3D printed turkey and more!

Since we eat the same meal every Thanksgiving, I figured why not post the same Thanksgiving story from last year. Enjoy your 3D printed turkey and lasercut Apple apple pie!

Snacks

While you’re waiting, have a coincidentally Jewish themed snack: portrait matzo from Matzography (via Printersting) or a lasercut banana from Wouter Walmink (via Craft).

Appetizers

I’m starting this Thanksgiving dinner off fancy: a duck consomme with a lasercut nori (seaweed) garnish from Seattle Food Geek (via Craft Gossip). Moving on to lasercut ham sandwiches by Jan Habraken and Alissia Melka Teichroew (via Dutch Art Events). Yum!

The full meal is after the jump.

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Posted in 3D Printing, Kristen Turner, Laser Cutting by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

Cel-e-brate! Tess-a-late!

With over 40 awesome ideas for combining Repper repeat patterns with the digital making possibilities of Personal Factory, we had a difficult time choosing 5 winners to receive a free license to the Repper app.

So Ponoko and the team at Studio:Ludens did what we had to do…
we picked 6 winners!

1) Fabrice: We love the idea of applying patterns to board games (Wood would be gorgeous!) and eagerly look forward to photos of prototypes!

2) Kilna: Kilna’s 3 words: “Tessellated felt lingerie.”
Our 3 words: “Bring it on.”

3) Kyle: Kyle hit all our trigger points. Materials, textures, 3D printing, laser cutting. And patterned electronics for kids?! Kyle, you definitely win.

4) Mariko: Blending architectural forms with repeat patterns, plus these amazing laser cut lockets totally sold us.

5) Katherine: We love it when digital fabrication, decoration, and handwork all come together. The idea of using Repper patterns and 3D printing to create molds for make-it-yourself clay tiles? You floored us. (get it?)

Bonus 6) STU: It’s easy to get carried away with enthusiasm when you’re trying to win a contest. Or score a date. Or land a job. Or get people to like you. But Ponoko and the Ludens crew like people who keep it real.

So when we read this —
“Hi, I’m not gonna make absurd statements about how this software will change my life. But Repper looks dope and as a member of the Ponoko tribe and a designer who strives to “push design forward” I can confidently state that I will exploit Repper in every way possible for amazing results.” —

we knew a bonus extra license giveaway for best marketing statement was in order.

Congratulations to all of our winners, & thanks to everyone who entered.

And btw Repper *is* dope, so if you didn’t win, you can purchase a software license of Repper for just $39.

Posted in Ponoko News by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

entries close 16 March at 10p.m. PST

Complex repeat patterns aren’t easy to make. In fact, I practically got my degree in creating repeat patterns by hand and with crazy expensive textile design software.

But no more do you need a BFA in textile design and access to crazy expensive software to make awesome repeat patterns — all thanks to Repper.

This little ditty, (by which I mean software app) creates a near-infinite range of repeat patterns based on any source image.

It’s pretty cool, and for proof you can read our introduction to the Repper tool or try out a free demo.

What’s even cooler is that we’re giving away 5 free copies of Repper, courtesy of Repper developers Studio:Ludens.

Coolest of all? Entering is almost as easy as using Repper.

All you have to do is tell us how you would use a Repper repeat pattern with a Ponoko made project.

But enter right now, ’cause this contest is closing soon!

Get the full details and leave your entry comment at the original contest announcement.

UPDATE: For anyone that had trouble leaving a comment on the original contest announcement. I have fixed the problem!

If you left a comment on this post, I have copied it to the original contest announcement so your entry is still valid.

Posted in Contests + Competitions, Kristen Turner by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

a little girl that likes to draw

Studio:Ludens is on a mission we can relate to, “give people the creative freedom to design their own products.”

We wrote about their Epa:kato tool back in 08, and since then the Eindhoven based crew has slicked up their site and created even more online tools for designers.

We recently mentioned the Magic Box project and introduced you to my favorite Ludens tool, the Repper.

(By the way, we’re giving away 5 copies of Repper this month. Contest details HERE.)

Today I would like to tell you a little about Elise.

