For the latest edition of Something Beautiful in Jewellery, I would like to present something different– a 3D CAD keychain designer.
Working out of Aberdeen, Scotland, Gavin Bain of Celtic3D draws upon rich historical research into medieval Scottish symbols for the creation of impressive relief designs for his keychains. His work is produced on demand and sold through Shapeways‘ own 3D model community in his Celtic3D online shop.
At the present time, every 3D printer on the market has issues and limitations with the surface quality they can create with 3D printed materials. To get around that can often involve polishing and removing a significant amount of detail. Waht make’s Gavin’s work remarkable is that he has found a way to make use of these limitations of 3D printing surface quality as a feature in and of itself on the design. It adds a look of aged or primitive authenticity to an object created with new technology. Very resourceful!

(More images after the break)


Read more about Gavin Bain on the Shapeways Blog.
Hi, thank you for the write-up. I do believe that it is important to understand the medium you are working in and use its characteristics for your benefit.