Brooklyn-based jewelry maker Carolyn A’Hearn is known for one-of-a-kind unique pieces that border somewhere on the line between classic and sci-fi. Her process for creating the pieces is almost just as interesting (if not more interesting) than the final pieces themselves. Using scraps of metal ranging from the size of a nail all the way…

When you live in expensive cities like London, every inch in your apartment is like prime real estate space, teaching you the art of multi-purposing the interiors. DIY fan Jude Pullen was recently in a similar situation – in London – and he came up with this really simple and minimalist Under Desk Tool Drawer…

You may never find out the real reason why the chicken crossed the road, but after reading this article you will know the real reason why a chicken farmer did. So here, meet John Leenders, a man passionate about transforming forgotten or disregarded resources into stunning pieces of furniture.

The patent pending 3d Weaver is a loom designed specifically to weave three-dimensional structures using the x y and z coordinates. As a recent graduate of the Royal College of Art (RCA) we can only imagine the kind of pressure points the guy must have gone through; no wonder his first project is a dynamic…

He was a large man of burly stature with a thick black beard, scarred hands, and piercing blue eyes…eyes that could make even the saltiest of Kracken shiver in fear. He sat us young lads down in the galley as he removed a wooden leg that bore the marks of hundreds of bloody battles and…

We all know that using rubber (condoms) can prevent babies from coming into this world, but have you considered it (rubber band) saving a baby’s life? When the Global Polymer Institute at the University of Akron held their The Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors, young fledglings came up with many ingenious ideas, but it…

With a jury of twenty-four established designers who have ‘been there and done that’, taking home one of the 176 trophies in the annual IDSA IDEA Awards is certainly no easy feat. Between Fifty-Three’s stylus and new start up PillPack’s innovative take on the prescription medication user experience (designed in partnership with IDEO), the IDEA…

Oftentimes with upcycling, the best executions haven’t always been in repurposing wasted objects in their current physical state but rather, using the base material to create a new material to work with. We’ve seen this with ‘useless’ bike tubes that have been sliced and sewn together to create a rubber sheet for bags—or even something…

Here on SolidSmack we’re always on the lookout for cool projects. Sure, our readers love to take a juicy sketch and model it up in CAD for a slick 3D print or a more involved manufactured product, but sometimes it’s the simple and easy projects that can help keep our creative itch scratched…especially on the…

What happens in the top-secret design lab at Apple’s Cupertino HQ has been a topic of interest for years now. Regardless if you use and appreciate Apple products or are a devoted Dell or Samsung user, it’s hard not to appreciate the contributions to industrial design that Jony Ive and team have cooked up in…

For those of you without access to a fully-stocked workshop (myself included at the moment), we’ll take whatever we can get our hands on that is portable and is capable of scratching that wood working itch. Self-described ‘YouTube-r, woodworker and piano technician’ Jack Houweling of Vancouver-based Jack’s Pianos has a hefty library of wood working…

There are several wonders to 3D printing technology: the machines, the materials, the art and… the people. Ah, the people giving us an unbridled release of creative genius. Like the laws of nature, some things are always best done in moderation and this, well, it applies to industry and hitting copy on a weapon printing…

No, SolidSmack is not reporting on recipes to cook the best pizza sauce and neither are we reporting on La Tomatina, however we are simply marveling at the strange bedfellows technology makes. News is that Ford and the ketchup guys H.J. Heinz have gotten together and are working on ways to get tomatoes into the…

While we rarely see projects that explore materials on an elemental scale, they are among some of our most favorite when it comes to better understanding the crossroad of the natural world and mass manufacturing. Perhaps you may remember London designer Thomas Thwaites’ Toaster Project (free pdf of book here) in 2009 where he tirelessly…

Even before they could go live with their Kickstarter Campaign, Kudo3D – the makers of Titan 1 DLP desktop 3D printer – have gone down the wires for being pompous a**es who thought it was cool to infringe on other designers’ rights. Yes, they have an innovative approach towards 3D Printing, and yes, they used…

Funded by the European Commission with whopping grant of €3.5 million ($4.86 million), the MatHero Project takes on the onus of providing us with environmentally friendly, organic photovoltaics that are efficient and cost effective. As a part of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), one of Europe’s leading energy research establishments’ initiative, you can expect some…

The maxim of ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ has taken on a literal meaning with the new Nescafé Alarm Cap. The concept revolves around us waking up to subtle cues of chirping birds and heading over to a jar of Nescafé, twisting the cap open to switch off the alarm and then proceeding to…

