The Benefits of Design Partnerships
What better way to get the word out about your company and create buzz about your creations then partnering with a designer? That’s what some 3D companies did recently and the results appear to be excellent!
An Italian 3D jewelry company, .bijouets , partnered with Italian jewelry artist, Monica Castiglioni, on a line of fashion jewels, according to a story on 3ders .The rollout has been quite impressive and includes a focused line of wearable fashion jewelry accompanied with well-structured marketing visuals, as well as a video of the products worn by a model.
Castiglioni, based in Milan and New York, is a veteran jewelry designer known primarily for her bronze jewelry pieces, as well as jewels she incorporates into her designs, inspired by organic shapes. According to the story, she learned of .bijouets’s 3D printed jewelry and became “interested in the potentials of additive manufacturing for the jewelry industry.” This sparked the collaboration.
This isn’t the first time .bijouets, which uses 3D printing technologies for designing jewelry and accessories, has done this. In fact, this is how it typically does business. The company now features fashion collections from eight different designers, primarily based on modern interpretations of classical shapes.
Solidscape is another example of 3D printing technologies partnering with jewelry designers. Not long ago, they collaborated with Jenny Wu, founder and designer for LACE. The article reporting on the collaboration said that ‘Wu partnered with Solidscape and Stratasys to build her LACE collection – a series of ready-to-wear 3D printed jewelry inspired by lin-based geometry and intricate, organic movement.” The results were lovely and the LACE collection debuted to rave reviews.
This seems to be a pretty good working model that more 3D jewelry designers may want to consider. Working with established jewelry designers interested in 3D printing is certainly the most logical way to establish these partnerships. However, designers should be open to working with younger people and unknowns as long as their design and marketing concepts are compatible. In addition, working with designers, artists and other creative people outside of the jewelry industry could result in interesting designs. Tiffany has worked with people ranging from architect Frank Gehry to fashion designer Paloma Picasso.
New design concepts, such as 3D jewelry printing, almost always require a collaborative spirit in order to grow creatively and financially. And the breadth of 3D printing technology is entering every creative field. Modern interior designers, manufacturers and even engineering firms involved in creative concepts are prime candidates for these types of partnerships.
But the best collaborations, particularly in jewelry, are likely to be with traditional jewelers, designers and artists. They have an established following, good knowledge of marketing and story-telling, and in many cases are interested in learning about modern design techniques.
The best collaborations are also those where both parties are up to the challenge of creating something entirely new, while staying true to their design philosophies.
