Imagine finishing a stressful meeting and nipping off to a quiet corner of the office to stroke the walls and press the table so the serene sounds of a Japanese zen garden play…
This is what Alexandra Thompson, a Textiles Innovation and Design student, hopes will become commonplace in busy workspaces and she is developing products to make it a reality.
From fabric squares that stretch and open to reveal intricate origami-inspired designs, to a textile piece that is covered delicate grass-like fringing – Alexandra’s designs have your fingers itching to touch them.
The third-year student has developed a collection of nine interactive textile samples that invite you to touch, pull, push and stretch them.
Alexandra’s products range from the static, where you simply pick them up and enjoy them, to quirky-textured items that she pictures being used to cover walls, furniture and other office structures to encourage people to touch and move them.
What makes Alexandra’s work particularly exciting, is that she is exploring using electronics in her designs to incorporate sound.
She has created a fully functioning product using conductive fabric and thread, supplied by Nottingham-based business Kitronik, that plays relaxing music when stretched and can even change the track when stretched for a second time.
