The project will begin with a study of current textile craft practices in Sweden, especially in Boras and the crafts of the Sami community in Kiruna. The project aims to create new spaces and opportunities for these communities to be more actively part of the Smart Textiles dialogues, research and development. This includes workshops where smart materials can be introduced and explored by highly skilled craft groups, as well as to introduce them to current works in the Smart textiles fields. These workshops will also be platforms for research in democratising technology – where one can learn how smart materials is used by these groups; to identify new material language and possibilities, as well as to study what/how new materials (hardware and software) need to be developed to better suit textile craftspersons.

The research also looks to explore and understand the kinds of artefacts that are evolving at the intersection of craft and gadgets. I have introduced the term NeoCraft to identify this intersection and will study what the definition of such an artefact might be, as well as how we can learn to create such products where the craft knowledge in textiles seamlessly combine with digital technology to reflect contemporary cultural flux.