Every Friday we’ll be meeting one of Cubify’s Featured Artists and offering a special weekend promotion. This week we’re chatting with David Bizer about his background and his store on Cubify, Designs by David Bizer.

As a special feature to our series, this weekend only you can purchase David’s Freedom iPhone Case for 20% off using promo code: Freedom20.

Tell us about yourself. What is your background?

As a teenager I loved playing video games but I didn’t have a computer until I was 24.
When I got it I was instantly fascinated by all the things I could do with this machine. Playing with professional software gave me the same satisfaction I had playing videogames, but with the difference that I learned something at the end of the day. Basically I really love technology, I grew up before the internet was there, and now look what has happened. I feel really fortunate to live in this era.

How did you get into 3D printing?

Before I started to study product design in 2005 I did a 10 month internship at an industrial design company. They had a CNC-mill on-site and ordered 3D prints for their prototypes. I started to use 3D software there and was able send files straight to the machines to get prototypes made. Seeing products being built before my eyes still fascinates me to this day.

Can you tell us the story of your rhombic dodecahedron earrings? People love them. Where did that idea come from?

The school I studied at put a big focus on teaching design fundamentals. As boring as it was sometimes, it was really good to learn about basic principles like grids and geometry. To be honest, the rhombic dodecahedron earring resulted from a defined geometric shape without much manipulation. It is simply just the knowlege that this exists and the application that makes it unique. The rhombic dodecahedron is a common polyhedra which is also found in crystal structures. I just really like the shape and with 3D printing it was possible to produce it very thin and delicately.

What is the inspiration for your 3D printed fashion accessories? What makes you create these pieces?

I wrote my thesis about digital fabrication. I investigated how new prototyping technology can enable individuals like myself to sell products worldwide without any upfront investments. Two aspects were relevant while chosing the right type of product. As 3D printing was still very expensive, I had to find products with a price range that allows for high manufacuring costs. Furthermore it had to be something people wanted to have customized. Jewelry fit that criteria. Although the decision to make jewlery was more a logical conclusion than passion it turned out to be an exciting field to work in as a designer. It enables me to explore the limits of technologies and create products that cannot be manufactured any other way.

You’ve got some amazing designs, what’s next?

I haven’t worked a lot on personal designs since I graduated, but I’m definetely planning to concentrate more on my own work from now. At the moment I’m woking on my new website. Having access to my own 3D printer enables me to make prototypes and iterate more quickly. This will speed up my design process a lot. I have a couple of ideas in mind – I just need to find the time to develop them. So stay tuned.

Thank you David for sharing your designs with us and letting us learn more about you.

See all of David’s designs at his store Designs by David Bizer.

Every Friday we’ll be meeting one of Cubify’s Featured Artists and offering a special weekend promotion. This week we’re chatting with Alan Nguyen about his background and his store on Cubify, Designs by Alan Nguyen.

As a special feature to our series, this weekend only you can purchase Alan’s Trillion Case for iPhone 5 for 20% off using promo code: Trillion20.

Tell us about yourself. What is your background?
My name is Alan Nguyen, I’m 26 years old and I was born on New Year’s Eve. I’m originally from Houston, Texas but I currently live in Amsterdam as a designer for Freedom Of Creation and Freshfiber. My background is Architecture and Product Design specialized in parametric design and innovative technologies from the University of Houston. Before designing things I had a history of traveling the world shooting people with balls made of paint with an amazing group of guys called Organized Chaos. Since then I haven’t stopped designing things.

How did you get into 3D printing?
There was this magical place at the University of Houston’s Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture where you could cut things with lasers and make things appear in thin air. I remember sneaking in at night and staring at this skinny tall oven looking thing with bright white LED lights. All I remember seeing was half of a white cube being printed hoping that it would turn into some amazing sculpture but unfortunately this magic box just made a boring cube. But I stared at that cube being made for hours, like watching grass grow. After that I was instantly hooked. The first thing I tried to design was a ball and socket joint but had no clue about tolerances so it just became a mini barbell instead.

What is the inspiration for your 3D printed fashion accessories? What makes you create these pieces?
It’s a bit overused but in all honesty I’m extremely intrigued by nature. There’s no one better than Mother Nature. If you look at the trillion case, the hollow weaving triangular structures are inspired by both organic lightweight trabecular patterns found in bones and ordered photonic quasicrystals. As far as what makes me create these pieces, it’s just the pure fascination of seeing what’s possible and lots of playing around.

Do you have any advice for artists who want to get into 3D printing design?
My advice is, jump in. Don’t be afraid, don’t overthink, just do. Make lots of mistakes. The best outcomes are the ones that come from unexpected results. Also if you are truly dedicated, get a desktop 3D printer, have it next to your laptop, computer, or whatever you work next to and start creating. If you don’t have the resources, sign up to a 3D Hub or get your 3D files printed in the cloud. If you don’t know how to 3D model or program, LEARN! Everything is online and most of it is free! There’s really no excuse not to get into 3D Printing.

You’ve got some amazing designs, what’s next?
There’s so much more to come. : ) I can’t reveal too much, but think Dinosaurs.

Thank you Alan for sharing your designs with us and letting us learn more about you.

See all of Alan’s designs at his store Designs by Alan Nguyen.