About the Book
Increasingly popular among teens and twenty-somethings, the "geek chic" movement embraces techie culture, indie music, Japanese style, and a DIY sensibility. Kilobyte Couture celebrates the very essence of geek chic, with 25 easy-to-do jewelry and accessory projects made from electronic components.
Brittany Forks, a university senior and self-confessed geek, starts by introducing the basic "components": resistors, capacitors, and other thingamajigs found in computers and other electronic devices. She then explains the "starting applications"--basic beading and jewelry-making techniques used throughout the book. The projects are then presented by category: earware, neckware and wristware, everyware, and "geekery" for friends and family, including keychains, bookmarks, ID chains, even Wii charms to avoid mixing up your Wiimotes.
The parts are all inexpensive and easy to find at your local Radio Shack, or online through parts suppliers. The projects also use beads and basic jewelry findings, available at any craft or beading store.
Kilobyte Couture takes technogadgets never intended to be seen and puts them on center stage, "upcycling" them into surprisingly pretty jewelry and reminding us that technology can be beautiful. What better style for the group referred to as "generation tech"? It's enough to make you short circuit.
About the Author
Brittany Forks is a 2008 graduate of Mississippi State University who just landed her first graphic design job in Austin, Texas. Her online shop, Kilobyte Couture, launched on Etsy.com in 2006, selling jewelry made from electronic parts. Her interests include Japanese culture, DIY, indie music, ironic stuffed animals, knitting, and anything nerdy, geeky, and a little off-center.
