A sign that you’re stuck in the 20th Century is that you throw your plastic bottles in the garbage. A sign that you’ve made it to the 21st is that you turn that waste into something practical and nice to look at and stick it on your kitchen counter. Layers is a design company that harnesses the power of 3D printing to help bring you into the new millennium.
Why discard a perfectly beautiful bottle cap when you could turn it into a fashionable ring or bracelet? With the Screw You Ring and Screw You Bracelet, you can order a 3D printed fashion accessory with which to display the top to your plastic bottle.
Then, to make use of the bottle itself, you can order the Screw You Dog, to store your dried goods in Koonsian dog form, or the Screw You Vase to transform something that kills the planet into something that makes it breathe life.
Designed by Dutchman David Graas, these irreverently titled objects are meant to tell a story “about our relationship with the products around us, what they mean to us, how we value them and why. It’s these layers of stories that give them their distinct personality. Ultimately we like to see you add your own stories and cherish our products for years to come.” Graas believes that 3D printing can allow consumers to print objects that are tailored in terms of size and taste, which is why his jewellery comes in a variety of sizes and colours.
My only concern is their price. With the plethora of items on Thingiverse available for free and the wave of 3D pirating just around the corner, I’m a little hard pressed to think of someone who would pay €49 to wear something they’d otherwise discard, on their wrist. Though I definitely appreciate the sustainable sentiment behind his ‘Screw You’ line, I think that Graas will have much more luck with items like Huddle, a 3D printed light bulb cover that resembles a cityscape. This is a product that is difficult to copy and has a definite aesthetic appeal.
Either way, Graas is clearly a talented designer with a great sense of humour. I think his endeavour has got a lot of potential.
