Life is all about change. Nothing should ever stay static, at least not for too long. Well, with these nifty little pom-pom light switches by International Fashion Machines (IFM) you'll be switching things around all the time, just for the sheer fun of it.

IFM founder and CEO Maggie Orth, moderated the panel on Extreme Fashion at Siggraph 2005. In her presentation she described her tufted creations, showing images from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, where her work is included in the Extreme Textiles exhibition. The pom-poms are essentially soft switches, made entirely out of fuzzy textile.

As a pioneer in "e-textiles" Dr. Orth is a dynamic figure, responsible for some of the first gutsy forays into the integration of fashion and technology. Her graduate work at the MIT Media Lab has inspired countless numbers of people, me included. With a very keen eye for making real products for people to buy and consume, we can all expect to see more fun and creative offerings from IFM in the future.

According to the IFM website, the Pom-Pom light dimmer will be available on the market in September 2005. Just imagine if this pom-pom craze takes off ... forget knobs and levers, hello warm fuzzies.