Meet the Makers #13 How To 3D Print On Fabric - With Julialeafe

Welcome to Episode 13 of Meet the Makers podcast! In this exciting episode, we delve into the fascinating world of 3D printing on fabric with Julialeafe. Join us as we explore the intersection of technology and fashion, discussing how to 3D print your own fashion collection, brands that are utilizing 3D printing in the fashion industry, the influence of AI on fashion design, and the sustainability aspect of 3D printing and fashion.

We also delve into the exciting realm of fashion brands that have embraced 3D printing, exploring how this cutting-edge technology has transformed the way garments are created, pushing the boundaries of design and fabrication. From custom-made pieces to intricate patterns, discover the ways in which leading fashion brands are leveraging 3D printing to bring their visions to reality.

In addition, we discuss the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in inspiring fashion trends, from pattern generation to virtual try-on experiences. Explore the fascinating connection between AI and fashion and how it continues to shape the industry's creative process.

Furthermore, we delve into the sustainability aspect of 3D printing and fashion. Discover how 3D printing offers opportunities for reducing waste, optimizing production processes, and enabling on-demand manufacturing, contributing to a more sustainable and environmentally conscious approach to fashion.

If you're passionate about fashion, technology, and the limitless possibilities at the intersection of these two fields, join us for Meet the Makers #13 - How to 3D Print on Fabric: Fashion, Technology, and Sustainability - with Julialeafe. Get inspired by the fusion of creativity and innovation and explore the exciting future of fashion.
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Where to find Julianne
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@julialeafe?lang=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julia.leafe/
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Come be a guest on meet the makers: https://forms.gle/wTqzxqGpsu9hZ39F6
Follow misfit printing on TIktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@misfit_printing
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Chapters 
Intro - 0:00
Best looks at the 2023 Met Gala - 0:49 
Sewing machines vs. 3D Printers - 1:52 
Mechanical Sewing Machine are the best - 3:17 
The Best Fabric for Beginner Sewing - 5:25 
How to 3D Print on fabric - 6:52 
TPU vs PLA for 3d printing on fabric - 8:30 
Upcycled fashion - 13:50 
Using AI to Generate Fashion Designs -19:49 
Fashion Brands Use AI? - 22:51 
Mid Journey: The Art of Design - 25:33 
No Zero Day - 30:25 
How to Make a 3-D Printed Handbag? - 34:14 
where to find Julianne - 39:35 

Transcript

 Hey everybody. Welcome back to our episode of Meet the Makers. Today I'm joined by a very special lady. She sews, she 3D prints, and she manipulates AI to spit out some of the coolest things that I have ever seen Today. I'm joined by Julianne. So excited to have you here today. Uh, really a different take from everybody else that I've talked to and, uh, I think we're gonna have a really fun conversation.

Yeah, I'm super excited to be here. Awesome. Um, so before we kind of dive into, um, you know, what you work on and all the cool projects that you have on your side, I have to ask, I'm not sure if you've had the chance to see it cuz it's just, uh, started to emerge out on, uh, my timeline before, uh, we jumped on this call, but the MAC Gala was last night and I started to see the looks come out.

Have you had a chance to see any of the, uh, different looks from the Met Met Gala last night? Yeah, I love watching Met Gala, like first Monday in May. It's super fun. Um, some of my favorite looks, oh gosh, and now I gotta remember him, um, Jenny from Black Pink. I thought she had a really cute, uh, like old Chanel look.

Um, and then Rihanna's, she was very, very late. Yeah. But, um, her big coat was really pretty and I just love seeing her pregnancy outfits. Yeah, she, uh, she always, I mean, everywhere she goes, she looks amazing. I, uh, I'm like totally on the bandwagon with this one, but when I saw Jenna Ortega's dress last night, I was just like, oh, oh my God.

In love, all of the looks, uh, I mean so many great ones last night. But yeah, as soon as, uh, I was laying up last night and it was about midnight and they started pouring it, I was like, oh my God, I can't go to bed now. I have to see what everybody was wearing. But yeah, really, uh, really cool stuff last night.

But, um, for people who maybe haven't seen your content yet, you, yourself make some amazing, um, pieces, can you maybe start out and just, uh, tell, talk a little bit about like how you got into sewing and fashion, uh, in general? Yeah, so I guess I'll start with my 3D printing journey, cause that actually starts a little bit earlier.

And then going into the sewing journey. I started 3D printing a bit in high school. Um, I was on my like school's robotics team, and so we did 3D printing for that. And I actually did like a tiny little bit of fashion stuff back then too. I made a dress where I 3D printed out like beads that looked like a pyramid, and then, um, used like tinkercad to create a hole in the pyramid and sewed them onto a dress.

Um, and then, Later during Covid and, um, 2020, I actually taught myself how to sew because I was sitting at home and I was just kind of bored and I was like, you know, this is something I've always like, been interested in, but never really like learned how to do. And that's kind of where I really got into fashion.

Um, I mean, I think I was pretty into fashion at a young age, but that's where I actually started like implementing designs and these things that I had in my head. I was never a great illustrator and so I never felt like I could like draw fashion designs, but then actually being able to produce them was really great.

So I learned how to code or sorry, oops, not code. I learned how to sew. And then I, um, now since then I've actually taken some classes on the side at like f i t to learn like more pattern design. And right now I'm taking, um, a handbag design class. Interesting. It's, uh, it's interesting to hear that now as somebody who has experience with sewing machines, has experience with 3D printers, do you, you know, everybody talks about how like the 3D printer maintenance is so crazy.

