DIY on the cheap free
Our digital fabric printing friends, Spoonflower, are having a 24 hour FREE swatch day.
Get a free swatch of your own design printed on any of their 8 fabrics, or order an indie design from the Spoonflower marketplace. Shipping is also free to anyone, anywhere!
When you order your free swatch, you can also choose to a make a $5 donation to Heifer International.
Get all the details on Spoonflower’s free swatch day HERE.
Congratulations to the winners of our June blog giveaway
For last month’s giveaway, we asked you how you would combine design-your-own fabric printed by Spoonflower with the make-it-yourself possibilities of Personal Factory.
Our judges have picked their favorite 5 ideas, and each of these winners will get their design printed on their choice of fabric courtesy of Spoonflower.
Amy’s idea of lasercut, custom quilting templates and ombré printed fabric sounds beautiful. (Bonus: you can download the templates for free.)
Gabriella’s intimate apparel idea is fantastic: combine 3D printed underwire with printed knit or silk to create a custom fit & design bra.
Kate started off her idea entry with “Oh! Oh! I am actually already working on this!” So what’s she working on? Her own ottoman design with a CNC routed frame and printed upholstery twill fabric. AWESOME
Michael grabbed our attention with his idea for a prop, steampunk jet pack with folding wings. The wings will be created from printed linen-cotton canvas and operated by lasercut gears. We have to see this.
Tamara had a brilliant take on decorative wall art. Print a repeat pattern on some cotton sateen and then continue the pattern on a lasercut frame.
Congratulations again to our winners, and thank you to everyone that entered. And huge thanks to Spoonflower for sponsoring the giveaway!
Stay tuned to the blog for the July giveaway. We’re announcing it today.
contest closes June 30 at 10pm pacific
You’ve got just 2 days left to enter our June giveaway sponsored by digital fabric printers Spoonflower!
You could win a free yard of fabric printed with your own design.
How to Enter: leave a qualifying comment at the original contest announcement by June 30, 10pm pacific.
For your comment to qualify, you must:
1. Tell us how you would combine Spoonflower printed fabric with a Personal Factory project
2. specify which Spoonflower fabric from you would use*
3. specify which Personal Factory digital making method you would use**
Winner selection & Prizes: People from Ponoko and Spoonflower will pick their favorite 5 ideas to each win a free yard of digitally printed fabric in any fabric they choose.
Ideas & Inspiration: check out what ideas other people have entered and take a look at our latest Maker Story interview with Andy and Becka Rahn.
Click HERE to enter & get full contest details!
*Spoonflower fabrics include:
quilting weight cotton, organic cotton sateen, organic cotton interlock knit, upholstery weight cotton twill, linen-cotton canvas, silk crepe de chine, cotton voile
**Personal Factory digital making methods include:
3D printing, CNC routing, laser cutting
Reed tools and miniature weaving looms with Spoonflower and Ponoko
Andy and Becka Rahn have been dabbling with Ponoko service since 2008. Becka was curious about designing puzzles, and Andy who is a software engineer couldn’t pass the geek aspect of laser cutting his own designs. The day Ponoko crossed his computer screen, he started designing his first project.
An art and fiber teacher, Becka decided to make tiny textile tools as holiday ornaments. She knew of plenty of people who would find miniature weaving looms irresistible. Andy started with designing reed tools for his oboe, as he found that he was in need of a gizmo to help with the meticulous job of creating reeds for the instrument. The couple are currently working together on a DIY mini frame loom for weaving enthusiasts.
Both Andy and Becka love working with bamboo and acrylic. The bamboo is a favourite for its natural finish and feel as well as strength, and the acrylic colors are always an inspiration for fun, vibrant projects. Becka combines the lasercut pieces with Spoonflower printed fabrics that she also designs. This means that she has ultimate control over every step of the design process, enabling her to create highly individualised ornaments.
In the past, these handmade fans approached making very differently, sticking to their traditional hobby tools and techniques. Andy found the transition to digifabbing especially natural, as he was already familiar with digital design tools. Becka found the new design possibilities exciting and inspirational, and she loves the “whole new level of cool to the materials” that she now has available to her
More from the couple under the cut:
Contest ends June 30th
UPDATE: Thanks so much for entering our Sponnflower fabric giveaway. The contest is now closed and winners will be notified and announced very soon!
This month the Ponoko blog has partnered with digi fabric printers Spoonflower to give away a free yard of printed fabric to 5 winners.
Spoonflower lets you upload your own design, choose a fabric, and get your design professionally printed on to fabric.
They’ve been digitally printing fabric for the masses since 2008, and the Spoonflower marketplace is the largest collection of independent fabric designs in the world.
Spoonflower can digitally print on 7 different kinds of fabric, and winners of our blog giveaway can choose whichever fabric they like.
