About us
Stay in touch
A loom invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1804 that wove patterns from chains of punched cards. It inspired Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine and is often called an ancestor of the computer.
The Jacquard loom came around in the early nineteenth century, introducing punch cards as a method of automating woven designs. This revolutionized the textile industry and greatly sped up the weaving process.
Emily Xie, Emily Xie on Textile as Personal Canvas
The efficiency gains also led to increased experimentation in designs and generally opened the door to complex and intricate possibilities that weren’t feasible before. One might argue that computation here enabled new forms of creative expression, even as it removed the human hand.
Emily Xie, Emily Xie on Textile as Personal Canvas