, the seats are not enough for everybody, when hitting bumps or holes in the street you risk to be ejected outside, but the human cooperation, trust and feeling you have is uncomparable! Everything happens really fast: you enter and seat, when do you pay the bus ticket? Just send your money and the name of the stop you want to reach, letting it pass from hand to hand, to the driver, after a couple of speedy turns and bumps, the change will come back the same way and everybody knows that your raid is paid! This is magnificient! Will you ever try to do it in New York or Rome? No, but here you really see how humans like to help each other, how is more fun to send money back and forth trying not to spill them outside the window, and you see that playful interactions really work. The only problem? We probably mispelled a couple of times other people destination…