Do you find one versus the other to be more difficult to maintain? Yeah, I mean I definitely think traditional 3D printers are harder. Like, especially, you know, I think we're getting into like, I'm really excited about the current era of 3D printers where we're seeing some that are like a lot better just out of the box.

Yeah. Um, but you know, some of the older ones, some of the ones we've like, I don't know, I bought mine, you know, like 2020 ish, and they're definitely more maintenance than a sewing machine. Like a sewing machine. You just kind of like thread it and it works, um, at least for the. Like mechanical ones. I don't actually have a computerized sewing machine.

I don't know if those are harder. Um, so, but yeah, sewing machines are built to like, just go forever. Especially if you get one of the really old ones. Like if you, if your grandma has a sewing machine, go ask her for hers cuz like, they'll be super good. It's funny you say that. My mom for, I think she still has it actually.

It's my great grandma's sewing machine. And like you said, that thing, it just, like, it went and it went and it went, it, uh, yeah. I don't, I think if you pulled it outta the box today, it would probably still work perfectly. So, uh, yeah. It's crazy to see that. Um, now at least for me, like, I think a lot of people look at 3D printing and they think that that's like a difficult learning curve.

I look at sewing. I have a sewing machine myself, and I don't use it very often. To me, I find that to be like, um, a little more of a intimidating machine to approach, I guess like as a beginner, uh, do you have any advice for maybe like, A machine two stand on. I know you talked about like a mechanical versus um, a computerized, but I guess any advice for beginners who are kind of looking to get into, um, sewing in general?

Yeah, so I have a singer heavy duty, which I really like. It's really great cuz you can sew all the different materials. Um, it doesn't have a lot of stitches, but to be honest, I think at least when I was a new sewer, I like looked at all these machines and I was like, oh my gosh, I need to buy them on with 300 stitches.

I gotta use them all. Um, but unless you're, if you're gonna go into quilting, that's really great. But if you're just doing, like, if you wanna make clothing or just accessories or something, um, more basic, like you don't actually need all of the like bells and whistles. It's really just about having something that's like really good at like a straight stitch, a zigzag stitch having like a button hole.

Um, and maybe like a couple other things. There's a lot of like super great resources on YouTube too, that have like great recommendations for sewing,  on, I guess, like, kind of on that note, uh, one of the things like, I've heard a little bit about when you're kind of getting into it, and I, I guess I do have some personal experience with this.

Is the material maybe that you're starting to sew with, uh, matters a lot of, like what you start with as a beginner? I know for me, I had, um, one of my first projects I did, I had started with a, a knit that was like very. Stretchy and I had a really difficult time with that. Um, any recommendations there is, you know, maybe somebody's going into the fabric store for the first time, what they should kind of look for on a beginner project.

Yeah. I'm like, I was the worst at this because I'd go into the fabric store and I'd be like, I want something super shiny and sparkly and bedazzled and like embroidered. And like, you definitely wanna avoid that. Highly recommend just like a basic kind of cotton, you can get a pattern. Um, but you, you want something that's like, Kind of medium weight.

You don't wanna go too thin or too heavy. I actually, on my TikTok, posted about an organza dress. I tried to make Anza, if like, is one of the worst fabrics to try to sew with. It's super slippery. It's like hard to him because it phrased so much. Oh, okay. And so I would definitely recommend sticking to something you would think of as like the material of like a button up shirt.

Um, okay. And you also, it's good to avoid knits as well. Knits are, they're gonna kind of stretch while you're sewing if you don't like know how to sew yet. And that can create a really like wonky puckered garment. Yeah, I should have brought it out, for example, purposes. It's a, it's a little scary looking, but yeah.

Mine, it was like puckered and I was, uh, I was trying to make a pillow, but it, uh, it. Took out a very frightening shape. It was, uh, I don't think anybody would've recognized it is a pillow, but, um, yeah, that, uh, that definitely makes sense. Now, one of the things you talked about was maybe organs is not like a great fabric to start with.

I know. Um, on the 3D printing side, I, I believe that typically when you 3D print on fabric, you were, um, printing on like a, a mush material or I think you can use organza, um, as well. Do you like for somebody who's maybe looking to do that, is that a difficult material to work with on the sewing side as well?

Yeah, so I think most of the fabrics you're gonna want for 3D printing are not the easiest to work with for sewing, um, or visa versa. So not, not the best mash made in heaven, but you work with what you have. Um, so for 3D printing, you really wanna pick something that has like holes in it. Uh, so you, you know, like a mesh that's, I'll hold something up here.

This just looks kind of like, it's also called tool, um, and it has like holes in it. You can also do like a stretch mesh, which is kind of like sometimes sporty materials. Mm-hmm. Um, you'll, I have like, kind of like a mesh top that I guess I wear to work out in sometimes. And then there's ganza, which is, ganza is kind of like the, it's sometimes sparkly, sometimes more matte.

But it's, it's very like voluminous fabric. If you've ever seen like silky dresses, those are made, A lot of those are made out of Ganza. Um, I'm trying to think about what else. Sometimes wedding dresses can be made out of Arkansas. Um, you can also use like chiffons, um, uh, anything that's like a more sheer material.

Anytime you go to something that's thicker and doesn't have that holes, the filament won't actually extrude into it. Uh, the one exception is with t p u filament, you can get a bit better adhesion. Mm-hmm. If you use something that doesn't have holes, but it is, it's a bit hit or miss, like you have to play around with it.

