MakerBot, The Dress

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.