For this blog post, I wanted to share a really fun thing which you can do through Inkscape (a free vector software package which I love). You can use it to generate a barcode which you can then export and use for different purposes. I discovered it when I was trying to think of a fancy dress costume for a 50th birthday party, the theme of which was 'Great things to come out of 1974'. I decided to go as a barcode - which is apparently when the bar code was invented and printed for the first time on some Wrigley's Gum. I used the barcode theme as a stepping stone for my friend's presents as well. To generate a barcode in Inkscape, it is really simple.
- Make a new file
- Go to Extensions>Render>Barcode>Classic
- Make it 12 digits long
- Edit the size as required
- Go to File>Export>PNG.
The barcode I generated was made up of my friend's date of birth and age. You can see my barcode themed outfit that I wore above. I love love love Vinted, and I bought a catsuit for £3, a belt for £1 and a pair of black and white boots for £10. I had the barcode printed up on the belt. I used a lasercutter to cut out the barcode from a piece of mountcard. Thanks to a genius suggestion from a friend, instead of making this piece of lasercut mountcard into a boring necklace, I made it into a pair of sunglasses by butchering a cheap pair of reading glasses. These glasses were very impactful and were a huge hit at the party, and astonishingly effective as a pair of sunglasses. The slits mean you can see through them no problem.
I used the barcode theme as the basis for my friend's presents as well. Although they now live near London, they are from Scotland - so I used a special piece of Douglas Fir veneer and laser cut their birthday barcode into it, and made it into a key ring. I printed out their bar code as a paper, and created a photo album. You can buy both a horizontal and vertical variation of this pattern on my Spoonflower shop. Have a go at making barcodes yourself -it is really easy!
