Dutch 3D Designer Michiel Cornelissen has become a mainstay of the 3D printed art and design community, with work at the MoMAs in New York and Japan, the Tate Modern in London, and Centre Pompidou in Paris. Some more notable works include the 3D printed Stilnest cuckoo clock and his ZooM lampshade, along with a number of 3D printed jewelry pieces. Cornelissen has all of his designs and begun selling them in one place at his MCHL store in Utrecht, The Netheralnds.
The store has been open since May, to test the waters, but the artist is ready to officially announce his independent design store, located in a centuries-old building at the center of town. At MCHL, Cornelissen will sell his 3D printed housewares, jewelry, and electronics accessories at the same time as he experiments with new designs sold through the store before heading to other retail outlets.
Cornelissen sees MCHL as representative of our current moment in history, a time in which an experimental design boutique can sell work from an artist independent from traditional big box stores. And 3D printing, in particular, has given him and MCHL a technology with which to execute his own designs. Though there are a growing number of brick-n-mortar retail stores for 3D printed designs, Cornelissen’s shop is one of the few, that I’m aware of, devoted to the work of one artist. In a culture already inundated with large chains, MCHL may be a welcome alternative to brand name 3D printing retail shops that could dot the landscape of the future.
