Let’s just slow down…
Fashion and consumer culture are moving too fast. Mass-produced, disposable trinkets flood the world, churned out in massive overseas factories, shipped across oceans, and destined for landfills before the season even changes.
I refuse to run my business that way. I have always refused to run my business that way ~ infact, it was the principal guiding value right from the very beginning, over 10 years ago.
Operating out of my home studio in Ōtautahi, Aotearoa NZ, I choose to work in small, intentional batches of jewellery. Every single piece is made to order or created in limited runs, meaning zero warehouse waste, zero overproduction, and complete control over what I bring into this world. To me, this is core to a cultural not-negotiable of kaitiakitanga ~ our active guardianship of this environment and our responsibility to care for the earth. It’s about being a good ancestor for the generations coming after us and ensuring that what we create today doesn’t become a burden for tomorrow.
A huge part of that commitment for me, lives in the materials I choose for making jewellery and art, and that includes 3D printing.
The Materials Behind the Work
A lot of people don’t fully understand what 3D printing is all about, and when you go to markets and see those cute little toy cows or dragons, you might think it’s just regular petroleum-based plastic. It’s not!
In fact it’s a very cool materials called PLA, or polylactic acid. Sounds all chemical-like, but actually it’s a biobased recyclable materials that is created from plant materials. Typical sources of materials for PLA include cornstarch and sugarcane ~ renewable, organic resources!
Not only is it a renewable plant-based materials, it is also industrially compostable and here in New Zealand it’s even possible to recycle waste products like failed prints, offcuts and un-usable support structures from printing. These can be collected and reprocessed into brand new 3D filament, ready to be printed again.
All the Cool Options
On top of the huge selection of colours available in PLA filament, there are an enormous variety of finishes and other options. Technology has developed so that we can now print in almost any kind of medium, with the right printer of course (and to be honest, my little home printer isn’t going to print you a house out of concrete!).
I have chosen a couple of particular PLA variants that have very special properties, and which tell their own story in the finished products.
Wood-filled PLA: this amazing material is a composite that uses up to 70% wood pulp mixed in with the PLA. It comes in a range of colours and, when you print it, smells of wood! After printing it can be sanded and finished almost like 100% wood, inclucing the ability to take on an oil polish at the very end. In my first trials with wood-filled PLA, I have experimented with sandalwood and gorgeous ebony wood.
Metal-Filled PLA: another remarkable advancement in 3D printing is the incorporation of real metal into the filament. There are several options available including brass, stainless steel and iron… AND copper! Oh my Gods, how much do I love the copper filament. The brand that I use is the industry standard and uses between 65 and 70% copper which means that the end printed result weighs significantly heavier than regular (or wood) PLA. It also can be annealed in an oven (heated up) to improve it’s strength and it can be polished to a beautiful satin shine. You “can” get an almost mirror finish, but unfortunately it doesn’t last very long because of another feature of copper, oxidation. Because the copper-filled prints oxidise, this means they will also patina and take on a colour all of their own with time.
Intention Over Mass Production
3D printing in a home studio allows me to bridge the gap between ancient stories and modern innovation. It means I can take plant-derived materials, recycled wood fibers, and real metal powders, and craft them into meaningful physical anchors ~ without leaving a trail of industrial destruction behind me.
When you buy a piece from me, you aren’t supporting a nameless factory or a fast-fashion machine. You are choosing small-batch craft, intentional design, and a shared commitment to tread lightly on this earth.