Helen Leigh - Crafty Tech
Helen Leigh brings together craft, creativity and technology and makes it accessible to anyone - and particularly to children. She’s the author of The Crafty Kids Guide to DIY Electronics and the founder of Do It Kits.
She was one of the MTF Labs leaders at MTF Frankfurt, where she spoke to MTF Director Andrew Dubber about her work and projects.
AI Transcription
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
people, project, nice, technology, berlin, makerspaces, mtf, music, craft, book, electronics, tech, playful, tech fest, glove, instruments, creative, running, youtube, hackathon
SPEAKERS
Helen Leigh, Andrew Dubber
Andrew Dubber
Hi, I’m Dubber. I’m the director of Music Tech Fest, and this is the MTF podcast. You may have heard we were in Germany last week running MTF Frankfurt, as part of the absolutely enormous Musikmesse, and Prolight+Sound. We ran a track athon, the MTF pro labs innovation masterclass, and the 24 hour MTF Labs run by Tom Fox, Tim Yates, Drew Fustini, Helen Leigh. We were 22 hours into that 24 hours and only a few hours before the final onstage public performance of everything that had been created in the labs. When I pulled Helen aside to have a chat about her work. She’s a maker, inventor, and teacher. her recent book is called the Crafty kids guide to DIY electronics, and we’d also worked with her before running MTF, sparks labs for teens in liasion. A couple of years back. Now at MTF Frankfurt, Helen had been building this amazing and rather large playable instrument that was equal parts electronic harp and creepy spider creature. And of course, just as I pulled her away, it had stopped working. Nonetheless, she joined me for a chat for the MTF podcast, and it was great to get the opportunity to talk about her work. And her inspiration from MTF Frankfurt. This is Helen Leigh. Helen, thanks so much for joining us, the MTF podcast.
Helen Leigh
You’re very welcome. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Andrew Dubber
Well, why are you here? what’s what’s going on? And what are you working on?
Helen Leigh
So I’m working with a bunch of awesome people in Music Tech Fest Labs, there’s four of us. There’s Tom and Tim from acoustic and do who works for BeagleBone. And me, and we are leading a really awesome, honestly hackathon. But it’s not really a hackathon, because it’s not competitive. And the idea is that you can run your project afterwards. So yeah, this this almost hackathon, where we’re doing creation of musical instruments, science scapes, and general awesome noisy inventions. So we’re facilitating that and working on our own projects, and generally having a good time breaking things
Andrew Dubber
is what do you do for a living? And Okay, question. One
Helen Leigh
is an okay question. I’d say largely, some, I invent things. Sometimes I write about the things I invent, or sometimes I sell the things I invent. Sometimes mostly other people sell the things that I invent. So I work on I worked on the mini new glove, which is sold by Pimoroni and Adafruit. I worked on that for the firm, the Mi.Mu glove, which is the one that image and heat performs with and me image and the Mi.Mu team worked together to create a DIY children’s version of the famous jentsch gesture sensing instrument that the Mi.Mu glove team make. So I really enjoy using real world tech in classrooms. And I was really inspired by the meaning of life. So I got in touch with the team to ask if I could do essentially a DIY version, not a lot of money that I could use in class and, and they really loved it. And then I made one and lots of other people really loved it. So we decided to develop it into a product. And so that was pretty awesome. And yeah, I wrote a book last year as well. So I do I do a lot of writing and product development. That’s my major thing. But also I do, I’m a lecturer in a couple of universities in London. And so I electron music, tech, electronics, physical computing, and play based learning. So it’s, I have a have a very mixed bag of things that I do. But education and technology are very much at the core of everything.
Andrew Dubber
That’s probably a nice way to encapsulate inventor slash educator. Yeah. Interesting. So let’s start with the book. Cuz that’s a really fascinating thing and and aimed at essentially getting kids to make things.