Um, and this still extends to knits as well. So if you have a knit that is like more see-through, has more holes in it, those can also work pretty well for 3D printing on. Interesting. Um, now one of the things you mentioned in there was like tpu, it gives you a little bit of a better adhesion maybe for, uh, people who aren't as like familiar with the different fulfillment types.

Uh, could you possibly like talk us through, uh, I guess like an application where you might wanna use TPU versus a more standard pla um, when you're sewing for like fashion purposes? Yeah, so PLA is pretty hard, and you definitely wanna use small pieces if you're gonna print on fabric with pla. Otherwise the fabric won't be super easy to manipulate.

It'll be like, you know, a big chunk of plastic. Yeah. Um, so I think one of the like common examples you see is you see like spikes on the fabric. Mm-hmm. Or like, kind of like scales and those, because there's so many holes between all those pieces. It's still like a movable piece of fabric. Tbu is good if you wanna make a bigger design that doesn't have.

Like separation in the design that way, because TPU is also is a flexible printing material. You can still, the fabric will still have drape. Uh, there's also, I recently heard about a film that called like obc, I think. Oh, I haven't tried wit wit yet. I need to buy some. But it's supposed to also be a flexible print that is less difficult to work with than T B U, uh, because t b can be really hard to print sometimes.

I don't know if you have any experience with it, but it's given me some headaches. Yeah, I have, uh, I have very limited experience. I've only run TPU a couple times, and, uh, kind of for that reason, it's like only a special occasion where I really want something, uh, flexible that I'll break it out. But, um, I've actually never heard of that other film that you mentioned.

That's, that's kind of interesting. I'll have to look into that. And I've, I'm not sure if you've, um, tried this or heard other people talk about, but I've heard some people start to talk about the flexible PLA as well. I'm not sure if it has, um, Like similar uh, properties in terms of like how easy it is to use compared to standard P or if it kinds tend to act more like tpu.

But um, that's another one I've been interested to try out too. Yeah. I haven't had a chance. I gotta add that to the list. , I think too about TPU is TPU comes in like different, like you can get 95 a Sure hardness. Mm-hmm. Which is a bit easier to print versus like, I sometimes use like 82 A, which is even like looser.

And I've seen some people use like, 70 and 60, which is like, I don't think I could print 68. I don't think it would work, but, um, well, maybe, I don't know. I tried hard enough, but yeah. Now, um, when you're like laying these prints down onto fabric, um, I've seen two different methods of people just like printing directly onto the fabric, or do you tend to do where you kind of like sandwich it, sandwich it in between the um, like a layer of.

Filament then like a layer of fabric and then a layer of filament, do you find one of those works better for you? Yeah, so I definitely prefer like you do the first layer of the print and then you pause the print and then you lay down a piece of fabric and then you continue the print. I find this just like, like, so I've actually been able to like wash some of my Garmins and when I do that, the, the pieces stay on.

Okay. And if I do not do this, sometimes the pieces do not stay on. Um, so if you want longevity, I definitely recommend going with like the pause print method. That's so, but if it's like something for more cosplay, you can get away with just like putting down the fabric. If it's a very like, mesh piece of fabric, um, again, the, the more holy the fabric.

Oh, that sounds funny. Uh, the more like the more, the bigger the holes in the fabric, the easier time you will have. Um, just in general. Yeah, no, that makes sense. Uh, the, the more secret the fabric is, the, the better it will hold onto the film. Um, no, that's, it's actually really interesting. You mentioned washing the garment.

I, I know this probably sounds crazy, but that piece didn't. Ever even crossed my mind is, uh, something that you would do with your clothes, God forbid you wash them. Um, that's actually really interesting that I, I don't, I guess you could run something on a cold cycle. Have you ever had a problem with, um, like running it through, uh, the wash and like having the filament like degrade or like melt or anything like that?

Aside from just like pulling off of the fabric? I washed it on like warm and I put it in a garment bag. So I think between those two things, it stayed pretty safe and I, it was a pretty like, It was a mesh, so it was like, not like, I don't know if I would wanna wash, like usually don't wash organza the typical way anyway.

So I don't know if I would just throw organza in the washing machine. Um, it's something I'd like to actually run more experiments on where I just like print on a bunch of different fabrics with a bunch of different filaments and throw it in the wash. One thing I have thought about is from like a sustainability perspective, I don't know if it's like, you know, we talk a lot about like microplastics and those like come off of clothes and I think I do worry about, oh, if I'm throwing a.

Pla print in the wash. Are there microplastics coming off of that? And even if I don't visibly notice, like the product looking worse? It is, you know, that's something I, I have thought about is like, I don't wanna be contributing more to, I mean, clothing is one of, is the second worst industry after like electronics in terms of waste.

And so that is something I've thought about and really am hopeful that there will be more sustainable filaments as well that come out, um, that will work well for my use cases. Yeah, it'll be, uh, really interesting to see, like I know a lot of people talk about p l a specifically being a bioplastic, and I've seen some videos of people like trying to compost it and things like that, and I, I, I don't know enough about it to be like any sort of expert, but it does seem like even, um, p l a, which, you know, people talk about like having these great properties, um, has a difficult time breaking down.

So I agree. I think it would be interesting to kind of see an intersection of like something that is maybe a little more sustainable, but also, uh, You know, isn't going to break down if you put it in the wash, it would be, uh, interesting to see that. Yeah, for sure. And I think, yeah, PLA is supposed to break down and it does, but it usually takes like commercial kinds of composting and it's, you know, not something that's just gonna biodegrade on its own.

