(((but, man, that proposal is just plain weird.)))
(((If you take Ponoko up on this, lemme know the results.)))
Hey there Bruce,
43 mins ago we just launched a magical new product ... Here’s a special offer for the first 100 of your Wired readers ...
Introducing Photomake
You can now turn digital photos of your hand drawings into real life products simply by uploading them to the Ponoko website. (((Huh? I like to draw flying saucers, personally...)))
This means you do not need to use graphics software to make something. This significantly lowers the entry barrier for all creative people who can hand draw using pen and paper but do not know how to use design software.
Give it a go!
You can turn a photo of your hand drawn design into the real life thing by uploading it here: http://www.ponoko.com/photomake
Special offer for Wired readers
The first 100 Wired readers to make something using Photomake will go into the draw to get their product made and delivered for free. To qualify they just need to enter “Wired” in the Special Delivery Instructions text box on their way through the checkout.
Enjoy :)
Official press release
September 24, 2008
MEDIA RELEASE
Turn hand drawings into real life things with Ponoko’s Photomake
San Francisco, CA – (((this means that WIRED staffers can go over there and beat them up, so I take a little comfort))) World leader in product individualization Ponoko has today launched another world first. It’s a service called Photomake. You can use it to turn digital photos of hand drawings into real products simply by uploading them to the Ponoko website.
Ponoko has established itself as a place where you can shop online for one-of-a-kind goods direct from popular and upcoming designers, or design and make them yourself. The company is on a mission to make it super simple for anyone to make anything that is on their mind, at low cost.
Previously at Techcrunch40, Ponoko launched Designmake for designers to make things on demand – over 10,000 have signed up. Earlier this year, they also launched Ponoko ID for shoppers to request goods to be made just for them by these designers. Now with Photomake they’re inviting creative people who don’t know how to use design software to participate simply by sketching what they want on a piece of paper and uploading a photo of it to get it made.
Chief Strategy Officer, Derek Elley says Photomake is child’s play. “It’s great for crafters, makers and artists,” he says. “One of the cool things about Photomake is the quality of the result – it’s truly hand drawn. Because digital making is so very precise every tiny bump in the hand drawn creation is picked up and made for real. This gives a very natural and human feel to the things you make.”
All you need to get started with Photomake is a felt tip pen and piece of paper. Just draw what you want to make, take a photograph of it, upload this digital photo to the Ponoko website (no login required), get an instant online price to turn your drawing into the real thing, then click to make. Your product will be delivered to your door in days.
CEO Dave ten Have says Photomake is made possible by some very clever file conversion technology that is more accurate than anything that has come before it. “It is designed so that what you draw is what is made, without any touching up required in a design software program,” he says. “It is also 100% online, so you don’t need to own a design software program to use it.”
And for those who know how to use Microsoft Paint and popular photo editing software like Photoshop and GIMP, Photomake is the perfect tool to turn creations designed in these programs into real things too. This is because Photomake accepts common jpg, gif and png files.
Elley says that, as with Ponoko’s original Designmake service, designers can use the new service to make cash as well as make things for themselves. “When you make something with Photomake, you can keep it for yourself, give it as a gift or sell it online from your own free Ponoko e-commerce storefront. You can also sell or give away for free your design file templates too.”
So if you’re worried about the cost of Christmas shopping this season, Photomake may be the easiest and most affordable way to give the most personal of gifts – hand drawn and made by you.
ENDS
For more information contact:
Derek Elley
Chief Strategy Officer
USA +1 415 690 3364
NZ +64 21 88 66 81
Ponoko
Ponoko (www.ponoko.com) is the first online shop for individualized goods – things designed and made on demand for individual shoppers. Consumers can shop the marketplace for designer crafted goods or request a designer to make something especially for them. Designers can make and sell their product ideas using our web commerce and digital make-on-demand services. Ponoko is the new sustainable way to design, make and deliver products – we cut the waste from oversupply by making products on-demand and we’re also working to cut carbon emissions by sourcing local materials and making products as close to the point of consumption as possible.
Ponoko Marketplace – online shopping for green designer crafted goods
An online shop of the world’s most unique designer crafted goods from popular and up-coming designers, made on-demand for green shoppers.
Ponoko ID – custom shopping request service
An online shopping request service that matches buyers with designers. Shoppers post requests for custom-made individualized goods and designers bid to design and make the items.
Designmake – design, make and sell your product ideas
An online service for designers to turn their ideas into real things – and sell them to the world. Designers submit product designs using graphics software like Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw or Inkscape, then choose materials to get an instant online price to make and deliver their goods worldwide.
Photomake – turn photos of your designs into real life things
An online service for creative people to turn their ideas into real things – and sell them to the world. Crafters, makers and artists submit photos of hand drawings or designs using graphics software like Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Paint or GIMP, then choose materials to get an instant online price to make and deliver their goods worldwide.
Find out more at www.ponoko.com