Helen Leigh
Yeah, absolutely. But it’s not just your typical, putting wires into things. But I really, I’m fascinated by how more traditional creative pursuits intersect with technology. So I’m not a big fan of tech for tech sake. I like being playful with tech. And I think it’s a really nice way of teaching as well. And that’s one of the reasons I’m here really is, is the intersection of the creativity of music and the resourcefulness of technology makers. And another region that I enjoy is craft, so craft, and uncover handmade things and how that fits in with technology. I mean, often in the media, you’ll see them pitted against each other, you know, really versus craft or, you know, handmade versus mass produced, but actually think as a false dichotomy. And that there’s so many beautiful things happening in the intersection between craft and technology. And I really wanted to write a children’s book that celebrated that and used craft as a way enter technology on technology as a way to augment craft. Because it’s not a one way street, of course, you only have
Andrew Dubber
to look at an underlying pattern. And this is this is programming.
Helen Leigh
Absolutely, it’s programming. And in fact, I think often these these crafts are undervalued and and the history of them is kind of destroyed. Is it this fascinating book that I read recently called subversive stitch, and it’s all about the feminist history of embroidery. And also, you know, I read a really interesting article on knitting spies. So in the World War Two, and they have ladies knitting things and dropping stitches to just pass secret messages on to other people as a form of communication. Of course, it’s code, you know. So anyway, this book is called the Crafty kids guide to DIY electronics. And it teaches the basic concepts of technology, but through and sewing and through paper craft, and origami, and through DIY robots and wearable things. It’s very much like project based, it’s not textbook at all. I mean, you do learn something in every project, but it’s set in the context of a project. Things like making a moving origami ladybird that buzzes around, or a secret mood signal badge that teaches you the basic concepts of binary. So these kind of imaginative projects, and I can’t actually take full credit for all of these projects, I worked with an advisory board of 200 girls to write this book. And they were on my mailing list, I would send them hundreds of ideas, and they come back and vote on their favourite one. So actually, the inclusion of every single project in that book and is thanks to a group of girls, and thanks to me at all. In fact, lots of my favourite ideas were completely designated uncool. By by the committee of girls. Yeah.
Andrew Dubber
So what were you like, as a kid?
Helen Leigh
I was very bookish. And I think, um, but yeah, I read a lot, I read a lot, I may still do read a lot. And, but also, I’ve been a runner, my whole life as well. And I thought that’s, well, I sort through a lot of my kind of creative thoughts, and technical thoughts as well. So I saw through a lot of stuff, and runnings really important to my mental health and, and my creative life. I’ve done that since I was a little kid. So I was very sporty, but kind of like sporty and bookish. I actually didn’t get into technology until much later in life. My when I was a kid, I mean, I’ve never been afraid of tech. But it’s always kind of been around me. But at school, when I when I was at school learning technology, man learning how to type or learning how to use Microsoft Word. There was no i didn’t see code until I was 18. You know, I didn’t really write any, any kind of code until I’d left school. So, I mean, and I find it so fascinating. But it was applied, you know, so writing code for code sake has never been something I’ve ever done, I’ve never officially learned a language side of learning how to do a certain thing. And that’s the that’s kind of how a lot of my favourite code is learned. And when I try and apply that approach, and that project based, creative technology approach to all the things that I write, and like when I’m designing curriculums, or I’m creating competing, competing programmes now I try and apply the way that I learned it. And because it’s very different. The way you learn in a formal setting is extremely different to the way that you learn in informal setting, which is much more project based, which is kind of how we learn at these hackathons actually. Especially something I say is, is really crucial to to modern, technical education is the idea of community. I know that might sound like a cliche, but I didn’t learn electronics at school, I learned to makerspaces I learned to you know, learn how to use an oscilloscope in my friend’s kitchen. I learned how to solder at London Fab Labs. Back in the day, it still existed. And I am by hanging out with people on makerspaces and send our informal hacks and when I host dinner parties where we will make stuff and always learn something from that. I think that’s, that’s kind of community based learning. And I, personally really, really respond to that and why I’m kind of active in this community. Fantastic. How’s
Andrew Dubber
the book doing? Incidentally, what’s the sort of response you’re getting to that,
Helen Leigh
so I’m having some really nice reviews, I only find it, I only find a cage every six months if externally just came out. And so I don’t know how selling but I know that I’ve got some really nice reviews from the BBC. And from the editors on hackspace, Saturday, nice things and, and make magazine as well. So that’s really affirming. And But really, the things that make me happy aren’t the kind of pundits it’s seeing. Because Because I’m very active on Twitter. And people do tend to at me with projects that they’ve made, or their classes using, and all their children who’ve made things and I mean, you can never really tell what impact you’re having. But I like to think that what from what I can see, it’s certainly doing something but it’s a different approach to kind of creative handmade technology seems to be really resonating, particularly with parents and teachers, which is really nice to see.
