Building your own digital knitting machine that can produce your designs in no time? It's possible with the OpenKnit Machine software from designer and tech pioneer, Gerard Rubio. Tools and techniques to design your own things have become both cheaper and more accessible for a larger audience.
With this idea in mind, Waag is organizing a two-day OpenKnit Machine workshop within the Crisp Smart Textile Services project in collaboration with TU/Eindhoven and Gerard Rubio. What are the possibilities of co-ownership? And what is the impact of this on design? In this workshop we will discover the answers to these questions by building and managing two knitting machines with all of the project participants. And you can join!
The Workshop
Two teams will build their own OpenKnit Machine with the help of Gerard Rubio, the developer of this open-source fabrication tool. He will demonstrate how to build the machine step-by-step. Do you want to make your own scarf or beanie? You can do that, too! During the workshop there will be a fully functioning OpenKnit Machine already assembled, so everyone can experiment with the software from the beginning.
After building the machines and doing some hands-on experiments, we will discus the relationship between co-ownership and tools. How can co-ownership contribute to the democratization of design? What are the right models for such co-ownership? And how can you share a machine or tool in a practical manner? Together, we will discover all the possibilities. At the end of the workshop, each team will go home with their own automatic knitting machine. And, as a participant, you will receive a certification of co-ownership.
Participation & costs
This workshop is especially suitable for groups. For example, a collective of makers, a group of (design) students, or crafts clubs could benefit from participating in this workshop. You can chose your own co-owner beforehand and subscribe as a group. The costs are 600 euro per team of (maximum) 8 people.
You can also subscribe as an individual for this workshop. It’s a great opportunity to network and start collaboration with other artists, designers, and creative people. Subscribing as an individual? The costs are 100 euro per person.
The workshop price includes all the needed materials (but does not include lunch). Prior knowledge of the OpenKnit Machine Software is not needed.
