3D Printed Vases
A sustainable option
FlowerMore’s Lunch & Learn event got very meta in March - the topic was containers for plants made out of plants. Olivia Gillig, founder of EcoFloral, designs and manufactures innovative and sustainable vases, planters and trays. She runs her side-hustle out of her basement where she 3D-prints her products using a plant-based material called polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). Olivia sent me several of her vases to try out. (Watch me design an arrangement in one of these vases.)
EcoFloral solves several problems for florists like me. I source locally grown flowers as an alternative to imported flowers. The reason is sustainability. However, finding affordable vessels matching my flowers’ footprint was impossible. EcoFloral, based in Virginia, changes that. Olivia taught us about PHA, the filament she uses to make her vases. It’s a biodegradable plastic derived from plant materials. The vases look and feel like plastic, but they are compostable!
Not only are EcoFloral’s vases responsibly made, they are also beautifully designed. As a farmer-florist, Olivia knows the needs of flower people. She makes several styles of vases in multiple colors and textures. She also makes them functional. Many vases have built-in floral frogs while others accommodate matching custom-fitted removable frogs. They are the perfect vases.
However, Olivia isn’t complacent. The Lunch and Learn turned into a focus group. She solicited input from FlowerMore members for new designs ideas and functional requirements. We discussed mechanic location, layering and opening sizes. Developing prototypes is fast. Olivia creates digital files using computer aided design software. The printing takes longer - about 15 hours per vase. (EcoFloral currently has three printers.) Olivia is already working on one community-inspired piece. She’s calling it the “Ellen Vase.” So flattered.
Much of my business is about story-telling. My customers want to know about the flowers, where they came from and who grew them. Wedding and event clients choose me because of where I source my flowers. I can now extend my value proposition and stories to the sustainable vases of EcoFloral.
Olivia’s business is small and just a basement side project for now. She makes every vase to order. 3D printing isn’t replacing ceramics or glass anytime soon. But it opens a new lane: compostable vessels with integrated mechanics, sustainable alternatives to foam and the possibility of producing eco friendly vases locally.