Andrew Dubber
Some about do it kits
Helen Leigh
do it kits as a as a home for all sorts of my projects. I mean, we started off this conversation, are you asking me what I do for a living and it took about half an hour for me to say, Well, not really, I don’t have a job, I don’t really know what I do for a living. I just sometimes earn money doing cool things and do it because it’s really just a home for a lot of the stuff that I do and creative tech. And whether that’s creating a real project, sorry, a real product in a box like the mini me glove, whether it’s some robotic unicorns that I made on a residency or whether it’s the creepy golf spider circus sculpture that I’ve made today that I grew up there, as well as it’s like a portfolio. home, I mean, for the for the stuff that I would I do, and also for the stuff that my friend and longtime collaborator, Phoenix Perry does. Sometimes we work together, and sometimes you don’t. But I mean, really, I’d like it to grow into organically grow. I’m not I’m not, I’m not, not trying to push it into a big business or anything. I’d like it to grow into a creative technology consultancy physical that’s focusing on physical computing, and electronics, either with a technological or music based approach. So yeah, I mean, it’s, it’s just a showcase, really, it started off as something slightly different. So I was I was doing a bunch of my own products. And so I did, these are all handmade by me, I would make them all in one maker space, you know, doing batch runs, and so on, for various different kitable projects, based on my work, but I got to the point where I had my first kind of small success, and I realised You know what, I really hate putting things in envelopes. This is not the life for me, I’d much rather to the the prototyping and the prototyping and ideation phase, rather than the manufacturing phase. So now I’m partnering with other people to actually manufacture when it’s produced partners,
Andrew Dubber
the first time I came across you the story that I heard, and you can kind of correct me on the history of this, but that you had this kind of potential success with this product. And you went right, I’m off to China, and went around knocking on, not speaking any Mandarin, but but knocking on doors going, can you help me make this thing Tell me about that story and, and also who you went with.
Helen Leigh
So it’s actually kind of an interesting story. So I was creating these things, I might make a space and kind of supplementing my income a little bit by producing these handmade kits. And, you know, I was kind of enjoying it. And I was invited on to a product accelerator, you know, and one of these technology accelerators that like well, he do all these things, you these business pitches, and you get VC at the end and you go to China and you produce these things, and blah, blah, blah. I always been at the best part of the year doing and at the end of the I just realised, I hate this. I hate these people. I hate this process. And there’s got to be a better way. I mean, I saw all the creativity was stripped out of me. It was endless, you know three to five year projections. Which, by the way, are completely stupid, you can’t predict what’s going to happen in five years. And it’s all about like shipping to China and making massive volumes of things made out of plastic, by people working for not much money, and I just thought that like high soloists, that whole industry is I mean, there are some there are and also VCs, I kind of see it can be a complete crapshoot, you know, it seems like I’ve seen a lot of potentially sustainable businesses, small businesses, I might add, being destroyed by DC, because DC isn’t interested in, in small profit or sustainability. Its sustainability. Yeah, it’s an investment scheme. Yeah, for rich people. And they don’t care if they destroy what, like nine companies, as long as one of them is huge. Yeah. And I think VC is actually really harmful for people who just want to make a living. And rather than make a killing, and I decided that I don’t want to make a killing, I want to make I want to have a nice life, not be completely exhausted, do creative things, impact people, and not fill the world with more plastic crap. And
Andrew Dubber
how’s that coming along? It’s coming
Helen Leigh
along great. And I’m exhausted. I’m actually pretty much apart from today I’m doing. I’m not I’m not as exhausted, still work really hard. I work every day. But you know, I love my work. I’ve taught 10s of thousands of people about technology, and I will continue to do that for the rest of my life. And I’m a lot financially way better off am actually for a living. And, you know, it’s, it’s it’s much less stressful than the idea of kind of creating a product and selling things to people and kind of I know, some people love it. They thrive on that business side of things. I mean, I enjoy business. I enjoy parts of business, but it’s not my raison d’etre. I want to make things and teach people things, and that’s what I want to do with my life. And I don’t need to have 100 staff in order to do that. It’s just about being efficient. If I wanted to be a kitting company, that was something different, right? But I realised fairly swiftly that being a kitting company means that you’re about manufacture and logistics, and I don’t necessarily enjoy that. I enjoy the creation. And so yeah, I mean, it’s a work in progress. My life’s a work in progress, of course, but the VC side of things just wasn’t for me. And I think, I think he’s actually kind of a negative force in the world.
