In our workshop, several worlds that at first glance would not seem to have much in common have intersected in recent months: jewellery making, music, photography, and fashion design. Yet all these projects shared one thing – the endeavour to push their own creative work a step further using modern technology.
We helped renowned jeweller Zdeněk Vacek make jewellery for Ben Cristovao, musician Vladimír 518 with a jacket fitted with an LED panel playing video, photographer Alžběta Jungrová with engraving photographs into transparent acrylic, and up-and-coming fashion designer Ema Želinská with creating 3D printed fashion.
The Venom Collection for Ben Cristovao
In collaboration with jeweller Zdeněk Vacek, we created jewellery prototypes for Ben Cristovao's June concert at Prague's Eden. The production involved 3D scanning, digital model preparation and precise SLA printing on an Original Prusa SL1S printer. The final pieces were subsequently made of silver and had to withstand not only being exhibition objects, but also a dynamic concert performance.
The whole Venom collection was later also presented at Designblok, showing how naturally traditional jewellery craft and digital manufacturing can blend today.
Vladimír 518's LED jacket
For the musician and visual artist Vladimír 518, we created an LED panel attached to the back of his favourite denim jacket. The device can play MP4 video at a resolution of 48 × 32 pixels, turning an ordinary piece of clothing into a moving digital canvas.
The jacket first appeared in the music video for DOMOV and then caught the attention of visitors at the Colours of Ostrava festival. The project showed that electronics and wearable design can together create entirely new forms of visual expression.
Transparent photographs by Alžběta Jungrová
Renowned photographer Alžběta Jungrová was looking for a way to transfer her images into an unconventional artistic medium. Together, we therefore developed the technique of laser engraving into transparent acrylic.
The resulting image changes with the light and the surrounding space, giving the photographs an additional layer of meaning. The viewer is no longer just an observer but becomes part of the work itself. These works have already been shown at several exhibitions and have since travelled abroad.
3D-printed fashion by Ema Želinská
A student from the Faculty of Industrial Technologies in Púchov used our printers for her bachelor's thesis on 3D printed fashion. In her collection, she combined textiles with printed elements and explored how new technologies can expand the possibilities of contemporary fashion design.
A series of experimental models has been created, showing that 3D printing does not only have to serve for the production of functional components, but can also be a fully fledged creative tool for fashion designers.
The place where unusual ideas are born
Similar projects remind us that technologies are not an end in themselves. They become interesting the moment someone uses them in an unexpected way – to create a piece of jewellery, an art object, a new form of photography or an experimental fashion collection.
PrusaLab is a place where artists, designers, technicians and experimenters meet. And it is precisely from these encounters that projects often emerge which would never have seen the light of day without the combination of creativity and modern technologies.
