Danae Industrial 3D Printing

Danae Industrial 3D Printing is a 3D printing lab run by a MICA Alumni and winner of the MICA START. Originally beginning as a company focused on the creation and design of 3D printed prosthetics, they have since expanded to become a printing and prototyping service with SLA, SLS and FDM capabilities, taking clients from the medical/pharmaceutical industry, large sports companies, and companies on the fortune 500. I found out about this internship and applied for it through the MICA Network’s list of posted internships. The internship was secured through an email application and zoom interview.

My direct supervisor was the founder and CEO of the company who oversees the management of the company and works creating processes to improve the workflow of the company, as well as securing production deals with potential clients. My main responsibility was to assist the production floor printing technicians with the slicing, printing and post processing of incoming jobs.

Projects I was involved in:

- Creating a pitch for 3D printed products to produce as Danae products

- Prototyping a part for a home tools company as a pitch.

- Designing and printing my own lightsaber

- Post processing parts for various companies (Under NDA)

I am most proud of the design and creation of my lightsaber. I’m really happy with how it turned out, and super grateful to have had the chance to use such high quality printers to be able to print the parts plus learning tolerances and material limitations and possibilities. The biggest takeaway I have had would be the goal setting and career advice I received at my time there. The best advice I received was that to get to a goal faster, setting it clearly in your mind as what you want will help you unconsciously work your way towards it even when you’re not actively trying to.

Some new skills I have acquired as a result of this internship are learning SLS and SLA 3D printing processes. I also learned about tolerances in 3D printing and the potential and limits of several 3D printed materials. This internship has made me even more certain of my goal to become a prop maker, with how much I enjoyed the design and production of the lightsaber, to how comfortable and happy I was with the post processing work.

Photos courtesy of Andrew Copeland

Hill Studio

Hill Studio is a design and development studio that provides creative, thoughtful and lightly engineered solutions in partnership with companies. They provide sketch concepts, physical prototypes, and 3D models to the clients. The businesses they work with are furniture and lighting manufacturing businesses in North America with some overseas.

I was offered this internship by my supervisor, we had already discussed this position over the summer, and I pursued it and continued the conversation before the semester. My direct supervisor is the owner and principal designer of the studio. I’m not able to discuss the details of the projects because I signed an NDA but they range from furniture, lighting, and household products. I helped develop concepts, create 3D models, 3D renderings, and 3D prototypes as well as designing presentation decks to present to clients. I am most proud that one of my designs for a product was approved by the client.

I have many key takeaways from my internship, a few which are:

• Listen to what everyone has to bring/say, a fresh perspective is always good
• Process and progress are not linear
• Networking is one of the most important things in design
• Always try and explore new things, set design challenges for yourself from time to time to be active and experimental
• Understanding manufacturing methods is extremely important and helpful for a designer
• Be on top of things, don’t push things back, but prioritize
• Design is storytelling, get better at articulating ideas, thoughts, values

Some new skills I have acquired from this internship include: communication, active listening, manufacturing methods, design processes, problem-solving methods, holistic thinking when designing a new product, rapid prototyping, and keyshot rendering. I have learned so much more about the world of furniture and industrial design, and I have a clearer understanding and vision of what I would like to be a part of in the future.

Ziger/Snead

I was recommended for the position at Ziger/Snead by my TA from a class I took on the fall semester of my sophomore year. He was graduating and was asked to find someone to take his place so he recommended me for it. I secured it by working on creating a portfolio and a resume that showed my potential and by interviewing with the partners and the studio manager at Ziger/Snead.

Ziger/ Snead is an architecture firm that is based in Baltimore. They are very much committed to working specifically in the area of Baltimore and it’s surroundings . They work in a variety of residential, institutional and historic projects. The team is composed of 18 people. They create design that is tailored to the client and it is never a repetitive or robotic design process. Every project is different.

In my internship my direct supervisor is Nicole Lamont and she is the studio manager. She manages everything in the office and maintains everything flowing smoothly. I had some set responsibilities like answering the phone, welcoming clients, sending out invoices and checks. And managing other aspects such as the webpage, social media, office records, uploading projects to Architizer. Some other tasks that I got to do was work in some renderings and I got to learn some photoshop skills. I got to work on some specs and attend a couple of meeting and observe the construction process of some projects. Finally in the time that I had free I got to take the the initiative and create a plan to renovate the materials library in the office and present it to the partners.

I am very proud of the proposal I put together for the renovation of the materials library. I worked on finding the materials, designing different things for the renovation such as tags and shelf dividers and creating a budget. I was able to set up a meeting with the partners at the firm and they were really happy with the proposal I put together. The are in the process of revising and approving it.

