A teenage 3D printing business that began with skyscraper models has grown into a small enterprise earning about £17,000 a year. Reece, a 17-year-old from Worksop in Nottinghamshire, launched the venture at 15, and today his products reach customers across the United Kingdom and overseas. He now runs four printers at home, day and night, to keep up with orders, and his promotional work has made him well known locally. For a teenager who is still in education, that makes the enterprise remarkably well established, turning a personal passion into paid work with real customers and a varied product range.
A printer from his family and a love of skyscrapers set the business in motion at 15
Reece told the BBC that his family gave him a printer to support his love of model skyscrapers, an interest he has had for a few years. His idea was simple, print models of tall buildings so that he could compare their sizes. His favourite buildings are the Burj Khalifa and The Shard.Selling came soon after. He began to sell his work so that he could afford better printing equipment. As sales grew, he started to move away from skyscrapers to concentrate on improving his 3D printing skills.
Hearing aid accessories and communication tools for non-verbal children widen the product range
Reece now makes a wide variety of products, including items that support people with health issues and disabilities. Hearing aid accessories and communication tools for non-verbal children are among them. He says he wants to help others because he knows what it is like.Some of his orders have been shipped as far as Chicago.
Talking to customers and promoting his work online has boosted his confidence and communication
Reece told the BBC that he struggled to make friends when he was younger because of his autism, which can make social interaction and communication difficult. He also has epilepsy, and he said his struggles once left him feeling that he was not important.Running the business has pushed him in the opposite direction. Speaking to customers and promoting his products on social media have, in his view, made him happier and more talkative. They have also taught him something he once found hard to grasp. “I understand banter now,” he said, adding that he has made it a routine and thinks he might understand sarcasm in a few years if he keeps going.
His father went from building the printers to running postage and packaging as sales grew
Reece’s father, Thomas, told the same broadcaster that when the business started he was head of construction, building the printers, before being demoted to head of postage and packaging. He said Reece found his first social media video difficult and had to practise repeatedly before he felt comfortable in front of the camera. He joked that his son now thinks he is a celebrity.Thomas said that after all the challenges his son has faced, including operations, Reece has come through smiling. He added that he simply wants his son to be happy and healthy, and that he is very proud of him.
