Made in Scotland: 3D Scotland

What happens when two product design engineers combine their passion for Scottish culture with cutting-edge 3D printing technology? You get chess sets where iconic Scottish landmarks battle it out, Celtic faces Rangers on the chess board, and The Sopranos come to life as collectible figurines. We sat down with Michael from 3D Scotland to discover how a university project evolved into a thriving business creating unique Scottish-themed gifts – you’ll want to add these to your wish list!

Can you tell us how your business got started?

Alex and myself (Michael) went to university together, studying Product Design Engineering at GSA. The chess sets actually started as a project at the Glasgow School of Art, it was 2D acrylic with laser etching. Then in January 2020, we decided to bring it into the realm of 3D, we bought some 3D printers and started doing experiments!

Where do you look for inspiration when you are designing new products? 

We look at current trends and pop culture, but to be honest, we make things that we ourselves would want to buy! Everything we make, we are a fan of, ie Michael is a Celtic and Alex is a rangers fan, ergo the Celtic and Rangers Chess sets shown below. We both have different interests and hobbies and these are what we base designs around.

Can you tell us a bit more about how you make your products?

We are both trained product design engineers, so we have the skills to basically create and manufacture anything! We start with 3D modelling, this is just like normal physical modelling but in a computer program. It starts with a lump of virtual ‘clay’ which is manipulated to look like our design. Once we are happy with a design, we need to prototype and test, refining the design to be manufactured in the most efficient way.

What are your most popular products and which are your own favourites?

Our most popular product is the Clydeside Chess set (shown above). That is where it all started and we get most of our sales! Our recently released Sopranos figurine collection (see below) also gets a lot of attention.

If you had to pick one place in Scotland to recommend that people visit, where would it be?

We absolutely love St Andrews, it’s cobbled streets and beaches are amazing. It’s history is also extremely interesting with some key events for reformation taking place there and a castle to explore!

Which other Scottish Makers do you love to recommend?

We love Melanie O’Donnell’s ceramics. She hand makes a variety of decorative ceramics ranging from wall pieces, urns and figurative sculptures!

Thanks so much to Michael for his time in chatting with us and make sure to follow 3D Scotland on their Website, Facebook or Instagram!