Previously on PUKUBOOK, I did an in-depth review of 3D-printed pots. Thanks to this innovative technology, which flexibly brings creators' and designers' ideas to life, a wave of exciting new products are being born all the time.
Today, I'm spotlighting one of those products. If you just glanced at it and thought, "Oh, sure, that's a typical 3D printer project, neat idea," and kept scrolling, hold up! This item might just be a revolutionary product capable of rewriting the rules of product design!
Yes, this is one of those rare innovations whose greatness can't be grasped at first glance. As someone who's dabbled a bit in product design in the past ((※)), let me give you the full story and deeply explore what makes this pot so impressive.
For this column, I actually reached out to Green Mountain and managed to borrow a not-yet-released "Crack Slit Pot" for hands-on review and photography ((thank you, PUKUBOOK, for making this possible!)). Big thanks to Green Mountain for taking time out of your busy event prep to make this happen!
※Tiny flex: a product I helped design once won the Good Design Award! Just letting you know so my take has a little more weight. Truth be told, that's about as much as my career's been good for…
"GRIDPOT™" is a 3D-printed pot brand by Green Mountain. Its stand-out feature has to be the vertical and horizontal slits running fairly high up the pot's sides. With these, the aim is to prevent roots from circling and encourage healthy, robust root systems (much like the Meshpot series). You can also check out the Meshpot explainer for more on how avoiding root circling benefits your plants.
Leveraging 3D printing's strength at producing one-of-a-kind pieces, GRIDPOT™ has been actively rolling out unique collaboration models with various brands—definitely a highlight. When I was recently in Tokyo for a plant walk, I even picked up their collab with monkey plants.
But above all, Green Mountain is led by a true product designer, so the craftsmanship and practical features are exceptionally well-rounded. I've had my eye on their work for a while. This upcoming "Crack Slit Pot" takes the signature "slit" feature of GRIDPOT and cleverly hides it within "cracks" that, at a glance, you wouldn't realize serve a functional purpose. The attention-grabbing 'cracked pot' look actually masks the product’s key feature. That level of design subtlety honestly had me in awe.
I was so impressed, I'm going to dive even deeper below!
"GRIDPOT™" is the overall brand for all of Green Mountain's 3D-printed pots. Currently there are three main models: "GRIDPOT," "Octagonal Slit Pot," and the soon-to-debut "Crack Slit Pot." Lined up side by side, you can see the differences at a glance.
The "Crack Slit Pot" is the latest from GRIDPOT™. Visually, the dramatic "cracked" design instantly stands out—but what really makes this model so incredible? Let's dig even deeper.
First off, it's obvious, but a genuinely cracked pot couldn’t be sold as a product! So, rest assured, these are not actual cracks, just a design that makes the pot look cracked. But here's the thing: 3D printers shape material using computer data, and computers excel at simple geometry—circles, squares, etc.—but they tend to struggle with "crack" shapes, which are the ultimate in analog, organic forms. Accurately replicating that look could mean running advanced physics simulations, or painstakingly tracing photos of real broken pots and shifting pieces by the millimeter—a lot of skill and effort.
In short: "This can't have been easy to make."
Making a "cracked-looking pot with a digital 3D printer" is an amusing idea, since 3D printers are great at creating designs not possible before. But in the case of the Crack Slit Pot, I get the sense it's the other way around—the designer seems to have started from the functional need for slits, then arrived at the crack design.
# Of course, I bet it’s really the result of blending both approaches, but I want to stress—it’s not just one-sided thinking.
The standard "GRIDPOT" puts the functional slits front and center: pure "functional beauty" and a truly unique product. But since that version already exists, intentionally hiding that functional beauty shows a subtle confidence in the pot’s performance—it's a playful twist that designers (and fans of clever solutions) can really appreciate.
Previously, we spotlighted 3D printing's challenges: ① Tackling the plastic feel, ② Layer lines making smooth finishes tough, and ③ Flat pot bottoms.
With any product, there are multiple ways to make it, and every method has its downsides. You can simply accept those limitations, try to solve them outright, or—importantly—understand the material's nature and work it into the design, letting its traits shine instead of hiding them (think of the "good use of materials" philosophy from brands like MUJI).
The "Crack Slit Pot" addresses ① & ②—the material feel and print layer lines— by emphasizing organic, horizontal texture. The result is a matte, almost Bizen pottery-like look, and even up close the 3D-print stacking lines barely show.
That seemingly "nothing special" textured finish—just a ceramic-like surface—actually reveals a thoughtful embrace of the material’s character. Knowing the backstory makes the texture feel even richer.
As for ③ the pot bottom, a smart solution (also seen in other 3D-printed pots) is a removable mesh insert. By making the mesh as a separate part, the base's contact area is kept small, which is great for drainage and repotting. There's a bit more production involved, but you gain the option to swap out or remove the base as needed. (If, like me, you fear losing small parts, you can wire it to the main pot!)
All the time and effort to translate analog forms into digital design pays off with maximum flexibility. After all, once you have the data, you can copy-paste and mass-produce pots endlessly—and resize at will.
Or so you'd think! But when I lined up the three sizes I have, I was amazed to find that each had a slightly different pattern of 'cracks.' Rather than just scaling up or down, they've been separately redesigned for each size.
This is also true for the original GRIDPOT models—simply resizing would mess up things like wall thickness and slit width, so each size gets its own functional adjustments.
And here's where it gets even more wild: for the Crack Slit Pot, Green Mountain is developing a system for creating unique patterns of 'cracks' for every single pot, even within the same size. Their secret documents reference a "system for easily rearranging cracks," which sounds like a hidden feat of both digital wizardry and design innovation.
Traditionally, "product design" is about making lots of the exact same item. But this approach flips that notion entirely—thanks to 3D printing's print-on-demand flexibility, now every pot can be a one-off.
It’s a masterclass in knowing and exploiting your material and technology—and honestly, I'm smitten by this level of creative thought.
The "Crack Slit Pot" is set to make its debut at the upcoming "Botanical Circus" event. There are also unrevealed Crack Slit Pot variants planned—many of which sound like they’ll be true one-of-a-kind items.
Green Mountain is also responsible for the design of every R3LABO product, and they're co-hosting at this event. Expect to see a lineup of ultra-cool items like UKEZARA, often spotted on Instagram.
If you're in the area, definitely drop by and check it out!
Funnily enough, when we did our previous "3D-printed pots" feature, the only brand I introduced without a hands-on review was—yes—GRIDPOT. That was simply because it was out of stock at the time. Usually, that's just "bad luck," but now I'm sure of it: missing out back then was fate—the universe was telling me to wait for something truly special! Honestly, it feels like destiny—not just luck ((says the dramatic side of me)).
Moving forward, I hope to keep introducing not just 3D-printed pots, but all sorts of new finds here ((from my own unique perspective, naturally)).
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