Most people wouldn’t think it was possible to create an amazing design from a sketch that takes 5 seconds to draw. Karl-Oskar proves this can be done with his 5 Second Plate. The form was created from a series of 5 second sketches that literally became the shape of the plate. The sketches were translated into digital files and cut from glass on a water-jet cutter.

I find this process very interesting especially in relation to Photomake and using digital technologies to express unqiue quality in a product made by a machine. When we first started talking about an online tool that would take sketches and turn them into laser cutting files, my first thought was how this might be utilized to create the perfect series of indiviualized products. I imagined drawing something over and over again, each one being slightly different because of the subtle variation in hand movements and then being able to sell them as unique pieces. This is the value of digital production over mass production that is becoming more popular. They allow us to create unique products at close to the same price as mass production but there is a ton of value in the uniqueness.

Karl’s 5 Second Plate captures this potential really well. Who knows, maybe one day all of the 5 second sketches could become a product. In the mean time it is great inspiration for how you might approach designing something to make on Photomake.

For just 80 euro (US$114) Miniot can retro fit you spanking new 3G iPhone with you choice of Oak, Cherry, Padouk, Mahogany or Walnut “protective” case.

Ok, so there have been some reports of the cases shattering if dropped, exposed to radical temperature changes or looked at in the wrong way, but they can be truly beautiful, like Joe Mansfield’s personalised design.

Wow! Laser is a blog on all the wonderful laser-y things. The title says all. It is a light version of Laserati.com.
Note: Image not from Laserati

Laserati is a community website for people working on or with lasers, featuring automatic laser news aggregation and self-serving information publication.

Laserati also has it’s own Googlaser, laser focused search engine, powered by google. (actually, I just wanted an excuse to have a link to google, is that weird?)

Anyway, you may have seen it before, but the site also features all you may never want to know with a Wiki, forums, blogs, books and video of Laser Pizza Cutting, finally, the precise slice…

Not sure what to design with Ponoko’s new Photomake software? Why not sketch yourself a Cat Cocoon?

The Cat Cocoon is a sculptural furniture piece made out of layers of laser-cut corrugated cardboard- all glued together to provide a nice playhouse for your cat. The rippled cardboard texture doubles as a scratching post. And finally, the glue used in the process is water-based, which is generally less toxic than standard glues.

Designed by One-Form, The Cat Cocoon is now patented, U.S. Pat. D523,182 under pet habitat so you can’t copy it exactly, but perhaps you have a hamster, rat, or gecko that may enjoy a Ponoko produced laser cut habitat?

In the last 24 hours things moved into a higher gear!

Photomake was launched last night - you’ve got to check this out … (includes a spanky video.)

We knew there would be a bit of a rush on the site as soon as we made it live.

But we certainly weren’t expecting this!

Thousands more were hitting the web page than we expected. And as soon as the clock struck 5, loads of uploading kicked off a hammering on the order button.

Here’s a few examples of some stuff people have made using Photomake in the last 24 hours - shots of the designs versus the finished products.

First up we’ve got Robin’s hand drawn ferrets - you’ll notice they are not twins, but probably related:

And we’ve got the little son of Kyle - hand drawn love, he’ll be stoked with his dad!

You can also take a look inside of Geremy’s digitally drawn Ghead here:

And the smooth simplicity of Jessica’s digitally drawn fan:

Then Andrew has created some cool coasters, also digitally drawn:

Nice and easy huh!

We’ve also had some press praise about Photomake too. Thanks very much to the good jokers at the world’s:
1st most popular green blog
2nd most popular blog
10th most popular blog
14th most popular blog

… and so many more. We’re really buzzed – this is great exposure for Ponoko sellers!

[UPDATE] Thanks also to you beauties at the world’s:
1st most popular crafter’s blog
1st most popular designer’s site
1st most popular maker’s site
5th most popular blog
36th most popular blog
52nd most popular blog

Now this also means the small number of insane shipping deals we offered (like $7.60 anywhere in the US) are getting snatched up faster than we thought. So if you’re waiting, you might like to get a little shuffle along!

And if you’ve got a question or concern, we have listed the top 20 FAQs about Photomake. Chances are you’ll find an answer there, so check them out and make the dash to get a great shipping deal before they run out.

