Sheyn: The Art of Making Everyday Life More Beautiful Through 3D Printing

Sheyn means “beautiful” in Yiddish. Aesthetics are at the heart of Nicolas Gold and Markus Schaffer’s work, so much so that they chose this word as the name for their design studio. Their approach blends architecture and design to reveal the beauty of everyday objects, guided by a simple idea: that everything around us helps make life a little more beautiful.

Their collection—vases, bowls, planters, and lighting fixtures—is 3D-printed from sustainable materials, following a minimalist approach that Schaffer and Gold call “Tiny Architecture.” These objects fit even into the smallest spaces and can blend with any setting. Since its founding in 2016, the Vienna-based studio has continued to grow, expand its range, and gain international recognition thanks to its innovations and contemporary design philosophy. We met with the two founders, Nicolas Gold and Markus Schaffer, to learn more about their creative work and Sheyn’s projects.

3DN: Can you introduce yourselves and share how you discovered 3D printing?

We are Sheyn, a digital design studio based in Vienna, founded in 2016 by Nicolas Gold and Markus Schaffer. Nicolas is an architect who trained at Tel Aviv University and then at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, under the guidance of figures such as Zaha Hadid and Kazuyo Sejima. He is the one who designs all of our creations, which we call “Tiny Architecture.”

Nicolas discovered 3D printing during his studies, where printers were used to create models. He then deepened his knowledge at mything, a Viennese startup specializing in 3D printing. Today, we produce all our items directly in our studio, right in the heart of Vienna.

3DN: How did Sheyn get started? And what are the company’s goals?

In 2016, Nicolas was designing jewelry digitally while he was in school—rings, bracelets—which he had a company produce using wax 3D printing before casting them in silver. He suggested we start a business together to market these pieces. Nicolas handled the design; as for me, Markus Schaffer, I was finishing a master’s degree in information systems at the Vienna University of Economics and Business at the time, and I managed the business and IT side of things.

Until the end of 2019, Sheyn remained a side project. The purchase of our first desktop FDM printer and the successful sale of our first decorative object prototypes at a Viennese design market convinced us to keep going. Thanks to a grant from the Vienna Economic Agency, we developed our interior design collection, which was presented at Vienna Design Week 2020. Today, it is our main business, and we sell our products worldwide.

Our goal is to become the leading design studio in the field of 3D-printed decorative objects. To create the most refined designs, produce them with impeccable quality, and offer the widest variety of products. And above all, to challenge the common misconception that 3D-printed objects cannot be aesthetically pleasing. With the right expertise, colors, shapes, and textures, we can create truly beautiful objects that go far beyond their status as mere printed items.

3DN: What products do you offer, and where can they be found?

Our collection currently includes vases, bowls, plant pots, table lamps, and pendant lights. We are committed to manufacturing our own designs: this allows us to iterate quickly on designs and maintain a high standard of quality. As avid interior design enthusiasts, we fully identify with our creations. We offer over 45 designs available in 14 colors, plus our “Blend Edition” with five different color gradients. This allows every customer to find the combination of design and color that suits them best.

Our products are available to individual customers through our online store and our physical store in Vienna’s 7th district. We also work with select retailers who purchase in larger quantities: concept stores, museum shops, furniture stores, and major e-commerce platforms. Our products are thus available on every continent except Antarctica. Among our partners: the MoMA Design Store in New York, the Centre Pompidou shop in Paris, the Canadian retailer SSENSE, and the Breuninger department stores in Germany.

3DN: What technologies and materials do you use?

We work with desktop FDM printers: they’re quiet, easy to use, and simple to scale up as needed. We design with the machines, not against them. We see technical constraints as a creative challenge: producing aesthetically pleasing designs that print perfectly every time.

We use only PLA, which is made from renewable resources and is therefore more environmentally friendly than other materials. The challenge? Working with different manufacturers and frequently adjusting settings based on the supplier, color, or even batch number to achieve flawless results.

3DN: What have been your biggest lessons so far?

We’ve learned to embrace challenges rather than fear them. Our first time participating in Maison&Objet, the largest trade show for interior design, is a good example. As a small studio, we didn’t feel ready yet. And yet, that experience taught us so much.

Another example: moving our studio to a larger space to ramp up production. At first, we doubted we’d get enough orders. Looking back, we think we should have aimed even higher from the start.

3DN: Any final words for our readers?

We see 3D printing as the future of local manufacturing. Within the next 5 to 10 years, everyone will have simple, easy access to a 3D printer to reproduce designs at home. We believe that by then, forms of digital rights management (DRM) will exist to allow us to share our creations in digital format. To learn more about Sheyn, visit our social media pages and our website.

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*Photo credits: Sheyn