aesop
justin, halloween 2022![the call](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f6c2cf6f619bdef88069b9ac90e16f18a940055512399d9e5965a7d902c5aceb/IMG_8981.jpeg)
A few days before halloween, our friend Jordan messaged me about a halloween party while I was in the bathroom. I had no costume ideas at that point, but I scanned the room and inspiration struck 🧴️
I like massive, unweildy costumes, and ideally they are interactive.
The afternoon before halloween, and without much planning, I went to Joann’s with a $40 budget and bought:
- 2 cans of silly string
- 5 yards of ‘mocha’ cotton fabric @ $3.99 a yard
- 1 yard of ‘latte’ cotton fabric @ $3.99 a yard
- 2 plant wreath frames
- black acrylic paint
I already had:
- a safety helmet
- polystyrene
- scrap wood
- iron-on vinyl
- nitinol wire
- springs and bamboo skewers
![inspiration](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/323269938f55c7cb8f6f1f47820bd8c3959769cfee77b55ed93de5c229c532d8/A10ED258-EC3E-4533-A4C9-D1DAD058F68B.jpeg)
![final](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7d44f3167d2729d504f2307b3eec268ab15809b59fa3a00429aba9d1764f9aec/2ACA73D3-0A02-4536-85EE-B9BBEA7621C2.jpeg)
Foam cutting a top
I needed to construct a cylindrical form that represented the bottle’s plunger base. I used spare polystyrene but had to hack together a hot wire cutter. Scrap wood, nitinol wire, bolts, DC bench power supply with current control:
![scrap baltic birch](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0b8572bd5b304c365198e9608888f7c7a1b4027b34963653cb55c9bf14d2cb95/IMG_8928.jpeg)
![ready to cut](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f374e877a01ba4d8af5fba271dc5614eab4f875c0473bed3a947c2d2b6546693/IMG_8923.jpeg)
![with bench DC power](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3324b2bfe9820746d63403816fe677c0341c584f4431b87de4eb2b17171f89c8/IMG_8936.jpeg)
I was able to use this to ‘turn’ some nice cylindrical pieces.
I attached a stack of these to the top of a safety helmet, which would form the housing for the squirty mechanism.
Squirty Mechanism
I needed a linear motion constraint to house the silly string and press its nozzle. It had to be lightweight, and quite small - there wasn’t much room on the helmet. I also wanted it to be spring loaded (so the plunger would not get ‘stuck’ in the down position, and for there to be some travel before it actuated the nozzle. I thought this would make pressing the plunger feel more realistic (greater force at the end of the stroke).
Initially I looked around for some PVC with matching OD/ID, but couldn’t find any. So I decided i had to turn some. I used some scrap persimmon wood and roughly turned it to make a sleeve. The wood allowed me to ‘embed’ linear rails - I used bamboo cooking skewers. They have a nice <0.25” diameter which played well with some compression springs I had. I pre-drilled the rail guides before splitting the sleeve.
![rail guides pre-slice](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d7c647b0438a7f097d6b8d0baddaae6bb5ed68daf00737dd615affc33a24bdd4/IMG_8962.jpeg)
![with goop](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dbf19e04b78422c63d06a7823d1cb18b60ed7bc0789d9851f556d16022ded9f1/IMG_8974.jpeg)
I closed it all up in some cosmetic foam, tested it while chatting to Tash in the UK, and gave it a coat of acrylic paint.
![assembled on hat](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e29f7fee28875526f1345545250cf09c796361895bf3edeb6c2778b6ef4738f6/CEED4251-8315-408F-A1E7-547E495FE0CD.jpeg)
![many messed cuts](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/cba72a98e71480cee84ce0d2fc00f22dbaff1caac2dbbb650ab307f762b6771b/IMG_0054.jpeg)
Sewing and structure
At this point it was only a few hours before the party, so I did some quick sewing and ‘draping’ over the wreath frames I bought. I used some cricut iron-on vinyl for abbreviated lettering. It works really well; it almost looks screenprinted.
![very quick pattern with frame overlay](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6c6dbf67226a8013bab2b3625282ab1d5f02d8c2d4c34bfe248a9c34cee5a32d/82D2A432-F2DC-4FB3-AD41-50F173285F96.jpeg)
![Cut out](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/18720b5f42bf8f80a5d5049c5c9a58ff069cee9ba9f8c0b8345bbb4604b457c1/IMG_8985.jpeg)
![sewn with contrast panels](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6de190eda62ee11f6da769dd3c327a70d2eec51daa6e6a54e51525eff7a9e10f/IMG_8986.jpeg)
![iron on vinyl](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bca38106f97f4c284e521cc309574e77510c24bf082b369ff46d94232e82a841/IMG_8990.jpeg)
And then it was good to go. At Jordan and Madi’s party, with Carlos helping instruct:
![saop Dady](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7d44f3167d2729d504f2307b3eec268ab15809b59fa3a00429aba9d1764f9aec/2ACA73D3-0A02-4536-85EE-B9BBEA7621C2.jpeg)