Um, so yeah, it's something we, as a community, hopefully we can aspire towards more exciting elements in that way. Absolutely now kind of staying on that note, uh, actually, like one of the things that had initially got me, um, interested in sewing for a little bit was I, I'm like a huge fan. I love thrifting and like, I love kind of giving, uh, like old pieces, like a new life.

Um, for you in, uh, sewing, do you, um, find that that's kind of like, I guess a, a way to maybe like repurpose older pieces that um, might have like come out of. Fashion or um, is that something that like you kind of work on when you're making different projects? Yeah, so I've never actually done, I think usually the term for that is like upcycling.

Yeah. And there's ton of cool creators that do a lot of upcycling. I've never actually done a like 3D printed upcycle project because usually you can't just do the print on an already existing piece of clothing. Right. Unless you like, kind of do a lot of funky stuff to try to get it on the build to plate with only one piece.

If you think about a shirt, like you don't want both layers of. The shirt that we printed on, because if you can't put it on, um, so I haven't actually done an upcycling project in that way. I've done a couple just like the predate my 3D printing stuff. Yeah, it's definitely something I've thought about and would like to find a better way of doing it.

I, I saw a wedding veil at the thrift shop once and I almost bought it, but it was like so beautiful and I was like, you know, someone probably will want this for their wedding. I don't wanna like make it, you know, like I should like leave it for them. But, um, Yeah, maybe. Maybe that I'll, I have to add that to my to-do list of projects, so at some point do some sort of upcycling thing.

Yeah, it's, uh, it's funny you say that actually about like, uh, when it's an actual like shirt and not just a flat piece of fabric having a problem with that. My, uh, I did one time I tried printing on a shirt and I, uh, I hadn't thought that through. I had purchased a shirt to print on and then realized as I was laying it down on my bed, like, oh, I have to figure out something to do with the other three quarters of the shirt that aren't being printed on.

So that was a, it was a bit of a fiasco there, but yeah, it's, uh, Uh, so many like different things that, uh, come into play when you're trying to make these pieces. Um, for you, like, uh, in, I don't see a lot of people like doing 3D printed fashion. I know that there's, um, a couple people on TikTok, um, who I'm familiar with who do it, but it's not a lot of people.

Do you feel like this kind of gives you the opportunity to like, uh, push like boundaries of different things that you wouldn't traditionally be able to do with other, um, like, uh, just like a standard sewing machine or things like that? Yeah, I think, you know, really the thing that I find exciting about 3D printing with fashion is how like you basically can just put whatever you want on the fabric and you can create like a 3D visual on the fabric, which most like traditional textiles, you're only doing something like, you're doing a 2D pattern that's like screen printed or you're doing like, or if you are doing something 3d, it's super expensive and time consuming like, If you think of like the beautiful like hand beating and floor like 3D florals.

Yeah. That are, you often see on like wedding dresses or like couture gowns. Like with 3D printing we can create a 3D flower that is printed on fabric and it's not, none of the likes crazy man hours. It takes for like those met gala dresses. And it's also, it's not exactly, I mean I think there's something to be said for that, like handmade quality that's just absolutely beautiful and like so much respect for that.

But I also think. With 3D printing, there's like so much opportunity to be able to do that on a scale where like one person, like by myself, I can make something that is as intricate as what they do. Um, and that's, you know, hopefully someday I will be able to make like a full gown that's like super, like a ton of 3D printed elements.

Um, I, that, that project still intimidates me a little bit, but I'm excited to get there. Well, I'm excited to see when you get there, I, uh, like I, I was like kind of following along on the different pieces that you've done and, um, you have, you just like do a lot of unique things. I don't see other people doing.

Um, kind of, you know, in the theme of dresses, you had one dress, it's actually your, uh, your profile image, but you had it where it lit up. Um, what kind of made you go down the road of deciding to do that project? Because it is, it's just really pretty and really unique. Yeah, so I guess for more context, I talked a bit about doing robotics in high school and then I ended up getting my undergrad in computer science.

So when I took kind of a break from 3D printing, a lot of the other stuff I was exploring was code. And I, I knew I wanted to find a way to, I mean, obviously you can use code with some, with 3D printing and whether you're like coding, um, an OpenSCAD to like create a digital design or you're coding your actual printer, not that I do that very much.

I stay, try to stay away from G Code when I can. Um, but I think. Like, I wanted to do something with code and I decided to use like an Arduino, which is what, uh, is in that dress. It's a type of, there's a bunch of different kinds of Arduinos. They're like computer chips, and I connected it to a bunch of like RGB lights and then I could code the dress into any configuration I wanted because I don't know, we, you know, I think fast fashion is such a thing that has been going on in the past 20 years and it's.

It's like sad that we have so much waste. And so I thought about like, oh, well if you make a garment that can change over time and can be a different dress every time you wear it, even though it's like physically the same dress, you know, that like saves the planet. Um, and, and it's like super cool too. I mean, every time I wear that dress out I get so many compliments.

Um, I almost like sometimes it's like, whoa, I don't wanna be this much the center kitchen. Um, but it's super great and it's, I get to change the color. I've tried to code the lights to look like water. I've tried to code the lights to look like fire. Um, just done fun colors, rainbows that, you know, especially if you're coming up on June.