Look out Stratasys. Look out ‘lil ol’ 3D Systems. Mama Autodesk is coming to hardware town, and bringing a truckload of open-platform 3D printed fury with them. Today, it was confirmed in a blog post that Autodesk is entering the hardware market and will be releasing their first 3D printer. It’s not only a 3D…

Scott Hudson of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research has created a way of using additive manufacturing to fabricate three-dimensional objects from wool and wool blend yarn. Similar to traditional ‘hard material’ 3D printers, this technique uses a CAD model to build up layers except for in this case, the…

The evolution of the water kettle has seen it grow from the unassuming thermos flasks to the present day electric versions. While flasks are more portable, they don’t keep the contents warm for a long period and conversely, electric kettles consume more power, can’t be used on the go but do the job more effectively.…

It happens to the best of us—that inevitable coffee drip or splash from ‘dinky’ coffee lids. Few things can spoil a morning faster than a sticky mess on your hand, a drip stain on your newly-pressed white shirt, or even a few drops on your co-worker’s meeting brief. It’s surprising that with as many coffee…

If we go by what designer Maya Ben David says, then changes in technology and culture has influenced the way we have ‘reshaped and reconfigured’ essential systems found in our homes. Basic rudiments like plumbing and electricity have seen changes in functionality, materials and construction. Innovative approaches using 3D Printing technology are helping us take…

Once in a while, there comes a Kickstarter project that becomes your ‘a-ha moment’ and inspires you. The HMM RULE/ONE is one such project that is so obvious and yet so distinct. The perfect marriage of everyday stationery implements that are essential! Targeted mainly at the design fraternity and folks that still rely on the…

It comes with little surprise that with the rise of Kickstarter videos and ‘launch campaigns’ there is a growing trend in creating ‘start-up parodies’. Perhaps the most well-known is HBO’s Silicon Valley tv show in which the main character navigates the weird and wild terrain of the California start-up scene. Similar to the essence of…

With over 10 years of experience in leather design, Hungarian designer Sara Gulyas wanted to create a versatile product that minimized the amount of material needed to create a shoe…whilst allowing buyers to participate in the shoe-making process. The Pikkpack takes cues from both centuries-old traditional design and IKEA’s DIY mentality to bring the simple…

Artist, Designer and Inventor Joshua Harker (yes, he of Crania Anatomica Filigre fame) is at it again with an all-new Kickstarter campaign. After having raised over $75,000 for his 3D printed skull–which is still the most-funded sculpture project ever on Kickstarter–Harker is exploring new territory with the goal to help raise funds towards developing next-generation…

Always one to be ahead of the times, the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) Design Store will be selling a collection of curated Kickstarter projects as part of the upcoming NYC x Design event collective starting this month. If you’ve had a hard time finding a successfully Kickstarted project post-launch and will be in the…

It almost seems as if mobile device screens will crack under any circumstances, from the lightest tap to accidentally stepping on the device. This notion is inherently true for iPhone users who, according to Square Trade, spend roughly $1-billion a year to fix cracked screens as well as other ailments such as water damage. Companies…

For the past two years, John Kiminas has been pursuing his dream of making fishing lures for a living. Having absorbed as much information as he could over this ‘research and development phase’ as he calls it, he is finally bringing his handmade lures into the world starting with a Kickstarter launch. Thankfully for us,…

Talk to any espresso connoisseur worth their weight in Stumptown Hairbender grounds and you’ll likely get into an argument about the ‘best way’ of pulling a proper espresso shot. Truth be told…it is an exact science that is hard to replicate outside of traditional espresso-craft tools. Despite this, the market for on-demand coffee is still…

Between the ANICE Stool from designer Arthur Schmitt (download file for free from Thingiverse here) and the newly-released Keystone collection from Studio Minale-Maeda, the ability to create one’s own furniture can be done with a consumer-grade 3D printer and a few $1.50 custom cuts from Home Depot. While those who are lucky enough to have…

Been tinkering with some science fiction-inspired car designs in your spare time? Local Motors has just announced their 3D Printed Car Design Challenge with $10,000 in prize money if you think you might have the next great 3D printed car idea. Also known as the Direct Digital Manufactured Vehicle (DDMV), the challenge aims to eliminate…

While the MakerBot Replicator 2 has been the go-to for consumers, the $2199 (note: the price recently dropped to $1999) price tag has still been a bit of a hurdle for consumers not quite sure about the application of 3D printing in their day-to-day lives. The Micro 3D Printer just might be the first consumer-friendly…