Andrew Dubber
Right? out of that progress has been moving countries are you from Wales? When I hear I’m from Wales, I imagine what other people picture when I say I’m from New Zealand, rolling green hills, she’s
Helen Leigh
very similar. Actually, I did live in New Zealand for a little bit. And they are similar except I think New Zealand’s like the cinematic version of Wales and Wales is a slightly grubby vision
Andrew Dubber
screen is Zealand.
Helen Leigh
It is the Scottish, the soap opera version of New Zealand. There’s a bit there’s a few more fights, and the sheep are a bit dirtier. The weather’s just that little bit shitter Yeah, I think the Welsh and the New Zealand is
Andrew Dubber
from that you?
Helen Leigh
I have Yes. So I spent a long time Well, I’ve lived in all sorts of places. But yeah, I grew up in Wales, and I just moved to Berlin from London. And I split my time now between Berlin and Chicago. And my husband’s from Chicago.
Andrew Dubber
And, by the way, that’s a new thing. That
Helen Leigh
isn’t new thing we eloped in in February. So it was quite
Andrew Dubber
an overlapping interest. Yeah.
Helen Leigh
Um, Drew is a hardware designer, and embedded systems engineer works for a really cool company called OSH Park. OSH Park are a an open source hardware and open source hardware, so busy, you can get your PCBs printed with them. And they’re really nice quality made in the US. And they’re kind of put they’re all purple as well. Okay. So he does like projects and designs for them. They’re really popular music tech, actually. And so if you open up any most analogue sense, modern ones, you might see purple PCBs inside. So lots of lots of modular synth stuff is powered using and so that was the Chicago Cubs. Yeah. What’s the Berlin rocker? So Berlin, okay, so Berlin was a kind of a spur of the moment. thing. Okay, so my makerspace in London closed and I loved it. It was a real nice mixture of artists, designers, technologists, technologists, real nice gender ratio as well. And then people who specialised in woodwork, people who specialised in 3d printing completed lots of electronics. So it’s really nice to be able to, to be able to when you want to do a project and know that there was someone in the room who will be able to do help you with every part of them. But they pay the rent three times, and we had to move out. So I’m kind of at a loss, like a lot of the other places and London had closed down. I’m not saying that there’s no makerspaces. And then of course, there are but like, all the ones that I was, had been working in, were either moved or closed down, or greatly reduced. So I was kind of thinking, Well, what am I going to replace this with? And at the end, that also at that time, I realised, Oh, my gosh, Brexit is not not going to be stopped as it is actually going to happen. So I thought, right, let’s get out of here while I can. So I was thinking about places to go. And I know through the music tech scene, actually, that there’s a lot of music tech happening in Berlin. And I was asking around, and it seemed like there’s incredible makerspaces really interesting people very international. So I basically put up a message on Facebook saying thinking about Berlin, and anyone got anything to say. And Matt from music tech Germany, said, Oh, my girlfriend’s subletting a room. And I was like, I’ll take it. So I moved to Berlin Three weeks later.
Andrew Dubber
And clearly, that was that was a good idea.
Helen Leigh
Yeah, it was. I mean, I’ve got my own apartment next to your house from dad on machines. Like we live literally next door to each other. And, and then so yeah, we’re like the nerdiest top floor of all time. In fact, Andrew Hake is also a music technologist who’s here at the hackers while he’s currently in my apartment while I’ve been in the UK. So we’ve got yohannes, me, Drew, Andrew, and then there’s, there’s a musician, another musician next door, who makes her own instruments and plays various instruments are basically with the nerdiest musical floor of an apartment and
Andrew Dubber
Music Tech Fest.
