{"id":1507,"date":"2012-07-18T13:49:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-18T13:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/archives\/1507-designer-spotlight-erica-schwartz.html"},"modified":"2014-07-03T17:20:30","modified_gmt":"2014-07-03T17:20:30","slug":"designer-spotlight-erica-schwartz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/designer-spotlight-erica-schwartz","title":{"rendered":"Designer Spotlight: Erica Schwartz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This weeks Designer Spotlight focuses on Erica Schwartz of <a href=\"\/shops\/designerica\" title=\"SHapeways shops\">DesignErica<\/a> a designer whose path has taken her from religious studies to Pratt, to designing for a private label, to finally launching her own jewelry line.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/smileflowerslow.jpg\" alt=\"Designer Erica\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? Where are you located?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">I grew up in New York in a household where creativity was not just encouraged but required. &nbsp;I went&nbsp;to college in New Hampshire and moved to Brooklyn in 2001. &nbsp;I live in an amazing house in Greenpoint with a bunch of cool people which also houses my office and studio.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>What&#8217;s the story behind your <span class=\"s1\">designs<\/span>? What inspires you?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">I find a lot of inspiration in nature and geometry, but everything seems to come with a certain sense of playfulness. &nbsp;I have kind of a fear of being boring and\/or bored. &nbsp;I like to &nbsp;make things that make you smile or make you think. &nbsp;Or maybe both. &nbsp;Right now i&#8217;m working on jewelry that is meant to be played with.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><em>How did you learn how to design in 3D?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">While studying religion at Dartmouth, I decided I really wanted to be a designer. &nbsp;I went back to school for a Masters of Industrial Design degree at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn where I took a couple of Solidworks classes and really enjoyed them. &nbsp;Those classes gave me the tools to easily exercise all the other knowledge and skills I learned at Pratt. &nbsp;I created my first 3D printed object at Pratt- a coaster which I still have. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><em>What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">After Pratt I got a job doing private label watch and jewelry design. &nbsp;I spent my days designing high-end objects that I could never afford. &nbsp;This got my mind churning on my own ideas that were not appropriate for the audience I was employed to design for but more for people like me. &nbsp;I started with laser-cutting and 3D printing stuff just for fun. &nbsp; I saw that other people (specifically Nervous System) were selling 3D printed products to people outside of the community and thought: &#8220;Hey, I want to do that!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/model\/105403\/double-starburst-ring.html\" title=\"Shapeways shops\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/stars1.jpeg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>How do you promote your work?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">I started with an etsy shop, which I still try to maintain because it drives its own traffic. I recently launched a full-fledged online retail site as well. &nbsp;I&#8217;ve done some craft shows, sold through a couple of design collectives, and I&#8217;m just starting to make some headway in the wholesale market. &nbsp;You can find my stuff at the Brooklyn Museum Shop. &nbsp;I think it&#8217;s important to get 3D printed products into markets outside of the community of modelers and those &#8220;in the know&#8221; (ie, you and me). This way they can be appreciated for their inherent design not just because its a cool process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Who are your favorite&nbsp;designers&nbsp;or artists?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">This one is tough! Gaudi and Frank Lloyd Write&#8230;Panton, Pucci, Noguchi, Nakashima, Charles and Ray Eames&#8230; this list could go on forever!<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>Who in the Shapeways community has served as an inspiration to you?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><a href=\"\/shops\/nervous\" title=\"shapeways shops nervous\">Nervous System<\/a> showed me this kind of thing was really possible and their work is amazing. &nbsp;The boys at <a href=\"\/shops\/gothamsmith\" title=\"Shapeways Shops Gotham smith\">GothamSmith<\/a> are great. &nbsp;And Sandy Noble from&nbsp;<a href=\"\/shops\/uptomuch\" title=\"Shapeways SHops\">UpToMuch<\/a>, who&nbsp;taught me how to dye WSF in my kitchen. &nbsp;Also everyone who works at Shapeways and deals with me when I&#8217;m frustrated, thank you!<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\"><a href=\"\/model\/133721\/button-up-ring.html%20\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/button.jpeg\" alt=\"Button ring\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Check out Erica&#8217;s playful rings on her <a href=\"\/shops\/designerica\" title=\"Shapeways Shops Design Erica\">Shapeways Shop <\/a>or her <a href=\"http:\/\/www.designerica.com\/\" title=\"design erica\">website<\/a>&nbsp;and if you&#8217;re inspired you can try your hand at our&nbsp;<a href=\"\/creator\/\" title=\"Shapeways Creator\">Easy Creators<\/a>&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This weeks Designer Spotlight focuses on Erica Schwartz of DesignErica a designer whose path has taken her from religious studies&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":13055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[489],"tags":[495,490,477],"class_list":["post-1507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-products-and-design","tag-19-designer-spotlight","tag-jewelry","tag-1-whats-hot"],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/button.jpeg","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.9 (Yoast SEO v23.9) - 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