Luke, 12, runs Luke's Print Lab from his own Bambu Lab P1S printer, making clickers, gear shifters and spiral fidgets. Here are his prints, in his own words.

Luke is 12, and he already has a business name, an email signature with a job title and a slogan: “Designed with care. Printed with precision.”

The business is Luke’s Print Lab, and it makes small 3D-printed products on a printer Luke owns himself. He wrote to Welwyn Online at the start of October to ask whether we could help more people find it, and whether that would cost him anything, because he did not want to pay to be advertised on the news. It does not: this is a local story, and his mum, Vikki Harris, wrote to us separately to say she was happy for him to be featured.

In his own words

This is how Luke introduced himself:

“Hello my name is Luke, I’m a 12-year-old 3D printing business owner. It’s not a full-on business but I hope to make it become a real business in the future. My ‘Business’ is called Luke’s Print Lab. I make 3D printed products; I have my own Bambu Lab P1S 3D printer. I offer a range of products like clickers, gear shifters, spiral fidgets and more.”

He also takes requests, with a sensible caveat. “I do offer custom prints,” he wrote, “but first I would have to see if I have them products on the file app.”

And he was clear about why he got in touch: “I think it would be a great opportunity to introduce Luke’s Print Lab to people in the local community and help more people discover my products and services.”

His mum put it simply in her own email to us: “He is a 12-year-old boy who enjoys 3d printing and would like to make something of it.”

A 3D-printed panda in white and black, made in jointed sections, lying on a white surface
A jointed panda print in white and black. Photo: supplied by Luke's Print Lab

The prints

Luke sent us ten photographs of his work, all taken by him on an iPhone. They show the gear shifter at the top of this page, a jointed panda, a twisting cone in black and green, a blue roller covered in small spikes, three jointed fish in green, red and blue, each with a loop at the tail, a red piece with a ridged stem on a layered base, and two models shaped like the back of a phone.

A cone-shaped 3D print with a black body and green spiral bands
A spiral cone print in black and green. Photo: supplied by Luke's Print Lab
A blue cylindrical 3D print covered in small spikes, standing upright
A blue spiked roller print. Photo: supplied by Luke's Print Lab
A green 3D-printed fish made in jointed sections, with a loop at the tail
A jointed fish print in green. Photo: supplied by Luke's Print Lab
A red 3D-printed fish made in jointed sections, with a loop at the tail
The same jointed fish design in red. Photo: supplied by Luke's Print Lab
A blue 3D-printed jointed fish lying on a white surface
And in blue. Photo: supplied by Luke's Print Lab
A red 3D print with a ridged, studded stem rising from a layered, many-sided base
A red print with a ridged stem on a layered base. Photo: supplied by Luke's Print Lab
A 3D-printed model shaped like the back of a phone, in orange with a green panel
A model shaped like the back of a phone, in orange and green. Photo: supplied by Luke's Print Lab
A 3D-printed model shaped like the back of a phone, in grey and white
A second phone-shaped model in grey and white. Photo: supplied by Luke's Print Lab

A thank you to Freddie

Luke’s Print Lab has taken on help. Luke asked us to pass on a thank you to its new member of staff, Freddie B, who manages the sales: “We would like to say a massive thank you to Freddie in return for helping with Luke’s Print Lab.”

How to order

Luke’s Print Lab is on TikTok as Lukes Print Lab, which is the place to see what he has, and you can ask about an order or a custom print by email at Lukesprintlab@hotmail.com. His own note to customers ends: “Every order helps grow my small business, and I truly appreciate your support.”

If you know another young person in Welwyn Hatfield who has started something of their own, tell us at hello@welwynonline.co.uk.