How would you use digitally printed fabric from Spoonflower in a Personal Factory project?
How to enter:
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment telling us how you would use digitally printed fabric from Spoonflower in a Personal Factory project.
Think about how you would combine your own textile design with your own design for 3D printing; CNC routing; or laser cutting. Or all three!
What do preserves and digifabbing have in common?
Last Saturday’s Craft2.0 fair had Ponoko smeared all over it. Sticky, sweet and delicious, where the former and the latter aptly describe the JamOff jam making competition, while the middle is just as appropriate for the featured designs. Chromatophobic, Freestylen and Super Very proudly displayed their allegiance to Ponoko in form of banners, which attracted many questions from the public.
Keep reading…
Best of the Blog 2010 — fashion + textiles & jewelry
There are two big reasons why digital fabrication and mass-customization are on the rise and here to stay:
#1 People want to reclaim making. They want to have a hand in the products that populate their lives.
#2 People want products that are tailored to their individuality. One size does not fit all.
While fashion and adornment may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to a manufacturing revolution, there is no other industry with a longer history of self-making or quite the same need for absolute customization.
This top ten counts down the best examples of what the future holds for the fields of fashion, textiles, and jewelry.
cotton schmotton
On-demand digital textile printers Spoonflower announced today the addition of silk to their printable fabrics! Crepe de chine, to be specific.
Crepe de chine is a 100% silk with a slightly bumpy texture. (It’s not the ultra shiny stuff; that’s silk charmeuse.) The addition of crepe de chine silk makes six fabric choices including quilting cotton, organic sateen, organic knit, upholstery twill, linen-cotton blend canvas, and cotton lawn.
And don’t forget, you can sell your original silk textiles in the Spoonflower shop.
free printing & shipping for just one day
Spoonflower is offering 24 hours of free swatch ordering! Get a single free, custom fabric swatch for 24 hours between noon EST on Thursday, 26 August and noon EST on Friday, 27 August.
This awesome offer also comes with the option to donate $5 (or any amount you wish) to Heifer International.
To learn more about Spoonflower, check out our interview with company founder Stephen Fraser.
Whystler’s 3D approach to making.
Meet Whystler – a Canadian digital sculptor with a medieval bend.
How did you used to make products before Ponoko?
-I make my living selling virtual products, that is products designed in 3D for virtual worlds (ie. clothing, furniture, apartments etc). Since I already use digital imaging programs, like 3d Studio Maze and Corel PhotoPaint, it was a simple matter of taking these skills and using them to design things for Ponoko. Even before my career as a virtual artist, I was a potter and sculptor specializing in clay and paper. I think this experience also translates well to 3d printing and laser cutting.
What type of products do you make with Ponoko?
-I think you might say that I am still experimenting with different angles on Ponoko. I have created products that are recreational, like the 3D chess game and some toys. I’ve gone into housewares like products for lighting and decor. I tested out a table design, and my harddrive is full of other pending products for Ponoko. I just love this service. It really opens up the floodgates for artists who like the sculptural process.
How would you describe your creative process?
-Everything starts with a spark of inspiration: an external source or combination of ideas hits me in such a way that I think it would translate well to laser cutting. Sometimes I actively pursue the inspiration and sometimes it comes as a surprise. The next step involves a pretty rigorous research period, where I spend a lot of time on internet searches. This information not only builds on the inspiring idea, but also exposes me to what already exists on the market and allows me to make the decision about whether to continue with the project. If something close to what I am preparing to do has already been done, I quickly lose interest. I like new things. Next, if the idea has survived to this point, I start drawing it in Inkscape, or I might make a 3D model as a virtual prototype.
What material/s do you use/ have you used and why?
-I think my favourite material from Ponoko is bamboo. It has such a nice grain, the material feels good and the look is very natural. I’ve also done a bit of work with other plywoods and acrylics. Acrylics are nice because of the range of colours available, and the finished product looks slick with flame polished edges.
Have you been surprised by anything in the Ponoko process: positives/negatives?
-I think the fact that your service completely opens up manufacturing processes to artists that were previously only available to companies who could afford large scale product is wonderfully surprising in this age of industrial competition. I am very grateful that folks like Ponoko, Shapeways, and Spoonflower are doing this sort of thing.
Do you have any tips for other users?
-Tip 1: Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions, but don’t be discouraged when you aren’t given all the answers you want. Learn how to search effectively on the internet and be tireless in your quest on the Ponoko website for information. If you really want to be a designer, no one is going to hand you information on a platter. You have to get out there and find it. It’s all there and really, it’s not hard to find.
-Tip 2: Strive to be original. If you just want to make a quick buck by copying someone else’s idea more cheaply, then this game is not for you. You will get no enjoyment out of it. The *real* thrill is creating something unique that you can say has a lot of “you” in it. It’s not about making money fast.
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