FASHION & TECHNOLOGY
Fashion designer, Dubliner Julia Doherty, is a WOW woman – a member of the first global organisation connecting women in fashion, technology and smart textiles - who will be chairing a series of talks next month on the first day of the Women in Technology Conference at the Convention Centre in Dublin on September 12th and 13th. Doherty will also be giving a presentation describing her involvement with wearable technology, including a glove for cyclists that uses haptic pulses to navigate without the use of earphones, or maps to follow verbal instructions, and a surf hood to help surfers “in waves of consequence”.
At the forefront of exciting developments in wearable technology, she describes it as a growing trend, "like the Wild West with no regimented rules on how to make product, so it is up for grabs". A graduate of NCAD who cut her teeth in the fashion industry in London with Christopher Raeburn and others, she returned to Dublin to set up her design consultancy Bello Studios in 2017. She now works for Design Partners in Bray, a product design and interaction agency where she brings her fashion and pattern cutting expertise to her work with electrical, industrial and mechanical engineers in developing new products. Find out more about Women in Tech at women-in-tech-dublin.com
SUPER VEST
Still on the subject of wearable technology, we came across a newly launched product called Exotogg, an award-winning inflatable body warmer ideal for hiking, cycling and other outdoor pursuits. It’s an ultra lightweight vest, warmer than down, weighing a mere 9oz (260g) that insulates even when wet. It folds into a lightweight, easy to stow package that can be inflated with just three or four breaths (into a shape that looks like a quilted down), if you suddenly find yourself chilly outdoors.
You simply slip it over the head and secure it with Velcro straps before inflating it with a valve. To deflate it, just press the valve and hug it. Made from TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), it is also multi functional and can also be used as a bed, pillow or seat. Exotogg was conceived by a Cambridge-based biker called Tony Hawkins, who was caught out on a chilly motorbike ride two years ago. Find it on exotogg.com for £99.
DIAMOND MINE
The Cullinan mine in South Africa is famous for producing the largest rough gem diamond ever discovered at over 3,000 carats, found in 1905 by Thomas Cullinan, the Johannesburg prospector who discovered the diamond fields in 1898. It was presented to King Edward V11 two years later, and cut into nine major stones and 96 smaller ones – the greatest, called The Great Star of Africa, remains the largest top quality white diamond in the world, can be seen in the Tower of London.
Cullinan remains the most important source of very rare blue diamonds, and now Boodles have started a partnership with Petra Diamonds at the mine, offering customers beautiful Cullinan stones directly from the mines. If a ring, necklace, earrings or a bracelet have the word Boodles and the letter "C" beside it, you will be looking at a diamond with a very special pedigree. By a lottery ticket now. Boodles.com
