You might not recognize their names at first, but Fire & Bone co-founders Jason Bakutis, Chris Boynton, and Matt Kroner have been behind a number of fascinating designs for 3D printing over the past couple of years and have been favorites of ours. In particular, as individuals they did amazing and sometimes uncredited work at MakerBot creating everything from the MakerBot Watch, Mixtape, and MoMA store “Destination: NYC” products, to the Marble Run and other printables for the MakerBot Store.
It is a real treat to see new work from them — and see how their use of 3D scanning and 3D printing in their work has evolved since they have set out on their own. Rather than designing to produce on a 3D printer, they are using 3D scanners and 3D printers to produce tremendously accurate scale physical models for casting. A master class in the new ways that people are putting 3D printers to use in their artwork beyond the plastic paperweight.
In nature, details matter. Fire & Bone combines traditional lost-wax casting techniques and modern tools like 3D scanning and 3D printing to miniaturize real animal skulls in all their natural detail and beauty.
• Fire & Bone is a new line of amazing, true-to-life jewelry and collectibles derived from real animal skulls. These pieces look beautiful both as pendants or when displayed as collector’s items.
• We take full advantage of exciting new technologies, including 3D scanning and 3D printing, to create something that’s not available anywhere else: miniature skulls that are highly detailed and faithful to nature’s design.
• Each skull is cast in bronze, silver, or gold with traditional techniques, so Fire & Bone is both cutting edge and ancient; a modern twist on a timeless fascination with the animal world.
• Fire & Bone co-founders Jason Bakutis, Chris Boynton, and Matt Kroner met as product designers on the 3D Design team at MakerBot, where their work was featured heavily at the MakerBot Store, at 3D printing conferences, and in the Museum of Modern Art’s Destination: NYC collection.
