H (Earring); the 3D printed hearing aid jewellery

When it comes to relieving the daily lives of people with disabilities, 3D technologies can be useful. It offer the possibility of creating products adapted to each individual and sometimes to completely unpack the person concerned. In any case, this is the feeling of Kate, a hearing-impaired photographer who has been wearing hearing aids for over 25 years. She used two designers, Flora and Julia, to create a collection of jewellery to hang on these devices. The audioprosthesis is then much more aesthetic and the handicap more erased. The collection, named H (Earring) won the Swarovski accessory prize at the 33rd international festival of fashion, photography and accessories of Hyères. We met Kate, Flora and Julie to learn more about their common project.

3DN: Can you introduce yourself and your link to 3D printing?

Hello, I’m Kate and I’m a photographer, with hard of hearing. I asked Flora and Julia to make a collection of hearing aid jewellery for the hearing impaired. A project that is particularly close to my heart.

And we are Flora and Julia (F & J). We are a Paris-based design duo, FandD studio. Our practice is interdisciplinary and leads us to work on projects in product design, accessories and scenography. When Kate offered us this collaboration, we were very excited about the social impact of such a project. Her optimism is part of a global movement of self-acceptance and individuality that characterises our generation. It is also the opportunity to bring together three worlds: medicine, technology and fashion.

Kate, Flora and Julia

This collection is a real technical challenge, which involves understanding a prosthesis with miniature dimensions and complex curves. That’s why we used 3D scanning. This one allowed us to understand the prosthesis and to model with precision the jewellery intended to be attached to it. Fastening systems have been the subject of special attention and vary from one jewel to another.