Helen Leigh
Yeah, it really is. And we do actually often host I cook quite often, when I’m in Berlin, and host make a dinner parties. And we set random last time we did a when we ordered pizza and wine, and we all sat around, made a cardboard robot that delivers ice cream and wine. So and then we made a whole bunch of music, which was really nice and ended up doing some drone music companied by, by us reading code out of the textbook in a dramatic fashion. So it’s a very, very music nerd. top floor apartment is kind of fun. Yeah. As you can imagine Berlin’s awesome. And I love it. The makerspace scene is so good. So good. You know, there’s loads of real cool stuff going on. It’s really affordable city to live in very international. And you don’t have to speak lots of German to live there. I mean, obviously, it’s polite to learn, but you can move there without speaking German. So, you know, it’s, it’s a pretty great place. Fantastic.
Andrew Dubber
Clearly funded by the Tourist Board.
Helen Leigh
No, I mean, actually, I don’t want more people to move to Berlin. So it’s terrible place, you know, jargons.
Andrew Dubber
Yeah, this is not your first MTF experience. What surprised you about this one.
Helen Leigh
So it’s the first time that there’s been so many traditional instruments in the room, actually. So that was really fun, saying like, there’s a trombone and a cello. And someone who’s talking about and also a trombonist
Andrew Dubber
on a cellist?
Helen Leigh
Yeah, so it’s really nice having that mixture of traditional instruments, and the weird stuff that we do. So that’s really nice. And it’s also really nice to see progression and the same thing. So Tom, and I, Tom Fox, and I have been working on microbot stuff for quite a long time. And also Tim as well. So weirdly, we’ve all gotten into Minecraft. And it’s really nice to see that project taking off I mean, so in the last year since the last time we hacked together in fact, I made Tom his first microwave glove for the orange the orange glove he uses I actually sold that for him. back right and before it was even remotely be considered to be a product. And in that year, Tom’s gone on to do incredible creative things with it, I’ve made it into a product in a box and Tim’s been writing like, like really amazing body of code for Drake music using the micro bit as well. So it’s really nice to come together again and see like the progression and be like, inspired by each other’s work in the in the last year since we’ve kind of been sitting together doing stuff. Yeah,
Andrew Dubber
that’s one of the things I love about this particular group of people. Is that something that happens at one event, it’s not sort of thrown out, and we start fresh the next time there is this kind of ongoing development. I mean, this is Yeah, the 16th MTF event. And there’s a narrative that runs through all that. And some of the same, obviously, some of the recurring phases, but also the projects that developing emerge over time. So what’s next for you another book?
Helen Leigh
So what’s next for me? I got off speaking engagements over the next couple of months. And a bunch of curriculum writing to do so doing soon to some core writing, I’m writing and I’m doing God so depressing. This year is supposed to be dedicating myself to YouTube, to learning, to learning to learning my craft at YouTube. So basically, I’ve been writing for a really long time, I can create content, like, well, class content by writing, yes, absolutely no problem. But more and more people are asking for video stuff. So I’m just like, Okay, I’m quite good in front of a camera, I’m perfectly fine to be a presenter, but I need to build up my portfolio on YouTube, really, in order to kind of be at the top of my game. And I’ve just not gotten around to doing as much as I would have liked this year. So there’s that, Oh, I’m also working on a fun project. I bought a 1920s Canon camera. And I’m making it into a haptic homing device. And so this year for me is about two things. It’s about learning YouTube and kind of getting that up there is also about learning, I really want us to learn because a lot of people when they when they’re interested in electronics, they go for the LEDs, but like LEDs leave me cold, you know, can’t be bothered with, you know, LEDs in clothing. I’m interested in my iPads, I’m interested in our sound, obviously, and also haptic technology. So I just really want to put my haptic knowledge. So I’m making a big project that will help me learn about all the different ways of controlling haptics so haptic
Andrew Dubber
homing device? Yes, and I can can, yes, you find your way home. Yeah, through high kicks all the way
Helen Leigh
no high kicks. It’s basically what the first iteration is just just a compass. So I’m using a soble magnetometer. And, and like a grid of small vibration motors that are controlled in a number of different ways,
Andrew Dubber
and they just nudge you in the direction.