I have learned and grown a lot this summer. I have become more confident in myself, I feel like I am better at communicating now and I am not intimidated in the way I used to be by people. I have learned to multitask and to be on top of things. Most of all I have learned that taking an initiative pays off.

I have learned how to present myself in a professional setting, have developed a professional vocabulary. I have also learned a lot about how the an architectural office functions.

This has helped me clarify my goals because I realized that there isn’t one path that is right there are many different paths. Also the architectural field is broad and it is possible to find the type of work that I am interested in creating.

EC Designs

I am Arthur Futernik, a sophomore at Maryland Institute College of Art. During the summer of 2016 I interned for an industry design company called EC Designs. I was told about EC Designs through a family friend that mentioned my name to lead designer, Eric Cera. After doing a bit of research I noticed Eric worked for many reputable clients such as MTV, Time Inc, and ABC, among others. Eric was impressed by my website and I reached out to him to get further details.

In the past I have always wanted to work in the entertainment industry. Interning for EC Designs would give me a great head-start and insight to this field of work. When the summer started, Eric and I met in person and went over what I intended to do with the company. After a long conversation about my past experience, future goals, and the work load I would be doing I was accepted as an intern!

This internship provided an in-depth look into the field of industry design, an occupation that is very in line with my future aspirations. During the three months of my internship, we mainly built custom props, sets, and environments for big name corporations, and we also commuted to Manhattan to install them. We set up many different projects for clients such as Lancome, Michele Watches, and Time Inc., out of many others. Though the builds were very physically demanding, it helped me become familiar with various power tools and heavy machinery that we had to use in the workshop. My favorite days were when I had to commute to the city by myself. It was always a little nerve wracking getting there and back on time which made it a bit fun, as well as meeting new people who are in the entertainment industry. Sometimes I would strike up a conversation with someone and ask them how they like working in this field, and they would always have a pleasant answer, which is very reassuring. This internship was a good way for me to start learning and figuring out what I want to do as a career in the future.

I am happy I interned with EC Designs this early into college because it really helped me decide on what I want to pursue in the future as well as give me a few new additions to my portfolio.

Lyric Opera House

Hello my name is Connie Chong; I am usually 

addressed as Frost. I am an interdisciplinary Sculpture student with a concentration in Ceramics. Over the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semester I was lucky to be the properties assistant and intern for the Lyric Opera House of Baltimore. I found this job purely out of luck. After having visited my friend’s apartment and talking about a possible career choice in theatre and film making weapons and props I happened to see two people taking a break outside the Lyric Opera House. These two people were Lisa Mion and Andrew Esposito. I got the nerve to ask them if they worked at the opera house and if there was maybe a chance I could intern for them. Delighted they told me that they were just talking about having a properties assistant. After that night I began to work for the Lyric Opera House.

Although the Lyric Opera House hosts many shows there are two Opera performances per year. In Fall 2012 I was involved in La Boheme and this semester (Spring 2013) I am involved in Rigoletto. My supervisor first and foremost is the fabulous James Harp (Jim) he is the Artistic Director of the entire Lyric Opera House and has graciously allowed me to be his properties intern. My supervising manager is the stage manager Michael Sperber. He directs the production as well as organizes the entire opera and all its wonders. As a properties assistant my responsibilities go anywhere from buying and relaying images to my stage manager (Michael Sperber) and making props such as: masks, brooms, jester staffs, re-breakable plates, etc.  I am most proud of my ability to take numerous tasks, classes, and job and survive. Having had about seven classes, an internship, and a job I never doubted my ability to handle my work load. I am also proud of one of my first props for La Boheme which was to make a portrait of the main female lead with oil paint on canvas. It turned out marvelous and the opera actress/ singer took it back home with her to Russia.

Throughout the entire experience there were many things going on in my life: family, moving, classwork. Despite all the chaos I was able to adjust accordingly and did so successfully, I am amazed I am breathing as of this moment. I have learned that no matter what life throws at an individual, through hard work and determination anything can be conquered. I am unstoppable as long as I believe that to be true.

After having worked at the Lyric Opera House I feel that the production crew, and its entire staff even the actors and actresses create a family environment. Everyone tries to understand and to be polite, and this helps me continue to make good work. I hope to have more of that kind of attitude in my work place in the future. I have realized my passion is to make props. I love being needed behind the scenes as much as an actor and/or actress is on stage, and when the audience cheers it is for everyone and everything that goes into making the show. This experience has become a key step into my future as a Properties Master.