In the 3D Printing Studio: Kasia Wisniewski’s Collected Edition

This article originally appeared on Shapeways Magazine.

Bugs in the kitchen. Flowers in an old illustration. Sources of inspiration can be unexpected. For artist and jewelry designer Kasia Wisniewski, one of the things that doesn’t seem to inspire her jewelry is, well, other jewelry.

Kasia’s Sword Fern Bracelet

In each of her designs, Kasia emulates and celebrates elements of the natural world. And with Mother Nature providing the templates for her creations, it’s fitting that she describes Collected Edition, her artful line of personal accessories, as “unabashedly feminine.” Working from her Brooklyn, New York, studio, Kasia captures the ephemeral delicacy of flowers, leaves, and insects. Of course, recreating the intricacies of nature would present a challenge for any designer. But Kasia brings to bear deep experience as a master craftsperson. A diverse background in patternmaking, papercraft, 3D printing, and laser cutting has led to a uniquely organic, digitally enabled collection.

As is the case for many designers, necessity drove the genesis of her creations. Collected Edition was born in 2013 when the designer was looking to create a custom piece for her own wedding. That experience sparked a desire to create beautiful heirloom wedding pieces and eye-catching jewelry. Now, her floral collection has encouraged designers and hobbyists alike to create jewelry of their own. As a founding member of Shapeways Collective, she’s inspiring others by sharing her love of design and knowledge of 3D printing.

We recently sat down with Kasia in her studio to explore her creative process (check out the full interview below). Aside from the interesting origin story of her brand, we learned that in order to create one of her intricate floral headpieces, she goes through a journey of exploration with the flower she’s replicating, studying images of the buds and physically creating the pieces in paper. These paper prototypes help her to develop the composition and form, while assuring that each piece fits comfortably on the body. Kasia then develops the design digitally, using Fusion 360 and Meshmixer.

Take a deeper dive into how Kasia is pushing the boundaries of 3D printed jewelry:

This article, written by Angela Linneman and Virginia Gordon, was reprinted with permission from Shapeways. Read more about Kasia here.