u r a reflection of me
making 3D printed compact mirrors as holiday gifts for my friends
In December, I saw a gift guide on Tiktok where this girl recommended compact mirrors from Etsy. Since I live off a non-profit arts salary, I instead decided to buy a pack of thirty 3 inch round craft mirrors and then design a 3D printed compact mirror frame around it.
I wanted some shapes to hold the mirror in place and settled on star and sparkle shapes. There honestly wasn’t much thought behind the shapes or their orientation, but I liked the way it looked. The edges were sharp in a wrought iron fence kind of way that I liked, especially for an object with a more feminine association like a compact mirror.
Initially, I thought I could pause the print, insert the mirror, and then resume printing over it so the shapes genuinely held the mirror in. I quickly realized that the printer would not enjoy printing on the mirror and the filament would have nothing to stick to and it would ultimately fail. I settled on printing two parts, a top and bottom half, where the bottom half would have a shallow indent for the mirror to sit in. The first prototype I made had straight sides and the top half had magnets that corresponded to magnets in the bottom half so the two halves could lock together.
For the final mirrors, I added a filet to the sides of each half so it has rounded edges and I added more super glue to lock the two halves permanently together. Being able to switch out other top half designs and lock them in with magnets was a fun idea but if this is a mirror carried in a purse, it would get annoying if it kept coming apart. That’s why I ultimately decided to fully super glue them in addition to the magnets. Also if I’m being real with myself, there’s no way I’d really be designing and printing all these top half patterns to switch out.
Each mirror has a custom engraving on a back. I also wrapped the mirrors in the daily calendar page of each person’s birthday. I’m pretty pleased with how they turned out. I also like that they are functional and small—two good things for a gift to be.
I don’t know if it’s the new year or the full moon or what, but I’m feeling slightly untethered (apologies for all my rambling run on sentences). I want to host a Valentine’s weekend dinner for friends where I make accoutrements for the table inspired by old Valentines and love tokens. I just hope I can find the focus to do it and the time to do it well. ★
💖
very chic