Um, for pride I'll probably try to do some sort of like rainbow dress. Um, so it's just, it's really, it's exciting and it's kind of cool cuz it's like now that I've built it, I can just code for it and I don't have to like, rebuild it every single time. Um, so. Yeah. I love, um, what you said about kind of, you know, having this piece that can transform over time and, uh, I, I hadn't thought about it in that sense, but almost even just like for the seasons, it's kind of cool that maybe you could go to like a winter event and have it be like a little more frosty looking and, um, like you said, pride's coming up.

You could do something for that. So yeah, that's a really cool aspect to it. I, I didn't think about that component by it all. That's, that's really interesting that you say that. Yeah, and I think. I mean, that one, that garment, I don't wash. I haven't quite figured out how that can go in the laundry. Um, so, uh, but I, I think, you know, if we could make more things like that, that like change, I've played around a bit with like UV filament.

We're in the sunlight, it changes color. Mm-hmm. I think, you know, when I think about like in 20, 30 years, what I would love to see fashion look like, like I'd love to see more garments that are like interactive and like change over time or change based on inputs. Yeah, it's uh, I feel like there's so many possibilities of.

You know, the way that technology especially is, it's evolving so quickly right now, how it could, uh, probably evolve into fashion. I know one of the things that you talk about, um, is,  using AI to prototype different ideas for, um, fashion designs. Uh, can you talk a little bit about how you got into doing that and just like what your experiences has have been with, um, iterating on like different, um, looks and styles and prompts that you're using in those AI tools?

Yeah, so I found out first about Dolly, um, like late last year. And then I found Mid Journey, which is my personal favorite for Image Generation. I think, uh, I actually haven't played Rabbit Dolly recently, so it could have caught up or been different, but I think Mid Journey just responds really well to giving it types of art styles.

Um, so I mainly use AI kind of for inspiration, like when I wanna generate. Ideas. Um, as I said earlier, like I've never been a great illustrator and I think that like really held me back in when I was younger. And I think having AI really means like I can type a description of like the kind of garment I wanna create, and then to have it like, create a picture of like something, it's, it's not usually exactly what I imagined in my head, unfortunately, but, um, it gets, you know, it gets in the right direction.

And then to be able to have that image and. Kind of tweak it over time. Um, one of the great things about Mid Journey is you can like prompt it with an image so I can prompt it with an image it's already generated, and then add like additional context for how I wanna tweak it. Um, this has just been like super great for me.

It's also super cool cuz you can use it to generate patterns. So I've actually used it to generate a, like OID pattern and then I tiled that and put it on like it was, I converted it to like an SVG file and then I like extruded the svg. To create like an STL and then I like 3D printed it. Um, so I think, you know, there's like a lot of like interesting ways we can use, um, some of these like 2D image generators that we just haven't even thought of yet because it's so new and it, it really is blowing up.

It's crazy to think like how much I, I mean, I actually, like in my undergrad, one of my concentrations was artificial intelligence. And I, back then it was like a big thing for CS people, but like no one else really was talking about it. And so now to see like every person I talk to, being like, oh, have you tried this?

Like, do you know about chat G P T? It's like super cool. It's a little scary. Um, I think how it's going to impact the art world is still like really up in the air and I hope it's, hopefully it can be more of like a tool to help artists rather than, um, hinder them or, you know, make, I mean, I know the starving artist stereotype like, I don't want that to get worse.

Um, but a lot to see. I mean, it's, it's an exciting time to be living, like experiencing it. Yeah, I, uh, I've recently, only within the last year have I really, um, had like exposure to AI and I, it's become such like an integral part in my day-to-day life. Um, I'm more so tend to use like the chache PT side and like my day-to-day workflow.

But, um, it's. Like you said, it's, it's gonna be interesting to see how it impacts artists over the next couple years. And I almost feel like it's like a double edged sword in the sense that it's, uh, I think it opens up a lot of possibilities for people who maybe don't have, um, like you were saying, maybe like not the most inclined to like illustrations or things like that, but, Um, it's definitely, um, gonna be interesting to see how maybe like people who, that was their background and what they really heavily focused on, how that affects those people.

But, um, certainly a really exciting time. Are you seeing any, um, fashion brands right now that you know of who are, uh, using AI in like any unique ways to kind of like, uh, bring out collections or anything like that right now? Yeah. I believe it's Montclair that released an AI collection. Um, I actually was.

A little underwhelmed a bit, or at least I think some of their image generations, they like didn't fix some of the details. Like, I mean, it's a massive brand. I would've thought they would like go and Photoshop and you know, like, yeah. I think AI does struggle with things like hands. Mm-hmm. Sometimes faces look a little wonky.

Yeah. Um, sometimes like, you know, there's like little details on clothing that, like when you first look at an image you don't notice. You're just like, wow, that's beautiful. But then if you like look, you're like, oh, the zipper like doesn't go far enough down for it to actually be functional. Mm-hmm. Or there's like, Random buttons that like don't make sense and just garments that you're like, how did this person even get into this like garment?

And so I think that's gonna be a really interesting thing the fashion industry is gonna have to figure out is like, okay, we're generating these things with ai, but like, how do we actually make this into a physical garment that someone can wear and is like actually going to serve the function they need it to.

Um, and you know what, if like AI just stops, like, you know, you wanna make sure it has pockets, if pockets are needed. Like if the AI didn't generate that like, That doesn't mean you shouldn't think about adding certain things to the design. Just because you see this beautiful image of a dress or like a garment doesn't mean you can just make that in reality.

