Inside Our 3D Print Shop: Figurines, Busts and Curiosities

A 3D printer works a little like a very patient hot-glue gun. It melts a thin strand of plastic and lays it down in a path no wider than a pencil line, one layer at a time, often hundreds or even thousands of layers for a single piece. Hours later, a mushroom, a bust or a dragon rises from the print bed. We never get tired of watching it.

The materials

Most of what we make is printed in PLA, a plastic made from plant sources like corn starch or sugarcane. For a few pieces we use silk PLA, which has a satin sheen. That's what gives our Demon Core its chrome-like shine. Wood-tone filaments in walnut, redwood and ebony give our morels and rustic mushroom shelves their natural look, and glow-in-the-dark filament gives our glowing shelves their night show.

The finishing

The printer is only the first step. Many pieces are finished by hand:

• Gold and silver leaf brushing: our Napoleon and Lincoln busts are brushed with metallic finishes that catch the high points
• Inka Gold: a metallic paste we rub over black prints, so the detail stays dark and the edges glow
• Hand-painting: our full-color pieces and the fairy-garden stump are painted by hand
• Paper craft: the stump's fallen leaves are cut from cardstock and placed one by one

Toys that move

Some prints come out of the printer with built-in moving joints. Our articulated axolotls and flexi dragon keychains bend, curl and wiggle, which makes them part toy, part fidget and part desk decor.

The collection

Mushrooms and nature: morel figurines from 1" to 7.5", a hand-painted chicken of the woods shelf, the fairy-garden stump and our whole family of mushroom shelves.

History you can hold: the Demon Core replica, a 10" gold Napoleon, a silver Lincoln, a Colosseum desk organizer and pieces-of-eight pirate coins.

Home and garden: a gold wave vase and a bottom-watering seed starter tray.

Fun and party: maracas, shoelace wings, articulated axolotls, mini axolotls and a flexi dragon.

Fan favorites: tribute pieces like our Shrek bust, gold Pikachu, Bulbasaur, meditating Homer and Hyrule coasters.

Custom prints

Because we print in small batches, we can often change things up: a different color, a different size, a hook for hanging or a monogram. If you can picture it, ask us.

Why buy 3D prints from a small shop

Big-box decor is made by the thousands. Ours is printed a few at a time, checked by hand and finished in our home workshop. When you buy from us, a real family in Michigan made it, packed it and is genuinely excited that it found a home.