Made for Spoonies, by a Spoonie.

I spent all my spoons looking for my spoons

Spoonie 3D Prints is a workshop making 3D-printed tools, awareness pieces, and small comforts for people living with chronic illness — and for the caregivers who stand beside them.

Every design starts from a real low-spoon day: something that should be easier to hold, easier to open, easier to get through. Designed with care in Ohio.

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Our story

Spoonie 3D Prints exists because of one person's daily reality — and a whole community that shares it.

Alicia's story

Alicia lives with Chiari malformation, a rare condition where brain tissue extends into the spinal canal. It shapes how much energy she has to spend each day — some days are full, and some days one spoon is everything.

She is also a caregiver — for her husband Brandon, who lives with von Willebrand disease, and for her family through their own health battles. Spoonie 3D Prints is built from both sides of that life: living with a chronic condition, and caring for people who do.

“Don't judge what you don't understand.”

The line we print by — because an invisible illness is still an illness, and a low-spoon day is not a lazy one.

What is Spoon Theory?

Spoon Theory is a way people with chronic illness explain limited energy. Imagine you wake up holding 12 spoons. Every activity costs spoons — getting dressed, showering, cooking, errands. When the spoons are gone, the day is done, whether or not the to-do list is.

Healthy people rarely have to count. Spoonies count every day, and plan their lives around the count. That's why our first design is a physical Spoon Bank — a way to see the count, share it with family, and stop apologising for it.

Try it yourself: spend the spoons on a day's activities and see how fast they go.

Illustration of twelve spoons fanned out like a sunrise, a few glowing purple, with a small purple awareness ribbon

Spend a day in spoons

You start with 12 spoons. Tap an activity to spend its spoons.

12 spoons left

Our first designs

These are the first three pieces from Spoonie 3D Prints. Every one is a real finished print — designed, printed, and photographed by us, because spoonies deserve the real thing, not a render.

Spoon Theory

The Spoon Bank

A small purple stand holding 12 silver-grey spoon tokens. Move a token out each time you spend a spoon of energy, so family can see the day's count at a glance — no explaining, no justifying.

Purple PLA stand, approx. 120 × 80 mm · 12 tokens, approx. 40 mm each

Awareness

Chiari Awareness Ribbon Keychain

A flat purple ribbon keychain that starts conversations instead of arguments. The back carries our line — “Don't judge what you don't understand” — in lettering sized to print clean, not crumble.

Purple PLA, one colour · approx. 50 × 30 mm, 3 mm thick · 5 mm keyring hole

Everyday Aid

Low-Spoon Easy Grip

A chunky grip sleeve that slides over a standard pen or utensil handle — wider, with finger grooves, for low-energy days when a thin handle is one frustration too many. A grip and positioning aid, simple as that.

Regular PLA · approx. 90 mm long, 28 mm diameter · fits standard pen & utensil handles

Our first post

This is our hello — the welcome that opens Spoonie 3D Prints, in Alicia's own words.

Spoonie 3D Prints — built with care

Living with Chiari means I carry only so many spoons each day. Some days are full. Some days, one spoon is everything.

Spoonie 3D Prints is for spoonies and caregivers — tools, awareness pieces, and small things that make a low-spoon day a little easier.

Don't judge what you don't understand.

I spent all my spoons looking for my spoons

Made for Spoonies, by a Spoonie.
Support • Empower • Advocate

For Alicia • Spoonie 3D Prints

Say hello

Spoonie 3D Prints is open. If you're a spoonie, a caregiver, or you have an idea for something that would make a hard day easier — we'd love to hear it. Real humans, real replies, on spoonie time.

info@spoonie3dprints.com