Creating synergies between traditional crafts and Fablab Making: Exploring digital mold-making for glassblowing

Abstract

Traditional crafts and the Maker movement have in the last decade to some extent been evolving in parallel, with little intermingling. We held an experimental five day workshop with six experienced craftspeople - "traditional" glassblowers - while providing modern digital Fablab production apparatus; specifically 3D printers and CNC (Computer Numerical Control) routers - to explore possibilities and synergies in working with a traditional craft in conjunction with new generalized digital production possibilities. This paper summarizes seven generalisable takeaways that highlight relevant reflections on the potential for cross-fertilization and learning, enriching the repertoire of both the "traditional" craft and the Fablab, based on a shared interest in exploring aesthetic material exploration and production.