Like you have to think about the design details and like whether it's actually gonna have function. Like it doesn't have the pockets that someone would normally want. Does it like actually like fit over someone's head? Or like, is it a garment that someone can actually like put on their body? Um, those are kind of things, you know, AI doesn't think about, but we do.

And so I think that's gonna be like a really big thing fashion brands have to figure out is like, Okay, we generated this, these images, but how do we turn this into like an actual physical garment? Um, and so they're gonna need probably fashion designers to do that. And then one of the other things I mentioned was there's a pretty cool thing called AI Fashion Week.

And they did like a massive open call for just like any people who play around with AI to submit a fashion collection. And I, I actually submitted one. Oh wow. And there was some really cool stuff. I would definitely recommend checking it out. And it's just, You know, I think it's really easy to create one image that's like beautiful and well put together, but to be able to create a whole series of like 15 to 30 garments that not only look like really good and have like beautiful models and diverse models, it's also really hard to make everything cohesive because, you know, again, like the AI's design aesthetic, like it, it changes based on like what words you prompt it with and what you're suggesting.

And so being able to like, Actually create a cohesive collection is also like an interesting challenge, and they ended up with I think like 133 different collections. And so there's just some really great stuff to look at. There's, uh, there's so many interesting things that you said in there for, I'm really, actually, I'm really interested to go check out those collections.

That sounds, um, that sounds super exciting. Um, along the way you were kind of talking about, uh, specifically with like mid journey. I know in the past I've heard people talk about, um, the hands in particular, how it generates the images. You're like, oh my God. It's like the stuff of nightmares is what's happening with the hands, but what I had never thought about that you had, um, Touched on was, uh, like, uh, it's placement of zippers or like, is it going to be feasible for a head to fit through this?

Or like, what's actually functional? Um, that's, I, it's something that like, uh, as somebody who doesn't actually make garments, I would've never thought of. But it completely makes sense as you start to, um, Prompt, the, um, like prompt majority or different AI tools, is that something that you can kind of like work it with it with to um, like make something that might be like a little more feasible in practicality?

Or is that something that you feel like, um, you kind of have to like, after bringing it out of my journey, maybe manually make those tweaks? Um, either, you know, like on paper or in Photoshop, things like that. Yeah, so I think I have definitely tried and they're like, you know, like sometimes there are tricks like you can.

If you, the more in detail you can describe something in like, oftentimes the better result you'll get in terms of like what you're actually envisioning. Um, but sometimes I also don't wanna add those extra like I elements because I wanna see what Mid journey kind of thinks is creative based on like what I put in.

Um, so I find there's often this balance between prompting a lot because you want something very specific versus prompting not too much because you really wanna see like the ideas that mid journey brings to the table. Um, and again, this is also something that I think is sometimes a bit questionable or a bit like, it's hard to say, like, you know exactly where things are gonna end up because one thing I know I like, struggle with is that Mid Journey does use like images from artists mm-hmm.

Without their permission. And, um, you know, obviously that's like one thing to do for things that are out of trademark, very old pieces. Um, you know, for, we're taking like looks from the. S you know, like forties, like that's one thing. But then to take modern day clothing, and I think this is something that is already super bad in fashion, is like ev everybody gets ripped off.

Mm-hmm. Like, this is like, I mean that's like exactly what fast fashion does. They just like go buy the garments of like big fashion houses and then just try to figure out how to recreate them for really cheap. And, um, I mean, I think Mid Journey just kind of just had on steroids with ai, um, that said like, This is also kind of what humans do is like we, we take in all the art around us, and the art we create is often just like a conglomeration of all the art that we witness and adding our own twist on it.

And so, you know, I don't know much about how the trademarks and the rules around AI ownership is gonna turn out in the future, but, um, I, I'm definitely interested in watching that conversation. Um, because yeah, like, like I said, fashion is already pretty rampant with. Copycats and on one hand another shot, which you can do to combat that.

You just, just like, I think Alexander McQueen said like, you just, yeah, I know. People steal my designs all the time. That's why I just keep making awesome new stuff. Um, so I guess that's like one mentality to take. Um, but I do think there are a lot of artists that get, you know, upset about it cuz it is, it is rough when you see like something you've made stolen.

Um, yeah, I think, uh, that's, that's another whole wormhole with AI and, um, just like how the legalities of it are gonna pay out, you know, who owns the images that it's sourcing. Uh, it's what it's spitting out as, um, from, and I think even, uh, you know, I'm not sure exactly how old you are , but I, uh, I was like kind of the tail end of like growing up with.

Out like cell phones and like internet being super popular and like kind of right as I was a teenager, that was becoming more popular. But, um, I think seeing, uh, I was into photography when I was younger and seeing how Instagram kind of changed that. Um, obviously, you know, the creative process that you have when you're a lot more limited to being inspired by seeing other people's works on a daily basis and being able to scroll through and see, um, just have so much inspiration.

I think it. It a lot of times can change your process for how you make art and how you approach, um, creativity. And I, I think one of the things that was always very difficult for me back then is it's, it's hard to know if an idea that you have is ever an original idea or if there even is such a thing, is an original idea anymore.

So, um, that's something that's always been like a really interesting concept to me is how much of, um, everybody's work. Not just, you know, somebody who's newer or somebody who's, uh, At like the top of their field. Uh, I guess like across the board, how much of, uh, people's creativity is inspired and how much is something that maybe didn't, uh, exist already or is completely innate for them.

