Designer Spotlight: Dimitris Fotiou - Shapeways Blog

Designer Spotlight: Dimitris Fotiou

September 8, 2014

This weeks designer spotlight highlights Shapeways Crew member, Dimitris Fotiou. As a trained sculptor, Dimitris formed his Shapeways shop, Thingfuture, as another artistic outlet with a new medium. A self-taught 3D modeler, his shop is full of beautiful and intricate designs from rings to gadget accessories.

Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? Where are you located?
I am an artist who comes from a sculptural background and lots of classical studies in the field of Fine Arts. I see 3D printing technology as the kingdom of ultimate tools. Access to that kingdom makes any design I dream of possible, it’s like making the impossible real. I live and work in Athens, Greece.

What’s the story behind your designs? What inspires you?
As an artist I use technology as a medium to create art. When I got involved in 3D printing I found myself challenged by jewellery and product design, which was something I had never done before. Most importantly, I needed to separate this part from my art practice somehow. So I founded ThingFuture, a project whereby sculptural values are integrated with wearable art, jewellery and accessories, which helped me keep the art production part separate. I seek inspiration from the world I live in, politics, the economical crisis, the internet, mathematics, or even nature. Speaking of inspiration, I tend to avoid to be only concerned with aesthetics.

What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?
The ability to 3D print a sculpture of any shape, perfect in terms of accuracy, with no accidental errors, only by using some computer software as a tool and nothing else is definitely a challenge for a sculptor. Speaking of challenges and given the financial climate and its harsh realities, being able to afford a fully equipped workshop is a non existent prospect for a sculptor. I first heard about 3D printing when a student at the Wimbledon School of Art (2001), but only in Information technology (IT) terms, not in my Sculpture course. Eventually 3D printing became accessible to me in early 2009, when I joined Shapeways.

How did you learn how to design in 3D?
I am self taught and I αm still learning. 3D printing was either unknown or inaccessible to art institutions when I was a student. Unlike today where one has access to various tutorials, online courses, improved tools etc., the learning curve was steep during this period as I had to resolve almost everything myself. That required a lot of RTFM and forum involvement but I managed to print my first sphere in 2009.

How do you promote your work?
This is done mostly by using social media, including Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I also use Facebook ads, especially when I come up with a new product, to give it a push.

Who are your favorite designers or artists? Who in the Shapeways community has served as an inspiration to you?
I love the work of lots of designers but if I had to pick my absolute favourites those would be the works of Bathsheba Grossman and Fernando Sosa.

If you weren’t limited by current technologies, what would you want to make using 3D printing?
Size matters, as the saying goes. Also money talks. So solving the issues of high costs and limited scale would definitely allow me to go into larger installations or objects and explore more possibilities.

WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS SHOP:

Thank you for the interview, Dimitris! Don’t forget to check out Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, as well as Instagram, Tumblr, and his personal site.

As always, to be featured, please email aimee @ shapeways.com.