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Monday, February 9, 2015

New artists on Where to Buy Modern Minis page

I updated my Where to Buy Modern Minis page and sadly I had to remove 16 artists. I removed artists that have had empty etsy stores and haven't updated their blogs in over 2 years. I'm happy to add them back if they start selling again but I want people to be able to find the miniatures they are looking for and not end up at an empty store.

The good news is, I added 23 new listings and a new category for 1:24 and smaller.





I added a new section for 1:24 scale or smaller, here are few of the listings.



There are a growing number of designers making modern 3D printed miniatures on Shapeways. There are quite a few that I didn't add to this list because they don't say what scale the items are and they only have digital renders of the products and not actual photos. I feel that if you are designing to sell to miniaturists you should know and specify what scale it is to make it easy for the buyer. I found a lot of cool designs but doing the math the scale was 1:10 or 1:14, so just like buying on ebay or etsy, always check the size before you buy.

I'm also weary of buying a product based off a digital render, I want to see what it looks like once it's actually printed. For example, here is a Wassily chair that I was hoping to sell in my shop, but due to the nature of 3D printing and the thickness of the design at this scale, it had several issues.



The flat straight "fabric" sections were getting warpped and the legs were bent and bowed making them wider at the bottom than the top. The material is just too thin at this scale to print exactly like the model. I tried making the legs and fabric pieces thicker but it didn't look true to scale. I couldn't make it print at a high enough quality so I decided not to sell it. Before I sell something in my Shapeways store, I print it to make sure the final product is the quality I designed it to be, if not I won't sell it. When I see only digital renders in some people's stores, it makes me wonder if they took the time to print it first, and if they did, why didn't the post a picture of it?

There are a lot of designers making some amazing stuff on Shapeways, and a few people selling some sloppy stuff. Some of the pictures don't say "Digital Preview" so sometimes it's confusing if it's a real printed product photo or the preview the 3D software generates. Please feel free to email me any listings you have any questions over and I'd be happy to share my opinion on what the quality looks like. I've been working with Shapeways for almost 3 years and I'd love to make sure everyone has a positive experience with the designs they buy.
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10 comments:

  1. elizabeth sFebruary 9, 2015 at 12:36 PM

    I have some of these pieces in Real Life and would love to do a miniature project in the future that can incorporate some of the modern designs that I know and love, in with some traditional styles, since I like a mix. Having the retail outlets that you have posted, will really help when it is time to go SHOPPING!
    Thanks Bunches :D

    elizabeth

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    1. Mini DorkFebruary 10, 2015 at 8:45 PM

      I love the mix of modern and traditional. I'd love to see what you come up with. Happy shopping! :D

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  2. otterineFebruary 9, 2015 at 1:00 PM

    Marvelous! Thank you for taking the time to compile these sources. :D

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    1. Mini DorkFebruary 10, 2015 at 8:46 PM

      :D The update was long overdue. Next hurdle is to overhaul the where to buy modern dollhouses page. Sadly some are gone off that list too.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 10, 2015 at 3:56 AM

    Woohooo! Thanks for the updated listing - especially the 1:24 scale line.

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    1. Mini DorkFebruary 10, 2015 at 8:47 PM

      :D I'm starting to do some of my designs in 1:24. So much cheaper and adorably cute. I thought I'd never stray from 1:12, but 1:24 is sucking me in. :)

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  4. marionswissFebruary 10, 2015 at 7:03 AM

    thanks for featuring my 3d chairs in MODERN DOLLHOUSE :-)
    great of you to put all this together...

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    1. Mini DorkFebruary 10, 2015 at 8:48 PM

      You are most welcome Marion. Keep coming up with those great designs! :D

      Delete
  5. The grandmommyFebruary 10, 2015 at 1:45 PM

    You are amazingly knowledgeable about 3D as well as other miniature matters. I feel very confident in what you share. I never would have thought to be cautious about measurements. Sometimes mini-ing can become stale doing and seeing the same things over and over.

    I didn't know about Shapeways, so now I have something new to explore in addition to the new stores. They all speak to inspiration and new ideas for future and current mini projects.
    Thanks so much.

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    1. Mini DorkFebruary 10, 2015 at 8:54 PM

      Luckily when people say 1:12 scale or 1:24 scale they know their stuff and it's true to scale. When they don't mention the scale, that makes me think they are just designing for the fun of it. There are some really cool modern chairs on Shapeways that people designed for gifts or wedding favors, but they didn't design to any useable dollhouse scale. I'm working with Shapeways to suggest better categories so true scale dollhouse miniatures can be sorted and easier to find. Right now I usually search 1:12 scale dollhouse or modern miniatures and see what pops up. There is so much creativity in 3D its wild seeing what people come up with.

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