So I think that's, I don't know, that's something I can nerd out about all day. Oh yeah, for sure. And I think on the social media note too, it's like social media pushes us to like be creative constantly. Like the artists that are like, Dr. Like doing sketching every single day on their social media. I'm always so impressed by, and I do think there's a lot of good about like practicing creatively every day if you can.

But it's also like when you feel like you have to do that for social media, I think it can really create like burnout and like make you less excited to create and trying to find that balance of, you know, you wanna, you do wanna share your art and you wanna post, but also not feeling pressure to post like constantly.

It's, it's a hard balance. Yeah, I, uh, I definitely feel like it, uh, you can get creatively burnt out pretty easily on the internet of, um, you know, feeling like you have to make something every day. Um, however, I will say on that note, I know one of the things that you, uh, had talked about for a while was doing, I believed you called it a no zero day, if I'm not mistaken.

Yeah, yeah. I, I've never heard somebody use that phrase before. Um, but I really love that, like I. I'm somebody, I struggle so much. I, I don't even wanna use the word struggle. It's, it's my own problem I create for myself, but I will get so excited about a project and start it, and at some point along the way, I just, I stopped working on it.

I never touched it again. And, um, I Maybe for people who haven't seen that, uh, series that you did, can you kind of just like explain to people what that, uh, concept is? Yeah, so I actually learned this from a friend who was writing a novel and he basically had this idea called like, no zero days, which is where like, Every day.

I don't care how much I write, how little I write, I'm gonna like put a single word on paper at least towards my novel. Um, and you know, I think at least for me, sometimes the hump is just getting started. And so it's like, oh, like once I do a little bit, I actually like get into the groove and I do a lot.

Um, and even if that's not true, like, you know, at least I did something. So for myself, you know, writing is a little bit easier to apply this world to cuz you can always say, well, at least I wrote one thing. I basically just told myself like, at least I'll do one thing today. Like if all that thing is me writing a to-do list of things I need to do for this project for the future, like I'm gonna do something today towards like this project or this goal.

Um, and it's, it's something I've definitely tried to implement for specific projects and even like on a bigger scale. Um, though though it is hard. There, there are days you mess up. Um, and I feel like the biggest thing is like, just don't, you know, beat yourself up about it. Just like, you know, get back on the horse the next day.

Um, I guess that's more like general life advice, but at least something I've learned as someone who definitely puts probably too much pressure on myself. Yeah. Um, no, honestly, that it, it was, I was laying up watching that last night. It was like honestly inspiring to me. It was like, that is something I need to absolutely implement in my life.

And I think it, um, it, it can be a good way to approach maybe those projects that. Are a little daunting and it, uh, feels like maybe you're never gonna get to the end. But, uh, like you were saying, you know, just if it's as simple as writing down a to-do list or, um, I know in the one video you're like, I'm just gonna cut out one pattern.

I think, uh, I think just those little steps, uh, are they end up adding up. And like you said, I, I know for me, sometimes I'll, uh, I'll sit down like, oh, I'm just gonna stand one piece of my print. And, uh, then. You know, an hour later I've sanded my whole project. So I definitely think it can be, uh, a good motivator there.

But yeah, a really unique concept that I've never heard before. Yeah, and I think, you know, one thing I love about TikTok as compared to like other social media as you know, especially like growing up, I think there was this idea, like on Instagram, you like had to be perfect and everything you posted had to be this like super aesthetic curated feed.

And I think, you know, we should normalize more like posting failures and posting those days where like maybe you didn't get a lot done, like maybe all you did was cut one piece of fabric. Um, but you know, those, those little wins like matter too. And you know, no one, like what you see on social media is not what is a reality.

And so being able to, you know, share failures or, I mean, and I don't even know if I'd consider like that a failure cuz I did do my day. Like it wasn't a zero day. Um, but, but maybe it was. I think reframing it cuz it wasn't a failure, like I did get something done. Um, being able to like, share that with people so that they, they also realize, you know, I don't, I don't have to do a ton today.

I can do, you know what? I can and that'll be good enough. Yeah, you, uh, you said something interesting there that I guess I had never really thought of, but you're so right, like Instagram. Definitely. I feel like the idea there was like, it, the highlight reel of your life and like everything was perfect, everything was so curated.

But, uh, maybe that I always say like, I love TikTok and I feel like it's such like, uh, a strangely nurturing place on the internet. Like people are very kind and helpful and, uh, maybe, maybe that's what it is. I don't know. I feel like people are a little more accepting to, uh, show. A realer version of themself.

But, uh, yeah, it can, uh, it, it definitely can be difficult when you're posting on the internet and, um, you know, seeing everyone else's highlight reel of their life and only the good pieces. So that's, uh, it definitely makes sense what you're saying there. Um, now when we kind of talked about like, you know, um, no zero days being possibly like a good way to approach bigger projects or more daunting projects, are there any projects in the back of your mind right now that you're maybe really excited about for the near future?

Or something that you just like, you know, in the back of your head is something that's a, a really big project that you definitely wanna take on at some point. Yeah, so I've been experimenting with a couple different things. So I mentioned like my handbag class earlier. I've actually, every bag I've been making for that, I've been incorporating 3D printing.

So one of the new things I really wanna try is actually making, like sewing a bag, but using like TPU printed pieces. Mm-hmm. So, Um, I've definitely experimented a bit with like 3D printing an entire bag, and I think that's really fun. But I wanna try using like TPU as like a pure textile where I print it in the shape of the pattern piece and then I like sew it together in like traditional construction methods.

