Build your own horse.

Available at a Clockwork Robot.

Mademoiselle le Robot

For her thesis at NYU, Interactive Telecommunications Program student Kacie Kinzer has come up with a thesis project so charming, so clever, so twee, it is liable to melt your heart.

I present to you the Tweenbot.


Miss Kinzer has created a few human directed cardboard robots. Clearly conveyed on each is a destination, a goal. Without human help, the robots cannot get where they are trying to go. The idea is to observe the interaction of people with unknown communication technology. So far, her observations have been positive- no robots have been stolen or damaged, and all have wound up at their destinations.

"Often, people would ignore the instructions to aim the Tweenbot in the 'right' direction, if that direction meant sending the robot into a perilous situation. One man turned the robot back in the direction from which it had just come, saying out loud to the Tweenbot, 'You can’t go that way, it’s toward the road.'"- Kacie Kinzer

Email Kacie Kinzer at tweenbotinfo@gmail.com if you want updates on upcoming robot missions. I know I do.

My domestic experiment, let me show you it.

My landlady is the sort who loves white walls. Her space in the house we share is alternating shades of novajo low and high gloss. She loves white walls so much she can't understand why anyone would want them a color. When I asked if I could paint, she requested a sort of paragraph report, explaining my plans, my reasons, and how I would revert the walls to white when I move out. After that, the review committee would convene to discuss the merits of my pitch. I felt the odds were stacked against me, and I was disinclined to write a grant proposal outside of the workplace.

Screw. That.

So a few months ago, inspired by examples on craftster and those cute, but pricey, Blik decals, I bought some contact paper at Home Depot for about $6. For my first project, I put tiny robots on a few of the cabinets in my kitchen. Check it:


I found a roll of silver contact paper, and I cut a stencil from some thin cardboard (think shoebox). I love the way they appear different shades of gray in different lights. It's a really subtle color against the white cabinets too, and I love when the robots surprise guests. Of course, as you probably know, I just like robots.

The great thing about contact paper is that it is designed to peel off without damaging the surface behind it. It is easy to cut, and comes in a variety of colors and patterns.

Emboldened by that success, I thought I'd increase the scale of my next project, and I decided to take on my terrifyingly long, blank hallway. I made an elephant.


It's huge! It took some time and effort, but it really was fun working out the kinks of things like shading with contact paper. I sipped tea, cut shapes and then stuck them to the wall. The sticking is really satisfying, as is watching a big picture appear on your wall, one line at a time.

Anyway, contact paper- it's amazing stuff.

This summer, I'm going to take some sewing classes. My mom gave me her old Singer, and I'm going to get the beast cleaned and tuned up and see if I remember how to adjust thread tension. It will be a noble pursuit- and I'll show you my seamstress skills as they progress. I can tell you're riveted.