“I made another crown, exactly like the first, only this time I decided to add the pieces to a ring shape, with a plan to make the next three pieces nestable, then print them separately instead of as one solid piece.”

I then looked at what went right.

Despite the crummy edges, my idea for forming a petal tepal shape had mostly held. The stem/tepal joining looked like it could work if I fine-tuned it — it was only the height of the rings that made the stacking bad. The stem itself was rather nice, proof that the overall concept worked.

Excellent. Back to the drawing board.

The second print was perfect. The stylus stayed in place when subjected to vigorous shaking. The sides of the holder are sturdier, and the magnet holes are a more aesthetically pleasing depth. Excellent. I added superglue to the magnet holes, then dropped the magnets in, and boy was I glad I wore workman’s gloves for this. The glue was unexpectedly messy, as it came pouring with incredible speed out of an improbably small tube. I felt that the laws of physics were being defied by that surreal flood.