Joanna Berzowska founder, research director Joanna Berzowska is Associate Professor of Design and Computation Arts at Concordia University and a member of the Hexagram Research Institute in Montreal. She is the founder and research director of XS Labs, where her team develops innovative methods and applications in electronic textiles and responsive garments. Her art and design work has been shown in the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum in NYC, the V&A in London, the Millenium Museum in Beijing, various SIGGRAPH Art Galleries, ISEA, the Art Directors Club in NYC, the Australian Museum in Sydney, NTT ICC in Tokyo, and Ars Electronica Center in Linz among others. She lectures internationally about the field of electronic textiles and related social, cultural, aesthetic, and political issues. She was selected for the Maclean's 2006 Honour Roll as one of "thirty nine Canadians who make the world a better place to live in". She received her Masters of Science from MIT and worked with the Tangible Media Group of the MIT Media Lab before co-founding International Fashion Machines in Boston. Marc Beaulieu research assistant Marc Beaulieu is a recent Concordia University graduate with a BFA Specialization in Computation Arts and holds a DEP in Cabinetmaking. For the past few years he has been working in the area of web and graphic design largely for use in publicity. Recently his interests have begun to focus on altering, enhancing and recontextualising objects and ideas through electronics, lighting and video to create standalone or responsive experiences. Marc is currently indulging in his passions as a Research Assistant at XS Labs. Anne-Marie Laflamme research assistant Anne-Marie is a graduate student at Concordia University. While she was studying fashion design at UQAM, she completed an internship at the Chinese fashion designer Zhang Da’s studio. One of her projects was presented at MOMU, in Belgium. Anne-Marie is interested in sciences, new technologies and contemporary philosophy. For her, inspiration emerges when she tries unexplored concepts and considers intangible ideas before incorporating them back into her work. Vincent Leclerc research partner and consultant Vincent Leclerc mixes inductors and bread dough in the hope one day to create a crusty 802.11 baguette. He is the creative director of ESKI, a recently formed R&D studio that specializes in physical computing and interaction design. Concurrently, he collaborates with XS Labs to develop innovative methods and applications in electronic textiles and responsive garments. He also teaches the fine art of physical computing to savvy undergrads in the Design & Computation Arts department at Concordia University. Vincent recently obtained his Masters of Science from MIT after having graduated from Concordia in computer science and computation arts. He currently lives in Montreal, Canada. Damir Cheremisov research assistant, graphic designer www.♥.ca Gaïa Orain research assistant Gaïa Orain studies design at Concordia University in Montreal. Her primary interest is textile design and enjoys the challenge of rendering a planar surface into a 3-d creation whether garment, object or furniture. True to her name, she is vested in sustainable design practices. She has a particular fondness for William Morris and a curious fascination with online subcultures. Gaïa is continuously learning and refining her skills as a research assistant. She aspires to practice and teach design after her graduate studies in the same field. Marguerite Bromley research assistant Marguerite Bromley is a textile artist based in Montreal, working on large scale sculptural fibre art often with a hint of interactive electronics. She is researcher and creator at XS Labs as well as an art educator. Marguerite holds a BFA in Art Education from Concordia University and has taught workshop in Montreal, SIGGRAPH in Boston and the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India. She has exhibited throughout Canada and the US and cast a bit of textiles art into everyday life. past research assistants, interns, collaborators, and consultants: Hanna Soder, Madeleine Beaulieu, Marc De Pape, Christin Wahlstrom, Shirley Kwok-Choon, Shermine Sawalha, Vahid Giahi, Daniel Wessolek, Hugues Bruyere, Hugo Desmeules, Chris McPhee, Sarah Ann Gillis, Ali Gorji, Omar Faleh, Claire Elissalde, Georges Côté, Karie Little, Agata Michalska, Francis Reed, Jessica Butler, Natacha Roussel, Vanessa Harden, Jacques Teisen Marcelo Coelho research partner Marcelo Coelho is a Graduate Student at the Ambient Intelligence Group at the MIT Media Lab, in Cambridge, USA. His work explores how technology can refashion communication by incorporating computation into common substrates, materials and structures. Some of his projects include experimental websites, reactive garments, flying robots and edible circuits. Marcelo holds a BFA in Computation Arts, with highest honors, from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Before joining the MIT Media Lab, Marcelo worked as a researcher at XS Labs developing wearable technology and interactive textiles. His art and computational explorations have been published and showed at the Societe des arts technologiques (2003), VAV Gallery (2004), Digifest (2004), Collision Collective (2007), SIGGRAPH (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007), ISWC (2005), Ubicomp (2007) and CHI (2006), among others. Christine Keller collaborator Christine is the Head of Textiles at Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin, New Zealand. She completed an MFA at Concordia University in April 2004 and worked for XS Labs as a research assistant for two years. She previously worked with Louise Lémieux Bérubé at the Center for Contemporary Textiles in Montreal, where she got especially interested in computer aided hand weaving. Her work is published in Techno Textiles by Mary O'Mahony and Sarah E. Braddock. Her award winning woven and felted design work for Handweberei im Rosenwinkel has been shown worldwide. Christine has taught textile design, weaving and fiber arts in Germany, Mongolia and Canada. Di Mainstone collaborator Trained in fashion design at Central Saint Martins College of Art, London, Di Mainstone's eccentric style caught the attention of press during a design partnership with cult UK labels Soochi and Choosi. Her fashion soon became a favourite of celebrities, selling internationally at boutiques such as Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Urbanoutfitters. Further design collaborations included illustrations at Jimmy Choo, accessories and homewares at UrbanOutfitters and prints at Topshop. Following a series of experimental fashion collaborations with engineers, dancers and architects, Di joined Sara Diamond at the Banff New Media Institute to create a series of electronic fashion garments, Company Keeper and Emotional Ties. Shortly afterwards Di joined forces with Joey