Norene Leddy started designs for the Platforms sandal in 2003, and the first Platform 001 sandal was launched at Eyebeam in May 2006. In addition to Platforms, she is currently working on Magic Girdle/Kestos Imas, a wearable device that will aid sex workers in discreet communications with their clients.
Norene's work combines video, sculpture and installation and has been shown internationally. She has received several awards, including a Fulbright Fellowship. In 2001, Sanctuary re-activated the Sanctuary of Aphrodite in Paphos, Cyprus. A series of large-scale video projections and audio installations throughout the sanctuary used the Aphrodite of antiquity as a starting point and combined her with images of contemporary Cypriot domesticity: local supermarkets and the home-life of Cypriot women. In 2006 Platforms was developed during an artist's residency at the Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology in Chelsea. Norene earned an M.F.A. from Parsons School of Design in New York, and currently teaches drawing and video at Parsons and Kean University.
[download resume pdf]
Andrew Milmoe has been the technical lead on the Platforms project since 2004. He developed the interface and integrated the technology into our first two pairs of shoes. He is currently at work on the Platforms 002 sandal.
Andrew is a new media artist and physical computing expert. He builds his own interactive art by developing electronic platforms for creative public expression. He earned a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon and a M.P.S. from New York University.
[download resume pdf]
Ed B. Lepow joined the team in August 2006 to work on the latest prototype shoes. He is currently working on our DIY site, which will include instructions for making your own video and GPS-enabled shoes.
After taking part in the "Sovereign Whores and Seditious Technology" panel at Eyebeam, Melissa Gira joined the team in September 2006 to be our Web Director and Community Advisor. She is hard at work on The Aphrodite Project: Windows [working title], a web and mobile phone-based application for contemporary sex workers.