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Posted in Kristen Turner, Software, Tools + Apps by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

Our March blog contest ends 16 March 2011!

Update: Check out the Repper repeat pattern app winners right here!

This month we’re giving away 5 free licenses of the delightful Repper tool, a simple application that lets you create repeating patterns.

With Repper, you can start with any source image, zoom in or out, change the tiling, edit colors on the fly, and export your repeating unit or the entire surface as a raster file. It does not export files in vector format (yet), but you can convert them using a vector editing application like Illustrator.

People have applied their Repper generated patterns to web and graphic designs as well as product design and interiors — and yes, a laser etched banana.

How would you apply a Repper pattern to a Ponoko project?
The top 5 answers will win a free Repper license courtesy of Dutch developers Studio:Ludens.

How to Enter:
Leave a comment below telling us about how you would use a Repper pattern with a project you could make using Ponoko.

Only comments describing projects that could be made with Ponoko’s digital making methods (3D printing & laser cutting) will qualify to win.

Prizes:
5 winners will each receive 1 free license to Repper, a $39 value.

Deadline:
Contest closes 16 March at 10p.m. PST.
People from the Ponoko and Studio:Ludens team will choose 5 winners total.
Winners will be notified on 17 March 2011 and announced in an update to this contest announcement.

For more information & inspiration:
• RepperPatterns.com
• http://repperpatterns.com/community/

• Ponoko.com
• http://www.ponoko.com/make-and-sell/design-it-yourself

Posted in Contests + Competitions, Kristen Turner by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

Best of the Blog 2010 – Tools + Apps

The right tool can make extremely difficult tasks amazingly easy. Sometimes they even help you do things that would otherwise be impossible. Here are ten of our favorite articles about tools, both physical and digital.
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Posted in Taylor Gilbert, Tools + Apps by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post

Magic Box is an on-going, open source project for creating parametric designs developed by Eindhoven based Studio:Ludens.

Templates made with Magic Box can be shared and their flexible properties allow the designs to be customized. The video below gives you an idea of the project and glimpse at the interface.

Introduction to Magic Box from Studio Ludens on Vimeo.

Studio:Ludens is looking for people interested in expanding the Magic Box project.

They need people to port Magic Box to HTML5 & Canvas, so it only uses web standards. They’re also looking for people who want to “write documentation, create designs, test designs, promote the idea and get us coffee. Any help is welcome, really.”

You can take a look at the code for the Magic BoxEditor and Viewer, which is available on Google Codeunder the MIT license.

For more Ponoko coverage on the Ludens crew, check out:
Repper tool for creating repeat patterns
epa:kato tool for designing customizable coasters.

Posted in Downloadable, Kristen Turner, Open Source, Tools + Apps by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

Wrap your designs in repeat pattern with the Repper.

Allow me to introduce you to Repper. This nifty tool from the Studio:Ludens crew lets you easily create repeat patterns from any starting-point image you choose.

To get an idea of what kinds of patterns are possible with Repper, peruse the Community gallery or check out the Showcase.

Repper gives you the ability to color edit on the fly and save high resolution images in Jpeg, Tiff, and Png format. You can use your final patterns for DIY projects with all your favorite digifab service providers.

Repper is just $39, and if you buy now you get 20% off. And of course you can try before you buy with this free demo.

Plus, there are still 7 days left to enter the Pattern Design Contest. The winners of 3 categories get their patterns printed or engraved on real products.

Posted in Kristen Turner, Software, Tools + Apps by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

Happy Thanksgiving! I’ve got a digitally fabricated feast for you:

Snacks

While you’re waiting, have a coincidentally Jewish themed snack: portrait matzo from Matzography (via Printersting) or a lasercut banana from Wouter Walmink (via Craft).

Appetizers

I’m starting this Thanksgiving dinner off fancy: a duck consomme with a lasercut nori (seaweed) garnish from Seattle Food Geek (via Craft Gossip). Moving on to lasercut ham sandwiches by Jan Habraken and Alissia Melka Teichroew (via Dutch Art Events). Yum!

The full meal is after the jump.

(more…)

Posted in 3D Printing, Functional Art + Objects, Kristen Turner, Laser Cutting, Technology by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post