Alexa Domash
The infamous disco club decor of the 70s has been brought back as one of the top recent home decor trends and can be credited to the works of Sofiest Designs. Reinventing the timeless disco ball, Sofie Berarducci, the 24-year-old owner of Sofiest Designs, has caught the eye of industry giants and consumers by using her passion for interior design and 3D art to add modern design elements to the standard disco ball.
For the last 50 years, the disco ball has typically been displayed as a spinning sphere from the ceiling of a nightclub or event space. Berarducci states, “While the traditional disco ball is beautiful and timeless, our motto is to reinvent the beauty through modern elements to fit the home decor aesthetics of our generation.” A few of Sofie’s best-selling products include the Mojo Mushroom, Cowgirl Boot, Lip, Cactus, and Disco Globe, each hand-tiled with glass mosaic squares but shaped with unique bases to fit current trends.
From Craft Night to E-Commerce Sensation
The origin of Sofiest Designs took place during the founder’s senior year of college in San Francisco. A few of Sofie’s friends got together for a craft night and made what is now, The Original Disco Mushroom Ball, which quickly became an internet sensation. Sofie listed the mushroom on Facebook Marketplace – a popular buying and selling platform, and to her amazement, her product turned out to be highly desired.
Her customers loved the reinvention of the disco ball, so she created new shapes and products by sanding down and moulding styrofoam to create custom designs including the Disco Pineapple, and Disco UFO. This method offered new designs but was extremely time consuming and occasionally inconsistent due to human error.
At this time, the rise in social media exposure resulted in the unfortunate emergence of copycat sellers. Difficult to control, Sofie had to find new ways to design, develop, and produce proprietary designs that were quicker to make and harder to replicate. This sparked the shift from styrofoam bases to the fast-growing technology of 3D printing, with support from Sofie’s dad and software engineer, Chris Berarducci.
The pair work together nicely, as Sofie excels at design and Chris at technology, aiding in all printer challenges. The transition from styrofoam to 3D-printed bases was a game changer but was also a huge learning curve. Sofie states, “3D printing for production is not for the weak. The printers require constant attention and maintenance. We are constantly learning and adapting new best practices to optimise each and every print to prevent waste.”
3D printing is also a good alternative from an environmental standpoint. PLA (polylactic acid) is a biodegradable plastic made from renewable resources, including corn starch and sugar cane. The material is loaded into the 3D printer, which heats up and becomes malleable. It is then extruded from the nozzle to create the custom disco bases. This created strong and consistent bases and required less manual labour compared to shaping styrofoam.
Many industries and businesses of all sizes have found similar success with 3D printing as it promotes local manufacturing and reduces logistic costs when compared to traditional manufacturing. Sofie replicated this model and was able to grow a custom product line with little to no upfront cost.
With production streamlining, she focused on reaching new customers through social media and influencer marketing. Architectural Digest confirms social media’s influence has been significant in the disco ball’s resurgence on platforms like TikTok, where users showcase how they display their disco decor.
Sofiest Designs gained attention from major retailers like Free People, Urban Outfitters, Aerie, and Dormify. She signed her first deal with Free People six months after launching her business for their 2023 holiday season, where she was commissioned to design what is now the Disco Cactus.
Her commissions with major retailers expanded into working with major celebrities, including a custom Lemme Bottle for Kourtney Kardashian and a custom Disco Cowgirl Hat for Shania Twain.
The emergence of small creators continues to grow as consumers want to support local and sustainable businesses. The challenge of competing alongside industry giants and combating counterfeit replicas is a battle every small business faces. Sofiest Designs has found success by offering a new product line in the home decor industry by streamlining production through 3D printing to offer unique and one of a kind disco creations.
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