We talk about the future a lot at Shapeways. But we don't often get to have a conversation about it in the context of other innovations, including those in food, fashion, product design, technology, trend forecasting, hospitality, architecture and art.

So we're excited to share that our CEO Peter Weijmarshausen will be speaking at next week's Inventours conference. It's a whirlwind one-day experiential innovation conference on September 28th with New York's leading innovators. Peter will be joined by leaders from Louis Vuitton, The Whitney, Smart Design, Union Square Hospitality Group, Pantone, The City Bakery, and others. It's a NY dream team.

For more information or to register, visit inventours.com.

For this week's Friday Finds, we have a collection of 3D prints that you've been sharing in the twitter universe. You guys unearthed some really cool 3D printed products. Thanks for sharing!

The 4 Elements by KiorodesiGn, spotted by @KiordesiGn.

Watch Band Buckle 424 by 7Plain, spotted by @7Plain.

Steampunk Gear Dice Set by Masterworks, spotted by @avandius.

And Cloudswimmer's custom letters, shared by @vormplus, not yet available on Shapeways but perhaps soon?

Thanks for sharing, and happy Friday everyone!

3D Printing can help you make anything you can imagine. But what if you don't know how to design? Or what if you don't know where to start?

With the Shapeways marketplace, people all over the world can get a little bit closer to getting exactly what they want. To help put this into perspective, here's some data that blew our minds: the Shapeways marketplace of community designed 3D printed products contains over SIX BILLION product variations.

Considering the number of publicly available products and accounting for the material and customization options readily available, that gets us a little closer to infinite possibility. This is nearly one unique product option for every person on the planet.

Happy Friday everyone! For this week's Friday Finds, we have a roundup of beautiful 3D printed designs that prove form and function don't always have to meet when art's concerned.

Water Still by Gang War Designs, a (post apocalyptic) vision for our potable water future.

Mechanical Ring 2 by Spaho Design, a beautiful ring that doesn't screw around.

5000W SubWoofer Pendant by Gunter Art & Design, for music lovers who like to feel dark bass all day.

Keep sharing your gems. Next week, we'll pick a selection from the twittersphere!

Happy Friday everyone! For this week's Friday Finds, we have a selection of beautiful 3D printed jewelry in stainless steel and sterling silver. The Olympics may be over, but there's surely some glorious metals going around. We found this in the forums, which has been a fountain of awesomeness, hot of the 3D printer.

Skull Keychain / Pendant Multitool by Innovo, the perfect tool for any bind your find yourself in.

PEPITA Oval Pendant by Dario Scapitta Design, inspired from the natural silver and gold nuggets.

Pendant Twisted Squares 1 by design IK, a patchwork of steel and beauty. 

And though it doesn't fit into the metal theme, this one was too great to pass up given our team's obsession with caffeine:

Moebius Cup by Magic, an endless cup for the eternal coffee aficionado.  

For this week's Friday Finds, we have a round up of 3D printspiration from the forums in Feature This and It Arrived! Beautiful work as always. Thanks for sharing and keep 'em coming!

iPhone 4/4s Case Ripple by Spaho Design, a 3D printed optical illusion. No special glasses required.

The Splat Palette by Polychemy, perfect for mixing paints and containing the mess.

Guitar Strap Pick Holder by DreamTree Imagination Studio

Did we miss any gems? Share links in the comments and we'll consider them for next week. Happy Friday everyone!

Our VP of Engineering Josh Levine shares what's in store for Shapeways this weekend and moving forward:

Last month, we announced that we have taken on a seemingly impossible task: to rebuild the architecture of Shapeways.com. Over the past few months, all of us at Shapeways have contributed to this massive undertaking and through hard work, determination, and a lot of listening to our customers, the time has come to reveal the fruits of our labor!

Notice the little man standing next to this massive 200 ton stone in the temple Baalbek. This stone is a metaphor for ~60% of our current software architecture. Most of what you'd like us to build involves moving the "little" stones (several tons each!) laid neatly beneath the 200 ton monster.

Tonight we are rolling out a major milestone for Shapeways - internally this project is called Inshape 2.0. Tonight, we're moving the 200 ton monster.

Inshape 2.0 completely replaces our back-end systems for Order Placement and Order Fulfillment systems with up-to-date, state-of-the-art technology and processes.  In the past, we have had to hold off on so many great ideas from the community - 99% of that is washed away with this release. We anticipate faster turnaround times on orders, and on improvements to our systems.

