The Value of a Custom Made Gift is Greater Than the Sum of it’s Parts

There is little more rewarding then giving a loved one something that you have made especially for them. The value of the item far exceeds the sum of it’s parts, as the act of making embeds meaning into the object far beyond a mass produced item, or a unique item you may have chosen from as artist or craftsperson. Your participation in the item adds a level of depth to the story and meaning behind the gift, that simply cannot been bought.  The item becomes priceless, not in a Mastercard advertisement kind of way, but the item is embedded with genuine meaning.

Designing a gift using on demand 3D printing with Shapeways may not mean you are hand forging every atom in the item, but the thought and emotion behind your design, the time spent 3D modeling (if you can), along with any post production you do increases the social value of your gift.

There are many beautiful stories in the Shapeways forums of people 3D printing gifts for loved ones. One of the most recent stories to capture our hearts at Shapeways is an age old story:

• Boy meets girl 
• Boy falls in love with girl
• Girl mentions she loves a pendant that is no longer for sale (the impossible mission is set) 
• Boy becomes the hero, locks his mission into his sights and decides he must design, 3D print and assemble the pendant to give to her (in 2012 the hero fabricates the Holy Grail) 
• Not knowing how to 3D model so well he enlists the help of a designer from the Shapeways forums (cutting the Gordian Knot with a little help from 3D superstar Kevin Wei)
• Shapeways 3D prints the design in Sterling Silver and sends it to our hero’s door where he then has a crash course in setting jewels as he glues 150 Swarovski Crystals into the pendant
• Once complete he packages up the pendant and sends it across the ocean, nervously anticipating how she will receive the gift he has invested with so much time and energy.

You can read the entire story in the Shapeways forums which includes the line that really summed up the value of giving custom made gift that really captured our hearts.

Oh well, right now it’s being transported… so I don’t know yet whether she likes it. But honestly, when I send it off… it felt like I was sending a piece of myself… the amount of work and dedication that goes into making this… really made it the most special gift I have ever given somebody.

Good luck David, I am sure she will love it. 

Tag Tuesday : The Gift Edition : Are You Ready for Black Friday

To celebrate the launch of the Shapeways Gift Guide and the impending Black Friday avalanche of traffic to your Shapeways shops this weeks Tag Tuesday is gift. Tag your designs with gift to help people find your designs that are suitable for giving this holiday gifting season.  Over the course of the day we will take a look back at the tag gift and will try and include more in preparation for Black Friday.  We will be doing some promotions over Black Friday so ensure your shop is ready with tags, descriptions and images, yes images!!!!.

Following are a few products in the Shapeways shops tagged with gift, what are yours tagged with?

Elegant Origami Vase 3D Printed in Ceramics

3D Printing Ceramics is Flat Rate Awesome at Shapeways

We have discounted 3D Printing Ceramics at Shapeways, then extended the discount for another week, now we are continuing the ceramic love with a flat rate price of $0.18 per cm² on ALL 3D Ceramic 3D Printing at Shapeways.

So you can order your Cory Doctorow bust in Satin Black or Eggshell Blue, Gloss White or Pastel Yellow and it will cost you the same low price of only $0.18 per cm².Remember our 3D Printed Ceramics is calculated by surface area not volume, and be sure to read the Ceramics Design Guidelines before you order your model to ensure your design is 3D Printable in ceramics.

Pushing the Boundaries of Personal 3D Printing in Ceramics

Since forming in 2002, Belgian Design Studio Unfold has shown a real passion for creative uses of ceramics in design. More recently they have been busy pushing the boundaries of personal 3D Printing using ceramics and sharing their progress on the Unfold ~fab blog.

Do you love personalizing things to tell a story about you? Well, now you can personalize your jewelry to tell where you’ve been. Design & Data Visualization geniuses Sha Hwang & Rachel Binx have created Meshu to turn your places into beautiful objects. Meshu Necklace created by Rachel Binx “These earrings are my 3 month backpacking trip to Southeast Asia” - Rachel Binx You can start creating by zooming and clicking places on the map, searching by address, or jump straight by connecting with Foursquare to pull your check-in data for a particular area. (via Shapeways | Blog: The Places You Love - Told by the 3D Printed Jewelry You Wear)

Introducing 3D Printed Black Elasto Plastic : I Can’t Believe It’s Not Rubber

It’s squishy, it’s flexible, it stretches, it bounces, it blends, it’s 3D Printed Black Elasto Plastic!!!!!

Black Elasto Plastic is our first fully flexible material! It is still in the experimental stages of development, and we are learning more about the possibilities and restrictions of this material each and every day. Design, order and give us feedback when your model arrives at your doorstep! This material will be on trial until the July 20th, 2012, so get your orders in soon. After the trial, we will review and decide whether to introduce it permanently, whether we need to change any design rules, etc.

Satin Black and Satin White 3D Printed Ceramic Cory Doctorow at Shapeways on Flickr.

Satin Black 3D Printed Ceramics at Shapeways on Flickr.

Avocado Green 3D Printed Ceramics at Shapeways on Flickr.

Satin White 3D Printed Ceramics at Shapeways on Flickr.

Eggshell Blue 3D Printed Ceramics at Shapeways on Flickr.

Pastel Yellow 3D Printed Ceramics at Shapeways on Flickr.

A Beautiful New Palette of Colors for Your Ceramic 3D Printing at @Shapeways

Now your designs can be 3D printed in a range of beautiful ceramic glazes with our new pastel palette of colors along with satin black finish to join our existing black and white gloss ceramic finishes.