Um, and I think that'll be really interesting. I, I think like it means, you know, you can do that like 3D element on a bag and then, but also be able to like line it with like a nice material and make it in a more traditional way. Um, and I, I mean, I think there are pros and cons. I don't know, like I think I'm explaining this and I'm like, oh, but people might think this is weird.

Like, why wouldn't I just like 3D print the whole bag? Um, but I mean, I think you can do both and I think there are like interesting things about both, and I really, you know, exploring them both as options, uh, just gives me like more knowledge. Um, and then I also, I've been working on a, like 3D printed corset, um, that is 3D printed on organza and then, Uh, sewn together, and I actually created those designs using ai, um, in term for the, like, the way the like, kind of what I mentioned earlier, where I 3D printed using a, like SVG converted to an sstl.

Um, well actually I went from like a p and g in mid journey to then an svg, then to an sstl. Um, so lots of processing. Hopefully, hopefully, you know, workflows can simplify at some point, but you make it work. Yeah. Uh, since, uh, getting into 3D printing, uh, file converters have strangely become like one of my best friends.

But, um, one of the, you talked about like the handbags that you're working on, and I know that there's a couple that you had posted, um, videos of, and one of the things that you talked about is like, maybe if we are like, well, why wouldn't you just 3D print the whole bag? But I think one of the things that I actually really loved about, uh, the pieces that you had made, uh, you had wanted, it was.

Uh, kind of like, uh, a white structure that was 3D printed, but you had added flowers on there. And then I believe there was another one. I wanna say it was blue. Um, and I think that you had laced it together. And I always say this, I think that there's something really special, or maybe it's not special, but it just, it, it adds a lot to a print when I think there's other, um, material elements added.

And I personally, I love that. Like, I think it, uh, elevates the piece a lot and I think it just makes it feel, um, Not just like, you know, something that you could have pulled off the printer and anybody could have printed, but really like a custom thing that, um, is unique to you and unique to your style.

So I, I personally loved how you did those. I thought they turned out really cool. Yeah, like some of my favorite garments. Um, like one of my favorite designers, Alexander McQueen, he did so many like interesting work where it's like soft and hard and like kind of looking at the dichotomies and use different materials.

Like, you know, when you put like leather next to a tool like. That creates a completely different look than if you were only gonna use like one of those materials. And I think 3D printing is like an extra like material you can use and you don't just wanna like cut out all the other ones. Like I, I think that contrast really, I agree, like it adds more to the 3D print and really just enhances it.

Um, and maybe it takes a little bit more effort, but at the end of the day, like you, you have a better product. Yeah, no, I completely agree. Um, are there, I, I think I've seen from Adidas maybe, I think that they, um, might have a shoe that I wanna say it's partially 3D printed. Are you hearing of any other, um, brands right now, like using 3D printing in their fashion?

Or is that, uh, not something that's like super mainstream yet? Yeah, so Nike currently has a shoe that, like the base is partially 3D printed, and I believe Adidas also has something similar. There are also shoes that are like fully 3D printed. Um, I'm, I can't, oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm forgetting this, but the brand that, like Kanye was associated with.

Oh, um, oh God. It's on the tip of my tongue. I'm just gonna look it up. Uh, is it Balenciaga or not them? Uh, he worked really cl Oh, Yeezy's is what I'm thinking of. Yeezy. Okay. Yeah. He worked really closely with Balenciaga. Um, but yeah, so Kanye created, uh, or worked a lot with Yeezy's, and Yeezy has a couple of like, or at least one, like purely 3D printed shoe.

Okay. Um, obviously, you know, that's a much more luxury line. Very expensive. Um, a lot of like what fashion brands use is more s SLS printing. Which is really great cuz you can get a lot better detail and cleaning up the print is a lot easier. Um, I don't know about anyone else, but I don't like dealing with brims and supports if I can avoid it.

Um, I don't like sanding. I, I will do much more work than I should to avoid having to deal with those things. Um, and so one of like the nice things about SLS printing, which is a lot more industrial, I, I've did a little bit of research and none of the SLS printers were within my price range. Um, But a lot of them, uh, the way it's like it works is more like a laser solidifies like a powder.

And because of that, like all the other powder just kind of like brushes away or you can like wash it off once your 3D printed item is done. And so I think, you know, for shoes, which has like a hollow inside, um, particularly, I mean like close toed shoes. Yeah. You, you want something like that or you wanna use a filament that is, uh, dissolvable.

Mm-hmm. That's actually something I eventually would like to do is. Use like dissolvable filament for my supports. And then actually 3D print shoes where I don't have to deal with, um, supports. So that also might be a, a, a project on the horizon, um, at some point. Or, you know, it's summer's coming, so making like TPU sandals, uh, those, those things are definitely on the list.

Whatever you end up coming out with, I'm excited to see what the next project is. Um, Well, with that said, I have learned so much talking to you today. There's, uh, a lot of cool things that I, from, uh, AI to fashion I had no idea about. So I really appreciate you taking the time to sit down and talk to us.

Uh, for people who don't follow you yet, can you tell everybody where on the internet they can check out your projects and what you're working on? Yeah. You can find me at julia dot Leaf and it's Leaf with an e at the end. Uh, both on Instagram and TikTok. TikTok, I guess doesn't have the dot, it's just Julia Leaf, and then Instagram has the dot.

Uh, I also have like a portfolio site@julian.dev, though it's not like as frequently updated. So. Awesome. Well, thank you again so much for coming on today. It was a pleasure having you. And with that said, that is Meet the Makers.