[UPDATE] As a final note to all of you getting products delivered, please feel free to leave a comment below including a link to photos you’ve uploaded to your Ponoko Showroom – perhaps get yourself a little bit of free exposure

molly m designs is a jewelry design endeavor which merges handcrafted design sensibility with a high tech production process. drawing on her architectural background, the process starts with a sketch, which she then drafts on a computer and prints on a laser cutter.

the jewelry is inspired by observations of built and natural landscapes - a skyline, a bird in flight, an aerial view of a city, a shadow, water patterns, a composition of branches, snowflakes, a patch of concrete…

Her ‘lines and circles’ range are made with birch veneer and acrylic. this is the first line by molly m designs. in this line molly experiments with the two functions of the laser cutter: etching and cutting, and the effects those two functions can have on a solid and transparent material. the designs utilize lines and circles in various combinations, achieving screenlike, moire, and cutout patterns.

the botanical line is made of materials chosen with their sustainable qualities in mind. these include: the veneer of two different species of bamboo; recycled suede, felt, and wool. bamboo is a rapidly renewable material with a growth cycle of just 3-5 years, making it one of the most sustainable wood products on the market. the felt and wool are salvaged from surplus army clothing, and the suede is reclaimed from second hand jackets. the designs are inspired by molly’s mom’s garden and the onset of autumn in berkeley.

Nice work, similar to Ponoko’s own design, and that of Lucia and Clark’s.

As promised, here’s your opportunity to check out our shiny new magical product …

Introducing Photomake
You can now turn digital photos of your hand drawings into real life products simply by uploading them to the Ponoko website.

This means you do not need to use graphics software to make something. This significantly lowers the entry barrier for all creative people who can hand draw using pen and paper but do not know how to use design software.

But if you want to use graphics software like Photoshop, GIMP or MS Paint to upload any jpg, gif or png files, you can do that too.

Take a test drive (no login required)!
To turn a photo of your hand drawn design or a jpg, gif or png file into the real life thing, just upload your design here.

Quick draw bonus
And don’t forget that if you’re one of the first 100 to make something using Photomake, you’ll get an insane deal on the shipping costs (like $7.60 to anywhere in the US!). Given the speed at which you can use Photomake these will go quick, so you might like to head over there now.

Enjoy

(And please do write up your comments below - we’d love to hear what you have to say).

With winter on the way in the Norther Hemisphere (summer approaches here in Australia), why not keep your neck warm with a little laser cut typography?

Little Factory produce these microfiber suede scarves available in Uppercase or Lowercase and Numbers styles, in off-white or black.

Based in Hong Kong, Little Factory started as a design website focusing on pixel graphics. They shared their ideas with others by offering free downloads such as icons, wallpapers and screensavers, with works have been published in books and magazines and won several awards.

Also check out their sweet bed spreads available in Tree, Tomato, Goldfish, Rain or Animal.

Neil Gershenfeld’s 2007 book, Fab: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop–from Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication, covers What if you could someday put the manufacturing power of an automobile plant on your desktop.

The renowned MIT scientist and inventor talks up how, the next big thing is personal fabrication-the ability to design and produce your own products, in your own home, with a machine that combines consumer electronics and industrial tools.

Personal fabricators are about to revolutionize the world just as personal computers did a generation ago, and Fab shows us how.

Ponokosters are already a step ahead, using a distributed manufacturing network to the same end, without the set-up or training costs.

For more info check out Neil’s site at the Centre for Bits and Atoms, or the MIT’s Fab Lab program.

MIT we love you….

Manuel Castells is one of the world’s leading thinkers on the new information age, hailed by The Economist as “the first significant philosopher of cyberspace.”

Castells believes that we are “entering, full speed, the Internet Galaxy, in the midst of informed bewilderment.” His aim in this exciting and profound work is to help us to understand how the Internet came into being, and how it is affecting every area of human life–from work, politics, planning and development, media, and privacy, to our social interaction and life in the home. We are at ground zero of the new network society. In this book, its major commentator reveals the Internet’s huge capacity to liberate, but also its ability to marginalize and exclude those who do not have access to it. Castells provides no glib solutions, but asks us all to take responsibility for the future of this new information age.

The Internet is becoming the essential communication and information medium in our society, and stands alongside electricity and the printing press as one of the greatest innovations of all time. The Internet Galaxy offers an illuminating look at how this new technology will influence business, the economy, and our daily lives.

One of the significant features of the book (published in 2001 before the September 11 attacks and around the time of the dot-com bubble) is the inclusion of the e-Links section at the end of every chapter. Each e-Link is given as a URL, followed by a short text of one or two lines to describe the content.

how very 2.0