Origin Story

Hello and welcome again!

This time I would like to write a little bit about my background, why I am a Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast and how this entire Miniature 3D Printing came about.

Unlike most great adventures, my journey into D&D and Mini 3D Printing didn't start in a tavern.

For me, my love for Dungeons & Dragons started too many years ago than I am willing to admit (it was back in the 2nd Edition and AD&D days - let's say a good 3d10 years ago ...) where we used to play it on one of our friend's basements and we had pewter miniatures. It definitely wasn't as mainstream as it was today, but it was fun. It was about adventure and story telling and playing with friends, etc. 

And that has been really also tying into my general fondness for the Fantasy genre. I won't get into all the different aspects of it - suffice to say Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, and just general love for fantastical monsters and mythology and heroes and villains came into the picture. And this isn't intended to be a discussion about which fantasy is good or bad - just that whatever fantasy you like is great to enjoy.

And then life happened. << insert life montage here >> And as you do sometimes you have opportunities where you can take stock and reflect again on what aspects of oneself are important and try to get back in touch with them. I've of course always had a special place in my heart for Fantasy in general so once, as you do, after descending into the rabbit hole that is the Internet, I stumbled upon 3D printed miniatures. And it struck a memory synapse and brought back al those childhood memories. I enjoyed the figures and even like to paint them (even though I am not good at it and don't really ever have time to do it). So, now as an adult, and I was looking to get into some hobbies (as part of re-balancing work & life), I bought a few items because I was fascinated by what seemed to be an endless cache of designs (way more than what you would see in the stores). And they were great.

Then, being an engineer, I started to look more and more into 3D printing. Of course I'd heard about it but didn't really have a need to dig deeper until now. So then I decided, well, this is a new branch of the hobby I can get into and instead of buying more figures, I can make them myself. So I got into the printing hobby (more on that journey in a separate post). 

Once I got the hang of using the technology, I figured that I could expand this hobby and start selling. There are so many artists I loved the work of and I was happy to support independent artists who also were passionate about the same genre. And as part of my day job (I'm a specialist IT Systems Business Analyst / Solutions Architect), I have a strong customer facing role and I wanted to focus on that as part of our business. 

Fantasy and especially Dungeons & Dragons (as well as many other tabletop platforms as wall as War Hammer) are now far more main stream than they ever have been. In fact, its very likely part of popular culture nowadays. And actually, why shouldn't it be? Because after all, it is about socialising, story telling, imagination, adventure, the epic struggle of good and evil (and all parts in between) and a super rich genre of source material. Plus, it really is a great vehicle to allow for kids to explore and learn and etc. And it is a social game that can bring people together and that is a good thing. Ultimately, it is a great way to both disconnect (from the every day humdrum) and connect with those around you and just do something fun.

And I really do love to bring the different artists' work to everyone - for gaming or hobby painting or display - because there really is a lot of talent. And this is true for even artists I don't support. In future posts I plan to write about the different artists and why I support them just so you can learn a little bit more about us and them.

Regarding work-life balancing, this hobby now is a great way for me to enjoy a hobby I am passionate about because it does provide fulfilment and joy (in ways that a corporate job no longer will ever be able to) so I am fortunate that I can do this. I love to see the painted work from the community because I feel like I was able to be a part of everyone's journey to do something they are passionate about and if they enjoyed painting a model I was able to provide to them, then great. Similarly, I also love to hear about the stories or just comments in the reviews about how a certain player character model was perfect for the game or how a monster or creature was a perfect mid-level or final boss of a game. It is also lovely to hear where these items are used in a school setting (like an extra curricular club) or used in another support capacity to help people focus or calm down or anything like that (because this is what a hobby should do - give joy and a way for people to express themselves through a medium of art).

So what does the future hold? Well, hopefully slow and steady leveling up and continuing on this journey. My passion is continuing to grow as is my joy and enthusiasm for doing this. And all the support from the great customers is super appreciated. Equally it is good to get great support from the artists I support. So all together, it just makes it super rewarding and mega worthwhile. So I hope to continue to bring you great models with great customer support.

Oh - I can't do a post without of course mentioning Mitz and Simz. Why them as our mascot and brand? Well, I'll dive deeper into them on the next post! So stay tuned! 

As always, thank you for the support, and continue to embrace your passion.

Happy continued gaming and painting!

-Pete