Opera at SXSW 2008

Lewis began by noting that her grandmother worked with crafts until she was 99, crocheting, painting, and cornshucking (weaving corn shucks). She was self-taught and used her skills to help support her family. According to Lewis, her grandmother imparted to her a great attitude about sharing and learning. Eng pointed out how her grandmother—who was also a computer scientist—taught her how to sew, and sewed all of Eng's grandfather and uncle's clothing.

Drieu then asked the panelists to explain how they create projects.

Pakhchyan began, stating that technology is just another palate for crafting. For her, projects begin when she gives them a name, and she claimed to create stories and narratives about projects, an activity which helped her create a whole world for each item she worked on. Andraos claimed that starting a new project was like learning to read: she needed to translate information for the DIY crowd as well as understand the new language needed to create the project. For her, crafting is like remixing—combining old and new.

The panelists felt that the fashion industry was going to increasingly embrace technology in the future. Eng noted that the industry is struggling to create luxury because all new fashion is immediately knocked off by stores like H&M. According to her, adding technology to clothing creates a new kind of luxury which is harder to imitate. High end designers are opening R&D labs to differentiate themselves, and they are funding labs to make technology more wearable (although there are still significant barriers to wearability in that most tech clothing isn't washable and tends to break easily). Lewis noted that clothing traditional expresses a personality or protects the body. For her, adding technology makes this communication multi-layered and more complex. Additionally, women are helping make wearable technology more aesthetically pleasing, and technologists and designers are beginning to work together to bridge the different languages of each discipline—in many ways, an LED is just a bead.

Responding to a question from Drieu, the panelists agreed that collaboration is important for high-tech crafting. Andraos noted that crafting is emerging in the environment of open-source and shared knowledge. For that reason, teaching is important because it is about participating in that discussion and giving something back to the community.

When asked what they would say to those interested in beginning their own craft projects (in addition to websites like Craft and Instructables) Lewis suggested that newbies buy a cheap toy—something that records sound, vibrates, etc.—tear it apart, and put it into a piece of clothing they already have, while Andraos encouraged people to start with a project they want to do, then break it down into its different components to see what different skills that will be required to complete it.

Finally, Drieu asked the panelists to speculate on the future of crafting over the next 10 years. Lewis predicted that relationships that we develop online will be developed in person with our clothing, bringing technology into the social aspects of our lives. Next, Andraos suggested that products will become a collaboration between users and people who design products, creating a dialogue between the two. Finally, Pakhchyan thought that just as people began to print their own texts with the introduction of laser printers, they will soon be able to print their own circuit boards and objects with rapid-prototyping machines.