As I have said before, I believe that the upcoming season may be the last holidays that you will be able to truly surprise your friends and relatives with a 3D printed present. That’s because, next year they will likely be shopping for personalized 3D printed gifts as well. If that’s the way you do go this year, to help you choose, in the best holiday season tradition, Shapeways has created a Gift Guide that includes everything from accessories to toys, priced anywhere from $25 to over $100
Since I have a Shapeways Gift Card worth $50 let’s go see what I could get myself for Christmas for around that price. In all honesty, when I was assigned this and decided to go shopping, I was not convinced that I was going to find much — but I was most definitely wrong. Less than $25 will get me an Itty Bitty Sad Keanu, a whole bunch of GoPro, Google Glass and Moto 360 smart watch accessories (I would need to get the GoPro, Google Glass and Moto 360 first, though), a lot of very original miniature models and keychains; and even this awesome looking iPhone 6 case (which I am actually going to get).
Moving on up to ‘under $50’ the scenario opens up considerably, with the opportunity acquire some of the most well known and recognizable 3D printed artworks there are (perfect for gifts). For example Gyro the Cube and the Wired Life Stag by Dotsan. Or objects whose fame and purpose go beyond 3D printing like Grumpy Cat, this cool looking Balloon Toy Car, the BendU – Universal Mobile Stand and the Lumcluster Mask Pendant which we (dis)covered only a few days ago.
If I decided to add a little more to my Gift Card budget I would open up a whole new realm of possibilities. This means functional objects and lots of beautiful metal jewelry and objects (such as the highly recognizable Klein Bottle Opener by Bathsheba). Other possibilities are these awesome Origami Crane Cufflinks (although, while I love origami, I don’t particularly enjoy wearing a button down shirt) or this fun and useful Foosball iPhone 5 Case (I tried it, it really is fun). Another object in this price range that I have personally tried and can confirm is functional as well as beautiful and original is the Bheard Sound Pod.
Considering gifts for someone else, I would venture into the above $100 range and that would mean some serious designs such as Baushkin’s Pisces 16 cm Bracelet, or this impressive looking Chess Set. Target, the giant retailer that recently opened up its own shop on Shapeways, is proposing this Traditional Menorah. To truly and fully exploit the personalization possibilities then a fully customized gift is the way to go. Shapeways offers a broad range of possibilities, from Nervous Systems Kinematics 4D to 3D printed Minecraft models, cartoon versions of your friends or your children’s Crayon Creatures.
You could even hire a Shapeways designer to make someone’s dream gift come true but, even the less imaginative among us can find something just right to kickstart someone else’s imagination: the Gift Card. 3D printing is changing the world and the way we shop, but some things will just always remain the same.
