The Story of Retro-Reflective and Why I love All Things Sparkly
I got up early this morning and as I watch the magnificent sun rise over the sea I’m almost too blinded to see what I’m writing… which makes me think about LIGHT, and why I like some of the materials I work with so much. Sequins – bring it on! Glitter – yay ! RETRO-REFLECTIVE FABRIC – what an AMAZING thing!! (More about that later.)
I always loved sparkly and shiny things as a child, as you do. But it seems I never moved on entirely. I still have this fascination with All Things Sparkly. I still consider buying that pencil case with the silver glitter instead of the matte and mature adult version, I still hover by the holographic poster section at the science museum wondering if I could get away with buying one for myself. As an adult you would expect to develop more sophisticated tastes and preference, wouldn’t you? And don’t get me wrong, I do love the Modern design aesthetic and live in a house with toned down colours and a lot of Scandi style furniture. But I also have fairy lights in my house all year round and something still draws me to over the top sparkly and bright. Maybe more than it should as an adult? I don’t know. Kids love Kitsch is what my aunt, who worked with children a lot always said. Am I still catching up with something here...?
But no, I don’t seem to be the only one and it appears that human beings in general are attracted to shiny things. So what’s behind it? Folk have looked at this from different angles. Hunter-gatherer tribes have associated shiny things with spiritual powers, anthropological studies say. Gold and bling may of course make us think of status and wealth. And / or: shiny equals pretty. It’s perhaps a cultural thing, it may be socialised? But babies seem to prefer putting glossy things into their mouths over matte dull coloured ones, so it must be more than a “learned” behaviour. Now here’s the INTERESTING THING: according to recent research, there may be another evolutionary reason for it. And this has to do with our basic need for water…
A study from the Universities of Houston, Texas/USA, and Ghent, Belgium, connected the appeal of glossy surfaces to humankind’s “age-old quest for fresh water to ensure survival” (1).
In the evolution of people, our need to stay hydrated has kept us on the lookout for glittering streams, lakes and rivers. Psychologically it makes sense then, that we have a preference for sparkly things which resemble the surface of water, as they connect with something deep down in our DNA. There’s sure more to it, there are most definitely also socialised elements, but … Looking at the surface of the sea, when the sun dances on it and those glittery stars look completely like in a cheesy 1980s animation movie, almost unreal... that definitely stirs something in me.
What do you think about that?
(I’m not so strange after all.)
(Do you ever feel like that?)
The great things is: I have my OUTLET in Sparklewear! 😊
I heat press and sew usually silver, sometimes gold, retro-reflective materials on to cycling vests, hi-vis sashes and other high visibility accessories. Now for something completely different: moving on to the technology behind it, how does it work? How is the effect created when you hold reflective material into direct light, such as a torch, flash or car headlights? Who invented retro-reflective tape?
Someone once told me the story that it was originally made from a by-product of the glass crystal industry. I am imagining someone working in a Swarovski factory in the early 20th Century, perhaps cleaning off some glass dust from their day’s work, which happens to catch the evening light and sparkle right back at him (or her!). And conceiving the idea of using this reflective quality for the purpose of road safety, amongst other things. The tiny little glass shards would later be used to create the ultra-reflective effect of the strips you find on safety clothing (and on Sparklewear pieces)!
Isn’t that super cool - the material I use may have an element of sustainability here, using by-products of something else?!
Reflectivity itself was of course not invented but has always existed in nature. We can see objects because light bounces off them. Objects and materials that are shaped in a certain way, such as a cat’s eye, are retro-reflective, which is also a naturally occurring phenomenon. It means the light bounces directly back to where it came from (ie at the same angle), making it super bright. Sorry, this is getting a bit technically. But it’s SO INTERESTING!
In the 1930s different companies developed ways of mimicking retro-reflectivity occurring in nature. This may be common knowledge, but I learned just recently that the reflectors used for road markings were developed in Britain - their inventor, Percy Shaw noticed that he had been using the reflective metal of the tram lines to navigate in the dark, which were disappearing with the increase of motorcars. So something else was needed, which he modelled on the reflective mechanism of a cat’s eye (3)! Elsewhere people experimented with those tiny round glass beads that would be stuck onto surfaces, like cinema screens to make them brighter, and for road safety products. Wondrous American inventor company 3M perfected this technology, making it increasingly effective for example by bonding the beads to different surfaces, adding bright colour underneath and sealing the top.
So cool.
By the way, I have to say although I like to admire those glass figures in shops, my passion for sparkly doesn’t stretch to a Swarovski collection (maybe just wait till my 8-year-old discovers them though…).
Whether the story of retro-reflective technology starting at a fancy glass ornament factory is entirely true I don’t know. I never found evidence of it written down. But often inventions spring out of something else, are sometimes accidental, aren’t they.
These days though I doubt the glass used is still a by-product. There’s now a highly developed and specialised industry to create just the right effect. There is glass beads as well as prismatic technology. There are cat’s eyes and tape and paint and vinyl and fabric and material in all shapes and sizes; woven, stretchy, plain, patterned, there’s reflective bias binding I use for the arm holes and neckline… YOU NAME IT!
So. I’ve said a lot of things. From blazing sunlight dancing on sea waves, our attraction to shiny, glossy and sparkly because of our need for water…
… to retro-reflective technology to keep us safe - it’s not entirely unrelated, is it? We’re passed the Equinox now, so increasingly less need for cycling or moving after dark. But guess what, like those fairy lights, I love using my hi-vis vest all year round… I may stop here and conclude with the usual, thanks for reading and: be safe, be seen and keep sparkling! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
References:
(1) Mert, Pandelaere & Patrick (2013) Taking a shine to it: How the preference for glossy stems from an innate need for water. Journal of Consumer Psychology
(2) Find out even more about retro-reflective technology here: Steven Cole of Reflective Inc. https://reflectivetape.info/about/
(3) “Cat's eye (road)” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_eye_%28road%29