The long wait is over for the Pillow remote controller. A few month ago I was lamenting suggesting why brands/retailer do not pick up one of the design inspirations that have shown up for many years, DIY enthusiasts and designer that hacked their remote controller and give it a soft touch.

Brookstone has made the thinking-out-of-the-box step into a soft electronic future with the launch of a Remote Control Pillow stuffed with a universal 6-in-1 remote control which is able to talk to over 500 devices.

Finally you can hug your remote, you can sleep on it and best of all, it will be really very hard to miss place this remote controller.

The R/C pillow has a power-saving auto shut-off feature which puts the the remote functions into deep sleep after 60 seconds of inactivity.

The remote control pillow retails for $29.95 at Brookstone.

[via: Gizmodo]

Sylvania a online store dedicated to innovative LED and other lighting technologies for interior decoration offers a e-textile like light innovation in form of the ‘Lighted Placemat‘.

The ‘Lighted Placemat’ uses bright, white LEDs which run off an easy to replace CR2016 coin cell battery providing 20 hours of sparkling dinning atmosphere.

The sparkle is activated via a Push-button inside the ‘Lighted Placemat’. No need to worry about spills as these mats are treated with Scotchgard™ brand fabric protector for ease of spot cleaning.

Available in Black and Burgundy for the price of $24.99 you get a pair of those high tech place mats – not a bad deal.

A cute idea and nice example of ‘soft technology’ used to create atmosphere and a bit of magic in  our homes.

[via: ChipChick]

For inspiring e-textile designer and DIY enthusiasts: Feb. 22. should be marked in your calender that is – if you live in or around LA.

Syuzi Pakhchyan will unleash her creativity in Soft Circuit design during the ‘Soft Circuit Workshop‘

The first half of the workshop will give an overview of different conductive textiles and threads available commercially as well as a demo of a variety of soft switches, sensors and controls.

The second part of the workshop will start by deconstructing an electronic toy and using some of the parts to create, to make it a wearable object by using soft circuit techniques introduced earlier in the class.

Syuzi is the author of ‘Fashioning Technology: A DIY Intro to Smart Crafting’, a fabulous book around our favorite topic, inspiring and packed with practical information which can be followed easily.

Next to her book, Syuzi is also running the online community ‘fashioning technology‘ introducing works about and around ‘technology made fashionable’ providing a wealth of information for the ‘smart crafting community’.

It’s a great place to learn about happenings in the wearable electronic world and a fixed member of our news reader list.

To register for the ‘Soft Circuit Workshop’ or to find out more details about the Workshop hit this link.

Florence Bost is the creator of a wide range of highly interesting objects made of a hybrid between fabric and new technologies transforming such ‘simple’ items like pillows into an innovative, poetic artwork.

Her lovely range of City Pillows make discrete use of light elements such as LEDs or EL-wires in combination with beautiful design to enhance the visual and sensual experience of the pillows.

Florence inspiration comes from textile materials, colors and the possibilities todays technologies offer allowing her to create the effects she wants to achieve. According to Florence, the ‘invisible’ use of technology is the ‘real’ use of it, seeing the effect but not the technology itself.

It is very important for her not to fall into the gadget / geek side of the soft technology spectrum. The right choice of technology is what gives it the validity to the product.

Florence Bost, founder of Sable Chaud, has acquired a unique expertise in the integration of new technologies. With a formal industrial design education and 15 years of creative research, she has acquired a multidisciplinary vision and solid design experience that puts her work on the cutting edge of soft technology innovation.

She works with a team of experts from diverse domains (including trends, music, electronics, scenography, editorial, etc.) to better address the many facets of contemporary design.

Her projects most often start at the early stages of product design. She has her fingers on the pulse of technological progress, provides idea books, and prototyping.

The Butterfly design for example uses shape-memory materials that open and close the wings by responding to temperature creating the illusion of living creatures.

The City Pillows are available via this site but as Florence Bost’s objects are artworks you need to check directly with her about the price.

Nevertheless, if you have already a cool apartment our house, a City Pillow would be the perfect finishing touch for your interior decoration.