Berzowska, founder of XS Labs, Montreal. Together they produced Skorpions. Di MainstoneÃs interactive couture has been exhibited widely: Los Angeles, Pisa, Montreal, Toronto, Banff and Cardiff. Her portfolio has also led to workshops and lecturing with textile futures students at Central Saint Martins, College of Art, London and design students at Concordia University, Montreal. Catou Cournoyer research assistant Catherine Cournoyer studied Studio Arts at Concordia and is now enrolled in the Design and Computation art program. Her main focuses are silkscreen, textile and illustration. She also started her own clothing accessories company called Noujica a year ago. Catherine is also strongly interesting in electronic textile and environmental issues in design. Catherine Marchand research assistant Catherine is an undergraduate student in the department of Design and Computation Arts at Concordia University. In contrast with her traditional studio arts background, her current focus is on electronics and physical computing, with a strong interest in electronic textiles. Catherine considers she's finally found her home within this intriguing field where art meets technology, and hopes to pursue her studies in a related discipline following her BFA at Concordia. Emily Paris research assistant Emily Paris is currently enrolled in Design Art at Concordia University, with a Fine Arts DEC from Heritage College, Quebec. Her current work focuses on handmade graphics, issues of sustainability, and reviving traditional styles and ideologies such as the Arts and Crafts movement. Formerly handy with furniture design and construction, Emily thrives on merging electronic textiles with highly sculptural forms. Miliana Sesartic research assistant Miliana Sesartic is an aspiring illustrator and web/graphic designer with a background in Fine Arts. She is currently enrolled in the Design Art program at Concordia University. Lyndl Hall research affiliate Lyndl Hall is an artist living and working in Montreal, Canada. She holds a BFA in Studio Arts from Concordia University, with concentration in textiles and drawing. Lyndlís artwork explores the drawn line and the relationships between static images that create narrative or mood. Her work deals with themes of absurdity, nostalgia and fairy tale through mediums as varied as embroidery, ink, papermaking, pencil, pigment-based paint, print, and watercolors. In addition to exhibiting her work internationally, Lyndl has been involved in the development of electronic paper in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab and Hexagram/XS Labs, where she is currently a Research Affiliate. She is also part of a team of Scientists from the University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Pretoria, which have been researching the composition and preservation of pigments in the rock art of the San bushmen in South Africa. David Gauthier collaborator David Gauthier navigates the subtle channel between Arts and Sciences. With a BA in Mathematics in his suitcase, Gauthier set off for the Banff New Media Institute in 2004, where he created innovative technologies in the field of wearable and nomad computing. He continued his quest at the Hexagram Institute where he collaborated with diverse research groups such as MDCN, XSLabs, Topological Media Lab, IDMIL McGill, Interstices and BASH. Now based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gauthier is pursuing a Master of Science degree at the MIT Media Lab within the Viral Communication Group. His scientific research and artistic experiments have been published and exhibited at venues such as Siggraph, ACE, CHI, ICMC and DiGRA. Fascinated by mixing pattern cutting technics with Kalman filters, Gauthier aims to one day create an intelligent tuxedo. Frankie Raymond research assistant Francis Raymond is a multidisciplinary artist working mainly with electronics, video and sound elements. He is completing his B.F.A. at Concordia University, majoring in IMCA with a minor in Computation Arts. Being a researcher at XS Labs gave him the opportunity to open up to the world of textiles, and he will pursue some work in that direction in the future. Valérie Boxer research assistant Valérie Boxer is a multidisciplinary artist currently finishing her BFA in Intermedia and Cyber Arts at Concordia University in Montreal. With a background involving fibers, performance art, video and interactive medias, she strives to translate the uncanniness of daily routines through her art. During the past years Valérie has worked in the field of art education as a gallery guide and has touched upon the world of wearable technology as a research assistant at XS Labs. She hopes to continue investigating the possibilities of cross pollination between art and other disciplines and to disseminate hybrid propositions for living through her creations. Paul Yarin consultant and collaborator Paul Yarin, founder of Blackdust Design, is a consultant in the fields of interactive media, product design, and technology research. Paulís experience spans both research and industrial projects, many of which have been developed into real products. His focus is the rapid application of new technologies to challenging design problems. While a student in the MIT Media Labís Tangible Media Group, Paul developed embedded displays for visualizing patterns of use of physical objects and spaces. This effort made use of networked microcontrollers, radio-frequency identification, and rapid prototyping technologies. The research system, TouchCounters, was presented at the 1999 and 2000 CHI conferences. Before attending MIT, Paul earned a Master's in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, which he attended through a departmental fellowship grant. Paul helped create the school's first program in Engineering Design Consulting. He also developed an innovative pedestrian impact-protection system for Ford and home computer design prototypes for Intel Corp. Arek Banasik collaborator Arek is an independent artist and designer based in New York and Montreal. His work and research involves computational graphics, interaction design, reactive fashion, responsive furniture, music and sound. In 1994, he co-founded a multi-disciplinary design studio in New York called io/360 where he helped launch the field of computation design. Before it was acquired by Rare Medium in 1998, his work was featured in publications such as ID Magazine, Blueprint, Nikkei Design, Print Magazine, Forum, Axis, Aesthetics of Surveillance and Re:Buzz. Books chapters include Designing Multimedia, Graphis New Media 1, Applied Typography 7, Cool Type, Designing Interactive Websites, Website Graphics and HotSites. Awards include Top 40 ID Magazine, Casie Awards, ID Annual Design Review, Channel 7 Net Tech Award, Net Tech 21, Cooper Hewitt Biannual, Annual 100 Show American Center for Design. He is a graduate of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences in New York.