I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time. The 3D print company Shapeways allows users to create “online shops” on its website, where other users can order 3D prints of their designs. The shop owners mark up their designs to get a commission when prints are ordered.
My starting lineup of products consists of the Yin and Yang vessel, the series of Cubic-styled planters, and the “Embrace” planter. The prices for large objects like flower pots are pretty extreme right now, so I don’t really expect to make a lot / any money. But hopefully as production costs go down my products will start to look a little more reasonable. I also plan to make some jewelry designs in the future, which I expect will be more reasonably priced.
I named my shop Synapse. A synapse is a connection between two nerve cells, and trillions of synapses make up the structures of our brains. All of my work in art and design comes from the interaction of “left-brain” analytical thinking and “right-brain” abstract creative thinking. The Yin and Yang vessel, for example: there was a creative idea —represent the Yin and Yang symbol in new physical media to re— and there were mathematical rules that I followed:
- The walls of the structure have uniform thickness.
- The main curve is cut around two perfect circles contained inside a larger circle of twice the diameter.
- The smaller inner circles each have a diameter 1/3 the diameter of their containing circles.
A synapse is a connection. The connection and communication between the analytical and creative sides of my brain is what makes me enjoy 3D art so much, and I certainly hope it gives my designs character.
