Innovative 3D Printed Jewelry is the New Must-Have Accessory

At MAKO Design +  Invent, we are constantly looking for innovative ideas and inventions to draw inspiration from. This week, we stumbled upon Hot Pop Factory – a design studio that focuses on the creative applications of 3D printing. Founded by Bi-Ying Miao and Matthew Compeau, this studio is engaged in exploring the ways in which parametric design and prototyping can relate back to the human experience.

MAKO Invent is more than familiar with 3D printing techniques. We have our own in-house printer that is used by our industrial design team on a regular basis to create product prototypes for our clients. Robert Colgan, our senior industrial designer, has worked on over 50 projects at MAKO and has written about some of his innovative ideas on our blog. What intrigued him about Hot Pop Factory was our similar goal – striving to bridge the gap between digital and tactile and making products that people can both respond to and interact with.

3D printed rings

The duo at Hot Pop Factory come from architectural computing backgrounds and are experts in advanced visualization and fabrication techniques. Miao and Matthew usually produce one-of-a-kind, 3D-printed jewelry items with geometries that are algorithmically generated. “Originally,” Matt says, “A 3D printer was just kind of a creative outlet for those crazy designs that wouldn’t get built otherwise.” But Matt and Miao soon started prototyping and wearing their own warrior-aesthetic-inspired designs. “I started wearing it, and it’s really empowering,” says Miao, who can now create any design she wants instead of buying it.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of their innovative and quirky designs!

Matt and Miao love to experiment with new materials, and their latest collection, launched on the 30th of April, uses two new materials – 3D printed nylon and a composite material consisting of recycled wood and polymer. Pendants made from wooden material are defined by soft curves that are unique to every piece and give the items an almost fluid and flexible appearance.

3D printed earrings

Hot Pop Factory could be creating a whole new, innovative culture with its futuristic fashion accessories. The team presented a brand new product at this year’s Canadian Fashion Marketplace organized by INLAND. The event is geared towards showcasing the talent of local designers throughout the country, and surely, Matt and Miao brought something very cool to the table. Their 3D-printed bow ties were designed exclusively for the launch and were sold out by the end of the show! Now that’s what we call talent.

Finally, what do the duo have to say about their new-found innovative outlet?

“This has been revolutionary for us, so we want to give other people the same kind of feeling,” Compeau says. Their long-term goals are geared towards expanding into customizable pieces, where customers can go online and tweak the original design in order to produce something completely unique. We at MAKO understand this notion of moving from mass production to mass customization. We are all about catering to a client’s needs and coming up with innovative solutions to their problems, and we love the ways in which Hot Pop Factory is paving the future of accessories!