Helen Leigh
Exactly, exactly. But the next version will be using GPS. Okay, so I’ll be able to put input destinations rather than know, the direction so you know, the first version is like, won’t go if you know the need to go north, it will tell you how to get there. Well, the next version, I need to integrate GPS, and some kind of like, I think I know hang I do, but I don’t like to prejudge hi project. I mean, I came here expecting to make a very small, neat harp, and I’ve made like a sprawling, dead insect God sculpture. So you don’t know how projects are going to turn a
Andrew Dubber
base all about learning. So yeah, learning haptics and YouTube. And, you know, the YouTube things interesting. I mean, I was actually going to ask you, you know, when’s the big sort of superstar on YouTube blows but there’s, there’s actually a few, I guess, models that you could kind of look at and go I could do it that way. I could do it this way. You know, I could go completely Look Mum No Computer or to Simone or go to Andrew Huang,
Helen Leigh
yeah, I mean, the main thing is, like I you know, I still need to make a living in between on my project. So it’s basically important for me to balance learning these new skills with being able to, you know, pay my rent. So the best way for me to go about it is to produce video for clients. So I already do that. I don’t produce the video, but I’m present for people but those tend to be kind of closed systems, right. So I just I was the face of micro bit for the big project in the Western Balkans and did a series of like 12 lessons essentially 12 like teacher training videos. So my presenter skills are pretty much dying but I need to be able to balance those kind of projects that and that I can’t use as my portfolio and I can’t share to a general audience with ones that are a bit more you know, that I will write myself but those take a long time. They’re very labour intensive.
Andrew Dubber
So it target audience for this, kids.
Helen Leigh
Yeah, I think so. I mean, I will really interact nicely with The seven to 14, that my favourite age, the super curious, not super grumpy, they’re kind of capable. And it’s really easy to make them feel really excited. Yeah. But having said that, like I do aim it at that age range. Or I should say I aim it to be inclusive to the age range. I don’t think that children have a monopoly on creativity or play. And I really enjoyed the makes that I do. And I know there’s also grownups that enjoy as well. And I think my approach works really nicely for artists who wants to do something, but don’t necessarily need to become an expert in it. You know, there’s this assumption that someone’s going to use an Arduino board that they’re going to go down this journey, and Arduino will be their end goal. And they’re going to do all these things. And I’m like, Well, actually, you could just do that in five minutes of the micro bit and some block code. And you’ve still got the same result. Not everybody needs to be an expert. But sometimes people want to know how to do things. So I mean, I try and make what I do very practical, so that hobbyists or like people who are already expert in one thing, someone might be a, an amazing seamstress, for example, but they might not know how to make a circuit. So those are my Those are my audiences, really children and people who want to dip their toe into electronics without necessarily understanding the why of every single thing in reverse. I think there’s already a lot of electronics experts out there on YouTube. And I think what I can add is, enthusiasts among good projects that will be adaptable for either children or for people who are making their own and things already, but just maybe not in my field,
Andrew Dubber
targeting the playful and the curious.
Helen Leigh
Yeah.
Andrew Dubber
And Is that how you would describe yourself?
Helen Leigh
I’d hope so. Yeah, I’m very playful. I strive to be playful and curious. How’s that? Like, I don’t always achieve it sometimes. You know, sometimes I get anxious and worried too. But yeah, the playfulness is a lovely state to try and be to try and exist in.
Andrew Dubber
Right. Well, I’m aware that I’m probably making less than listen playful right now. Because you’ve got things that you have no
Helen Leigh
idea we present. Yeah, I don’t know if my dead bug is actually dead, or if it’s alive, so I’ll be performing with it. So yeah, let’s see if I’m just going to be poking some wires or if they’re actually going to be doing things insane.
Andrew Dubber
And out. Thanks so much.
Helen Leigh
Thank you so much for having me.
Andrew Dubber
Helen Leigh. And the good news is not only did she get the creepy spider hop thing up and running again. It was a beautiful centrepiece to the MTF Labs performance at Musikmesse, and that’s the MTF podcast, and that, believe it or not, was Episode 26, six months of solid weekly episodes, so make sure you go back and listen to some that you’ve missed. And this might also be a good time to hit the subscribe button and add it to your shortlist of regulars. We’ll keep putting them out each week and featuring brilliant and fascinating people from the worlds of innovation, music making industry, academia, art, science and everything else connected with the world of MTF. And in the meantime, have a great week and we’ll talk soon Cheers.
