In the calendar contest 1st and 3rd place are copies of aliexpress items
As the 3rd place winner, I feel I have to defend my honour 
I did not copy from aliexpress. I can’t even find anything remotely the same from aliexpress. And even if there was, I didn’t copy it because it never occurred to me to look at aliexpress. (I also searched for the first place winner and couldn’t find anything there either.)
“My” calendar is a reimagined style of antique perpetual calendar that I created by researching the original (using Etsy seller pictures, ye olde patents, and an imgur post) and then coming up with solutions to all the technical challenges thereto.
I spent weeks prototyping to find the right dimensions as they are critical to how the calendar functions. There isn’t a chart or anything to go on. It was trial and error. Likewise, I didn’t have an idea of what the original calendar looked like on the inside or how the pivot worked. In fact, the pivot mechanism I created is something I’m particuarly proud of because it’s all my idea. Compare it to other 3d printed perpetual calendars and you’ll see that it’s unique.
Every part of my calendar had thought poured into it. I designed the case to split down the middle specifically so the face could have a nice texture to it. I designed the pivot so it was quick to print and didn’t need support. I designed the tiles so that they would print well and slide properly and consistently. I designed the stand to be easy to print and look good.
I also purposely kept the month plates so that users who speak another language could swap out the English ones. I even spent considerable amount of time creating month plate sets for 6 other languages. I also made the month plates to be printable using Make My Sign for other languages.
I also researched the heck out of the original flip calendars and shared a brief history of them on the model page because I thought it was very interesting and provided context.
Lastly, I tested the heck out it so that people who printed it could expect that it would print and work for them. I have over 1.4k in successful prints with an almost perfect profile rating (there is one user I’m helping privately to get their calendar working). This alone gives me a sense of pride because I worked hard to ensure a consistent print experience for everyone. The comments and the ratings makes me feel that I achieved my goal.
I poured so much of myself into this calendar that words can’t properly describe it.
Of anyone to accuse me of copying, one could argue that I copied the first place winner because mine was posted weeks after theirs. I didn’t. I’m a fairly new designer so it takes me much longer to make things. You don’t just have to take my word for it because I have design files that prove that I began work on it prior to the first place winner posting theirs. I also have four pages of pencil sketches as I worked my way through the design process.
Do I think my calendar deserved to place third? There were so many wonderful calendars that it’s surprising that I even placed. For me, the prize is secondary to the pride I feel in looking at something I somehow managed to create and reading all the positive comments. I am grateful and humbled to have been chosen all the same.
I don’t normally get all defensive, but to say that I just copied something off of aliexpress, is exceedingly dismissive.
Congrats on second place, by the way. It looks like a lot of thought and effort went into your design. I love that it’s modular and the clever use of bowtie connectors. I also respect your level of responsiveness to users by creating custom modules. Well done and a well deserved top 3!
I printed it!