Cool Exhibit Design Tool: Spoonflower

The CoolTools website posted an article about an interesting new service-based web tool called Spoonflower.

Spoonflower gives individuals the power to print their own designs on fabric. The idea is that you upload a digital image to the Spoonflower web site and the company prints the design as a pattern on 100% cotton fabric.

You can see some real-life examples and read commentary on using Spoonflower via thaneeya's blog (like the side-by-side fabric and digital image comparison shown at the top of this posting) or get more nuts-and-bolts details on the Spoonflower blog.

Before you get too excited, Spoonflower is still at the invite-only beta stage, but you can get on the invite list via their website.

All in all, Spoonflower's services look like another interesting tool to add to the exhibit developer's repertoire --- I've already put my name on the Spoonflower beta invite list!

UPDATE: Spoonflower is now open for business to all. So what are you waiting for? Start designing fabric!

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Exhibit Design Inspiration: Cloud

The art and design group Troika was commissioned to create this amazing flip-dot sculpture, called "Cloud", for Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in the UK.

The surface of the five meter long sculpture is covered with 4638 flip-dots, similar to those found in traffic signs and train stations.

As you can see from the video above, Troika uses a computer to control the flip-dots to create the patterns seen on the surface of the sculpture.

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Exhibit Design Toolkit: Cable Ties

Even the most ubiquitous exhibit tools, like cable ties, are not created equal.

In 1958, Thomas & Betts invented the Ty-Rap® cable tie to solve the problem of harnessing the hundreds of wires used in manufacturing aircraft.

Check out the Thomas & Betts website to revel in amazing cable tie-osity!

The variety of cable ties that T&B offers is pretty amazing. I am especially a fan of their "High Performance" wraps with stainless steel nibs that hold the cable tie in place (forever!) without the slip-prone plastic ratcheting mechanism found in cheaper ties.

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Become An ExhibiTricks Fan On Facebook

For those faithful ExhibiTricks readers that also use Facebook, could you please follow this link and become a "fan" of ExhibiTricks?

(I'm trying out the new Blog Networks application on Facebook.)

Many Thanks!

DIY Book Repair

Dartmouth College Library's Preservation Services has created a great website that details all the ins and outs of Simple Book Repair.

There's enough detail to get you through everything from simple cleaning procedures to repairing a book's spine.

I don't know about you, but I've got a big, fat old dictionary that's falling apart that I'm going to get to work on this weekend!

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Exhibit Design Toolbox: CleanWriter

The Pilot Pen people have developed a great magnetic drawing board called CleanWriter.

Think of it as a Magna-Doodle on steroids. (It was developed under the same patent apparently.)

It comes in sizes up to 48" by 36" and was developed for industrial "clean room" environments and hospitals so it is not messy, and as a bonus, the CleanWriter is much more durable than the familiar magnetic writing boards you might buy at the toy store. It would make a perfect replacement for chalkboards or erasable marker boards.

Unfortunately, Pilot corporate headquarters in Japan is thinking of discontinuing the CleanWriter at the end of this year because the sales volume is low, so if you have a project that could use this technology, contact Pilot now!

Check out the CleanWriter webpage (with product demo video) for more information.

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Best Of ExhibiTricks: Exhibit Inspiration

While I'm away on vacation, I thought I'd offer a "Best Of ExhibiTricks" series that clusters together a batch of thematically related postings that you may have missed.

Let's finish up the week with the theme of "Exhibit Inspiration." One of my favorite questions from people I meet who find out that I design exhibits is, "where do you get your ideas?"

What follows are some postings that really resonated with me. Each of them offers some amazing technical skills in the service of beautiful and fanciful ideas.

As a bonus each of these postings also includes an embedded video to illustrate the inspiring work. Enjoy!

First up, is the Festo AirJelly, a wonderful floating mechanical beast.

Next, a mechanical beast of a more terrestrial sort built by the French artistic group Les Machines.

Arthur Ganson is one of my favorite artists. An inveterate tinkerer, wildly creative, and a terrific guy I want to work with again!

Here's a posting that gives both a high-tech and low-tech twist to the classic Etch-A-Sketch.

Last, but certainly not least, a beautiful video (with wonderful music!) of a French artisan creating a triode lamp from scratch.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's "Best Of" series. I thought it was a good idea, but did you? Are there any other topics you'd like me to dig into? Let me know in the "Comments Section" below.

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Best Of ExhibiTricks: Museum Sustainability

While I'm away on vacation, I thought I'd offer a "Best Of ExhibiTricks" series that clusters together a batch of thematically related postings that you may have missed.

This time around the "Best Of" theme is "sustainability." Opening a new museum is tough. But keeping a museum going, and growing, for years and years, is much tougher. So here are postings about the difficult task of truly sustaining a museum:

First up, a post about COSI Toledo. How did one of the true "name brands" of the science center world close their doors completely after ten years of operation?

Next up, a post about the Mark Twain House, and how the institutional reach may have exceeded its grasp after a massive building addition was completed (way over budget.)

Finally, any discussion of the topic of institutional sustainability would be incomplete without mentioning the Millennium Dome in the UK. This post offers a bit of commentary and a link to an excellent PDF treatise on the subject by Dan Howland.

Enjoy!

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Best Of ExhibiTricks: Nuts and Bolts

While I'm away on vacation, I thought I'd offer a "Best Of ExhibiTricks" series that clusters together a batch of thematically related postings that you may have missed.

This time around the "Best Of" revolves around the venerable topic of "nuts and bolts, " that is, the tools and tech that help us create better exhibits. Judging from the response the following articles received, I'd say ExhibiTricks readers really love their tape, glue, and tools!

First up is a collection of sticky links about Tape.

Then a tip of the hat to TAP Plastics for their informative set of "how to" videos on plastics and plastic fabrication.

Next a posting called "Clean Is Good" about some nifty products that help in the never-ending battle against dirt inside our museum buildings and exhibitions.

Last, but not least, a posting called "Cool Tools for Exhibit Folks" that highlights some favorite websites including "This To That" for gluing things together.

Enjoy!

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Best Of ExhibiTricks: The Interviews

While I'm away on vacation, I thought I'd offer a "Best Of ExhibiTricks" series that clusters together a batch of thematically related postings that you may have missed.

For this "Best Of " I'm highlighting three great interviews (especially since my very recent interview with Kathy McLean garnered such a big response!)

The first is an interview with Tim McNeil that focused on "green design." Tim offered some very interesting responses and lots of great links to resources for eco-friendly exhibition design.

The second is an interview with Harry White from Techniquest, in Wales, that offers some great insights from a "non-North American Perspective" about the Museum Biz.

Last, but not least, is an interview with Nina Simon, who runs the Museum 2.0 blog, and is definitely one of the most creative thinkers about the role of visitors in the creation of exhibitions.

Enjoy!

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