As 3d printing becomes cheaper custom built pieces will become commonplace. Imagine shoes built to fit -your- foot? This is a compromise we accept all the time and would quickly and seamlessly adopt ‘bespoke’ shoes as an “It’s about god damn time!” solution. That is but the tip of the laser sintered iceberg (?!) A friend of mine is having his knees replaced and having them custom printed (which is pretty routine now), but because of the superior strength of the technology he is going to machine chambers into his new bones and add electronics that will give him geolocation and cell phone tech built into his body. He is an artist and so is content with the metaphorical implications more than what solution it allows, but time will reveal unpredictable practical applications for this technology which is only in its infancy. Eventually 3d printing will mean each voxel can be any material you want. I will just leave you with that to think about.
The possibilities of an all ‘bespoke’ world are not even within our comprehension. We are so attuned to mass production that we believe it represents our democratic ethics. When that disappears craft will flourish. We are seeing it already.