If you’ve been fishing, you know the layer of slime that covers the fish, protecting it from your nasty hand bacteria. It’s also a defense mechanism that helps protect the fish from predators and, as it turns out, is much more than what it seems. Particularly in the case of the Hagfish. Researches at MIT’s…

It’s children covered in cardboard boxes, hitting each other with broom sticks taken to the next level. Unified Weapons Master (UWM) is upping the ante on fight entertainment and betting people want to watch fighters shelled in advanced composite, sensor-laden materials battle each other with real weapons. They’re right, we do. UWM has developed the…

We’re always talking about the future of design, the future of technology, the future of MAKING. In a world where fully-immersive virtual reality headsets will become the new standard in living room gaming, a world where crowdsourced thermostats will adjust the temperature of a room based on the average of people’s comfort levels…how do we…

For all of those getting antsy to click a button and start a live session to share your confidential CAD data whilst in your jammies, the ability to do so in now here. SpaceClaim has released SpaceClaim 2014 Service Pack 1, and what a Service Pack it is. With it you get LiveReview, formerly codenamed…

Your atop a 20 foot extension ladder. The sweat drips from your brow. You lean out. The ceiling fan… it’s almost hung. *Ker-plop* Yeeeeeah, that last screw just plummeted 24 feet into your unfinished, single-serve blueberry yogurt cup. That’s all sorts of frustration you just don’t need. If this were a TV infomercial, Phil Kauffman…

Among one of the most iconic costumes in the history of Hollywood, the Star Wars Imperial Stormtrooper costume has also been a significant inspiration for a variety of CMF directions. But how did the original and memorable design come to be? After being hired by George Lucas to help visualize the world of Star Wars…

In case you didn’t catch our EngineerVsDesigner episode last year that featured BotObjects founders Mike Duma and Martin Warner discussing the development of their ProDesk3D full-color 3D printer, it was one of our most popular and most-commented episodes of all time…and for good reason. At the time, affordable full-color 3D printing was a relatively new…

Well, rock my 3D printed socks off. The Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo is coming back to NYC! Who woulda thought? I mean, last year it only shook the lower foundation of the Javits Convention Center. If you were there, you know it was a great conference and if you go this year, you’ll…

SolidWorks World 2014 has yet to officially start, but announcements and launches are already in the mix. We’re at the Stratasys Press Event this afternoon where they’ve just announced their release of the first 3 color, multi-material 3D printer–the Objet500 Connex3. This is the real deal folks. It’s available as of today with companies like…

Recreating a blooming flower is not something that one would typically associate with modeling and 3D printing with SolidWorks, however design student Richard Clarkson has accomplished just that in a recent additive manufacturing-based college class. The Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Design student put his Creative Digital Manufacturing course to good use when he…

No matter how advanced we’ve come with the latest in 3D printer capabilities ranging from resolution to materials, it is still obviously difficult to appreciate the ‘craftsmanship’ of a digitally fabricated model over a hand-built one. Take for example, this 1:60 scale model of a Boeing 777 made out of manila file folders from master…

Reinventing the Wheel: Part 1, Part 2 In this article, I tackle a question that many have, which is: who has what IP and who is behind these wheels? The differences between FlyKly and Superpedestrian help to illustrate what I consider to be the formula necessary for sustained innovation. The question I pose to you…

For thousands of years, casting aqueous substances and drying them into usable forms has been a core technique in manufacturing, and one of the greatest advancements made in human technology. From ceramics and metals to glass and plastics, countless methods of casting have been invented to exhume objects from molds over the millennia. But unfortunately,…

Hang your head in shame. The surface finish on that part your 3D printer coughed out over two to five hours could be used to remove the coarse back hair off a grandpaw yak. We’re currently doomed to the hype of hi-res 3d prints but still getting jagged edges and snagly bits gumming up our…

Having only recently acquired the 3D printed sugar company The Sugar Lab a few months ago, 3D Systems is already keeping the momentum moving in expanding 3D printing to chefs, bakers, and anybody looking to create conversational-worthy sugar cubes modeled in Grasshopper to have with tea. Expected to be available in the second half of…

Claiming that they have built the largest ceramic 3D printer ever made, Israeli design and research studio ‘Studio Under’ have certainly set themselves up to a high standard. Founded by industrial designers Eran Gal-Or, Liat Akerman and Omer Merzel, the studio of recent Holon Institute of Technology grads focus on designing and fabricating 3D printed…

As the market for artisanal goods keeps expanding in a world of disposable IKEA and H&M ‘goods’, so too does the desire for people to hear the stories behind these expertly-crafted artifacts. Murray Carter is another one of those makers who has spent his life perfecting the craft of bladesmithing…a unique craft that demands both…