I might be on a bit of a fashion kick. On Friday we saw personalized shoes on demand, and today a lovely dress project from a few members of our team here, and now a word from the Smithsonian Design Decoded blog on the future of 3D-printed footwear.

For example, feast your eyes on this pair of “Invisible Shoes” from Brazilian designer Andreia Chaves.

Invisible Shoes by Andrei Chaves

The post does note that many of the materials used in 3D printing may not be ready for prime time in footwear.

Most polymers used in 3D printers are too hard and inflexible to make a comfortable shoe, although fashion students and designers have not been deterred from producing them, if only for one lap down a runway.

That, right there, is awesome. Especially in the case above, the artist worked with what was available to push the limits of the design, and the design will drive the demand for the needed materials. This is truly a case where life will catch up to imitate the art.

Action #Chess by Cymon

Thingiverse citizen Cymon has entered the TinkerCAD Chess Set Design Challenge with a bang.  This Voltron-esque creation combines all 16 specially designed chess pieces per side into a single robotic behemoth.  As always, this contribution to Thingiverse only got better with people printing the pieces, trying to assemble the robot, providing feedback, and with further revisions by Cymon.  The benefit to all is clear – even those without a 3D printer can benefit from collaborations through Thingiverse.  Way to go Cymon!

Untitled by cymon

This thing brought to you by

File under: one of those times when various people’s talents spontaneously merge to create something really nice

Subfolder: but only because the tools have been democratized to the point that any willing hobbyist can get at them

3D printing is a part of almost everything we do here at MakerBot, but it is not the only thing. With so many maker mentalities around, other genres are bound to be explored. Two of my colleagues here at MakerBot HQ recently combined forces on a nice project that brought 3D printing on a MakerBot in contact with textiles and fashion design.

One of our talented young team members, Tatyana, had an idea for a MakerBot dress. Why not? The logo could certainly make for a nice print. That’s precisely what one of our other staff members thought. Tony worked up a vector image of the logo in Photoshop, transferred it to a grid pattern in Illustrator, and decided to try his hand at printing the textiles. This step of the process was made possible by our friends at Gowanus Print Lab, the same studio where the MakerBot gift bags came to life. As this was Tony’s first go at screening a repeating pattern, there were naturally some small slipups.

Again, combining talents came in handy. Carina Cid of BlackRabbitNYC did an expert job of cutting the fabric into a dress that highlights the print in the right way.

Enter accessories. Carina thought up some jewelry options, but materializing them required another set of skills. Tony 3D modeled the pieces to make them  printable on a MakerBot and then let ‘er rip. The finished necklace hangs perfectly above the dress, don’t you think?

As Tatyana and Tony are between them neither model nor photographer, they employed two more friends in the project. Those credits go to model Paige Morgan and MakerBot TV’s own Annelise Jeske.

In case some of you have been pinging us with your support queries, or simply reaching out for a nice chat, you should know that MakerBot Support is down today while we move boxes and desks. Everything will be back up and running tomorrow, March 29, 2012.

This one’s for you.

Welp, we blog-failed you. There was a super sweet design challenge going on over at 3DTin that we neglected to keep you posted about, but here we come with Lenten penitence! By way of post mortem, here are the results of a Replicator giveaway that brought out the creativity of a bunch of 3DTin users. 3D Tin is a great, user-friendly web-based 3D modeling tool. If this is all Greek to you, there is a wealth of information at our 3D Design Software 101 page.

The rules were fairly uncomplicated: use the 3DTin design tools and upload as many and as varied designs as you wish for the community to score. Most points at the end of the day won a MakerBot Replicator and the top three finishers received a lifetime 3DTin premium subscription!

Check out their blog for more details, but for your convenience, here are the winners:

2nd Runner Up — Phil Tran, who submitted a full arsenal of designs. Literally.

1st Runner Up –  Germán. These models also revolved heavily around a theme, but in  Germán’s case, it was cars:

And the winner, MrFisher! These models were all over the map, but certainly creative. It’s nearly lunchtime, so I’m drawn to this popcorn popper, but at about 6 o’clock, I’ll be dreaming of one of the bunkbed models in MrFisher’s portfolio. We can’t wait to see how these look once they’re printed on a Replicator and will be following up with pictures!