For those of you experiencing summer heat and glare, don't fret. For this week's Friday Finds, we have a collection of sunglasses designs, some more practical than others.

Cloud Eyewear by Colors of Birch, which in white "is like singing in the rain!"

Pilot Sun Glasses Ring to help you look fly all the time.

Got specs you love? Show us your 3D printed shades in the comments here!

Happy Friday everyone. Stay cool.

Our very own Duann Scott speaks with Bloomberg BusinessWeek at this year's Northside Festival about how the Shapeways community is disrupting 3D printing with the marketplace and shares some advice about how to keep a startup alive.

What is the future of manufacturing, design, and creativity? How are 3D printing and the maker movement shifting the global economy? 

Big questions, we know...That's why we've lined up two leading experts (Chris Anderson of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail and Makers, and our own Pete Weijmarshausen) to discuss how 3D printing is revolutionizing manufacturing and democratizing creation for everyone.

Here's a little snippet of the proposal:

Sharing their perspectives from the front lines, Chris and Peter will outline the key trends of Industrial Revolution 3.0: collaborative design, open access, creative commerce, green production, and a DIY ethos. They will discuss the limitations of mass manufacturing and explain why digital fabrication enables individuals to find and make products that truly meet their unique needs.

What open source did for software, 3D printing can do for physical things...

Shapeways community, we need your help! Help get Pete and Chris on the stage at SXSW 2013!

Last year at SXSW, mobile-social-local apps were the talk of the town. This year, we hope to shift the conversation from bits to atoms.

SXSW Interactive Panels are selected based on community voting and input from the SXSW Advisory Board and Staff...so make your voice heard! PanelPicker voting will close on Friday, August 31 (11:59 PM CST). We'll be much obliged for any support you offer.

Vote now, and thanks!

You've twisted our arm with your inspiring designs...We've seen so many innovative products emerge over the last week alongside the discount on ceramics, we've decided to extend the promotion another week!

You can stop shaking your head in disbelief. 3D printed ceramics in all colors and glazes will be $0.14 per cm² through August 21st at 9am EST.

Let the dance party begin.

If you haven't yet ordered something in Eggshell Blue, Black Satin, or Avocado Green, well, let's just say those colors are on fire (pun intended).

So start prepping the French Press and design the coffee cup of your dreams...

Forget about that paper cup...we're talking 3D printed ceramics here:

For this week's Friday Finds, we have a selection of 3D printed ceramics. And remember that all ceramic material costs are discounted at $0.14 per cm² through August 14th, so try out some new glazes for over 20% off.

Ceramic Shell Candle Holder by Studio Hansen. A beautiful, simple twist on the classic shape.

...and in a variety of glazes and colors.

Waterlily soap dish by unellenu, bringing a hint of nature into your home.

A little bird showed us some brilliant 3D prints from the Shapeways community...

For this week's Friday Finds, we've selected some of the gems you have shared on Twitter. Help us discover your designs by sharing them in the wild! (You can use the "tweet" button directly from any page.)

SOS - Eyewear by Colors of Birch. Watch out Kayne, these may be Shutter Shades 2.0.

All-in-one iPhone 4 Case by AmznFX, with a credit card holder, ID holder, bottle opener (sold separately) and other superpowers...this is the "master of all money clips!"

Speaking to someone by Skype from your phone can be a bit awkward at times, with person on the other end often seeing only half your face or a closeup of your earlobe. Enter Botiful, a telepresence robot for consumers designed by Clair Delaunay who used Shapeways 3D Printing for her prototypes. She's already raised over $62k on Kickstarter thus far and has racked up some support by others who are hoping for more natural remote conversations, including TechCrunch and Skype's former Chief Architect Ahti Heinla.

With Skype as a simple interface, the telepresence platform for Android phones roams around and lets you be remotely present from anywhere in the world. Botiful can enable Skype video calls, baby monitoring, and even entertaining your pets...

Claire used 3D Printing with Shapeways for some of her prototyping and functional designs, from creating the robot's appearance to testing how she could mount the motors, sensors, electronic board, and battery. She also used 3D Printing with Shapeways to design an efficient mechanism for the tilting head (she 3D printed the gears).