MySoti and Ponoko

I found these really great websites for customization through flickr (and also a very lovely person told me about one of them... she'd thought I'd like it and she was right!). Anyway, you guys may know I'm a big fan about making your own designs and having them professionally made into products;on many of these sites you can set up your designs and actually receive commission on sales... without really having to do anything! I've mentioned cafepress, zazzle and spoonflower on my blog before, though spoonflower is the only one I've actually tried (and been very happy with!).

Now it's time to learn about ponoko and mysoti!

Ponoko is a site that allows you to make just about anything... using later cutting on acrylic sheets, wood and metal and much more! There are limitless possibilities; furniture, jewelry and even *lighting* are but a few of the items I saw during my visit.
This site also allows you to request items be made for you, or you can make whatever you want yourself! There is a shop feature where designers can sell their actual wares or kits to make stuff. You can use the design packages on the site to help you determine how large your designs will be, and there's a forum and lots of help available on the blog. Although they are a bit expensive (the labor and packaging fees are quite high), I don't know of anyone else who allows regular people like me design and produce items with this variety of materials. I can see myself making acrylic zipper pulls and keychains, metal and wood components for jewelry and much more! So cool!

MySoti is a website that lets you upload graphics in .png or .svg files to create T-shirts; they have a shop/commission feature as well. Although their base prices for T-shirts are high (like $16) they also allow an regular people to produce their own designs. I haven't ordered from them but it looks promising; they carry different types of shirts (including American Apparel) for men, women and kids, and onesies and can also print your art on a canvas. I'm thinking about putting this little guy on some fabric... we'll see! Enjoy!