October 8, 2015 – The Metrognome

We catch up with Mumbai’s first 3D designing and printing firm that brings all your fantasies to life – seriously!

by Ritika Bhandari Parekh

It looks like a scene from the future – jewellery being printed from a printer. And no, it isn’t paper jewellery. We are talking about wearable jewellery, from earrings to rings. Intrigued? We were too.

Siddharth Sah

When 28-year old Siddharth Sah finished his MBA from California in 2012, he decided to fuse his love for design with his inherited business genes. The result: a one-of-its-kind 3D Design Studio in Churchgate, called Make Whale.

Be it jewellery or a carved bottle to hold your messages, a Ganpati idol or a wacky creation of your company logo – Make Whale gives you an opportunity to go wild in your thoughts and shape them. Intricately carved or flexible in design, the design studio gives you complete freedom to mould your creations and showcase them.

“Our thumb-imprinted cufflinks are gaining much popularity these days. As each product is designed from scratch, we have no inventory as such. Also depending on the style, designs and colours, we choose the material which will fit best for the product. So while sandstone allows for a multicolour product, it is difficult to have interlocking designs in the same material,” he says. “Steel helps to give various finishes, for instance gold-plated jewellery. But there are design limitations, too.”

Sah tell us how 3-D printing as a technology has been around for 30 years, but its advancement began only in the lastfive years. “I remember taking a joint class in design as a business student, to understand the world from their angle. The first-time I witnessed 3D printing at the prestigious Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, I was hooked.”

Studying the market and understanding if all the hype around 3D printing – does it have or not have substance – led him to opening the business venture. “After a lot of research and development, we started in August 2015. I have a team of product designers who help with the gift designs and an experienced automotive engineer,” he explains.

A graduate of Jai Hind College, this SoBo man believes that besides bobble heads, the market for 3D printed gifts is still in its nascent stage in India. With the focus on designing, Make Whale wishes to plunge deep into the elite society weddings and corporate gifting arena. “Whether customising candle stands or napkin rings with the initials of the bride and groom, the possibilities are endless. Our focus is on the consumer and once we are a bit more settled, we wish to bring out ceramic plates and mugs which adhere to the food safety standards,” he says.

Their office has an in-house 3D printer to give the consumer an idea of how his creation will look as a prototype. And that is where the magic happens. A loop of material attached from the rear is heated till the design from the SD card finally takes shape in its current avatar. The designing process takes from a week to 10 days’ time, while the 3D model prototype arrives within a couple of days. Once approved, the final product takes three weeks to be created and delivered.

In a small way, 3D printing gives mortals like us a chance to play God. Inanimate gifts are created, designed, re-designed and produced. The limitation is only your imagination and the materials, to some extent. Sah signs off hoping to see you the next time brandishing your creative juices, keeping your gifts anchored in fantastical reality and designing it with Make Whale.

To know more about Make Whale and their products, log on to http://www.makewhale.com. Look up more images on our Facebook page.

Are youngsters a generation tainted by ego?

A reader pens down her thoughts about a generation that marks happiness by its bank balance, not its personal ties.

by Vidya Rekha

Looking through the window, a thought popped into my mind one day…Why does the younger generation not take responsibility? Responsibility at the job, in their personal lives, with their parents? We are always taught to be responsible, to always emanate the spiritual thoughts within us. But I increasingly see that the younger generation doesn’t want to be inside the boundary of responsibility – within the bounds of marriage, within the bounds of authority.

Youngsters today want to be autonomous in their thoughts and actions. Ostensibly they want to be with someone who can share the same conception as theirs and enjoy the colours of life without binding to any obligation. While this sounds attraction on the surface, it comes with its own pitfalls. Not everyone is able to comprehend this style of living and thinking. Soon, marriages lead to divorce. Personal relationships break down. It is disturbing to see so many newlyweds separate before they celebrate their first wedding anniversary.

At the root of most of these troubles is money. Most women today are financially empowered, they are accomplished in their careers. So they think, ‘I have no need to obey a man’. Likewise, men think that when they earn and take care of their families, their responsibilities do not include listening to or taking advice from a woman. They simply presume that girls should be meek to them, regardless of their employment.

Many girls today easily agree to get married to a man working overseas, under the false impression that they will get a queenly lifestyle abroad. Once they actually reach there, they realise that living in comfort abroad requires hours of work. Most women fail to remember their own parents’ initial struggles to raise a family and run the house. It is also disturbing to see how many people are unhappy about attending to the brood waiting for them back home, and more so, about taking care of their parents.

Simultaneously, the bone of contention between many couples is: Why should I take care of your parents? Meanwhile, more and more couples are increasingly opting to live in with their partners, since this arrangement does not come with the complications of marriage.

But this kind of autonomy, both in marriages and live-in relationships, can come with a price. There is no substitute for the guidance and wisdom of elders in our lives.

Life is all about giving and gaining. The full form of the word ‘Ego’ currently is ‘Edging God Out.’ This means we have no time or inclination for introspection, that we are completely devoted to our own interests. We will soon become people who are selfish, concerned only for our own welfare, whose God is money and material comfort.

Instead of money guiding our choices, it should be our higher self doing so. If the choice we make brings us a sense of peace, then that is our higher self at work.

Vidya Rekha is a graduate from Mysore University, and works as HR professional for the JGI group. She loves reading books and listening to music. The views expressed here are her own.

(Picture courtesy www.moneycrashers.com. Image is used for representational purpose only)