3D Printed Palmiga Globe Bouquet Vase Showcases Flowers for Visual Appeal

Swedish designer, mechanical engineer, and self-proclaimed “innovative tech nerd” Thomas Palm was tired of the vessel getting all of the attention to the detriment of the humble (or not so humble) flora held within. That’s when he decided to design a 3D printed vase that intended “to blend in…to showcase the flowers by helping to form a Globe Bouquet.”

The result of Palm’s 3D designing and printing endeavor, which he called the “Palmiga Globe Bouquet Vase,” resembles a complex, symmetrical lily. Or perhaps a pomegranate or an artichoke. Or, as Palm suggests quite tongue-in-cheek, the fire- or lightning-emitting top of a wizard’s staff or some form of alien weaponry.

Joking aside, the vase is actually a beautifully designed work of art in and of itself. Thus, Palm succeeded in giving the Palmiga Globe Bouquet Vase separate distinction. However, he admits that, ultimately, he designed it to showcase the flowers it holds in a very specific way: to form what he calls a “globe bouquet”–hence the name.

“I’ve designed a vase as a miniature protest against all the 3D printed vases that focuses on the actual vase itself,” Palm explains. “Its really fun and nice to see the creativity out there designing the most complex 3D printed vase but isn’t the flowers the main attraction and also the most beautiful? No 3D print can come close to that beauty right?”

The Palmiga Globe Bouquet Vase can be 3D printed without the use of supports and can also be scaled down to print on smaller build plates. Palm explained further on his Thingiverse Thing page:

“Obviously, it’s designed to be printed without support and it’s possible to scale down a bit to fit lots of printers (174mm x 179mm x 159mm at 100%). In my pictures and movies it’s printed at 80% with 0.2mm layers and a 0.7mm nozzle. The outer holes together with the holes in the inner geometry creates endless combinations when arranging the flowers. Combined with the base part and a pillar it´s a good start creating a parkway framed with elevated Globe Bouquets… (base printed at 70% in the picture) If one does not like the flower aspect I guess it would double great at Comic Con as the top of a Wizard Staff or Alien Weaponry perhaps? In fact why do we not challenge everyone to make a creative base for this vase so that it can morph into something completely new.”

Clearly, there’s room for flexibility with Palm’s ingenious and fetching vase in terms of printing as well as what you choose to display in it. In a sense, it’s like several tiny vases together in one that can help even the least talented among us create a visually appealing floral arrangement. Also, notes Palm, “the lowest 2mm of the vase is available…as a STEP file so that you can easily design your own unique base.” In one photograph, the Palmiga Vase is displayed on a slender pedestal, which suggests it would be ideal for a bride to carry.

Palm provided files for free downloading on Thingiverse and on MyMiniFactory.

If you want to skip the 3D printing step, however, you can buy one for $9.99 during MyMiniFactory’s “Support-Free Vase & Planter Design Competition” in which the Palmiga Vase is entered. Otherwise, Palm sells the vases for a very reasonable $39.

Let us know if you buy one of these unique vases in the 3D Printed Globe Bouquet forum thread on 3DPB.com.