In the ever-changing world of design, 3D printing can help start-up studios develop high quality products without having to depend on large initial investments. Elise Luttik, founder of 3D printing design studio Eli5e, definitely thinks that 3D printing has made it easier to make her ideas into products and has spoken about her experience in an interview with leading Belgian 3D printing service provider iMaterialise.
Of course it helps that Elise Luttik was born, raised and is currently based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, which is fast becoming one of the World’s leading hubs for 3D printing creativity. “The city has a lot to offer with respect to design and 3D printing,” she tells iMaterialise. “There are many gatherings and exhibitions all throughout the year.”
Her inspiration to create through 3D printing, however, came at the SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas, and, in general, inspiration for her work comes from travelling around the world. “Foreign cultures inspire me to change my view on daily matters” – she explained. Whenever a new idea pops up she writes it down or sketches it in the little sketchbook she always carries with her.
Most of her works are 3D printed in white polyamide (polished or un polished) because, she says, “it is a strong, high quality material that has a natural, classic look.” In the future, however, she would like to experiment with scented, fluorescent and recycled materials.
The works, published on the studio’s website, do have a colourful and playful style that makes them stand out. For example the “My Flower Bulb”, made with light green transparent resin that make it appear as if the flowers are sitting inside a bubble of water, or the “Twin Ristretto,” created envisioning a couple enjoying a cup of espresso coffee together. An then there is the “Edgy” egg holder, made up of two halves to contain both sides of a split soft boiled egg.
Ideas abound in the Dutch design community and 3D printing can make them all turn into real products, quickly and affordably. To use Elises’s own words, it’s “the perfect match.”
