Every Whishy piece is printed in Bambu Lab PLA Matte filament, a plant-based plastic with a fine, ceramic-like finish that catches light beautifully. PLA is durable for indoor decorative use and everyday handling, but it's not indestructible — a few small habits will keep your keepsake looking the way it did the day you unboxed it. This is a five-minute read with all the care advice we'd give a friend who picked up a piece from the studio.
What PLA is — and what it isn't
PLA stands for polylactic acid. It's biodegradable under industrial composting conditions, free from BPA and phthalates, and safe to handle. The Bambu Lab Matte line we print on has a softly textured surface that doesn't show fingerprints the way glossy plastic does. It feels denser than typical hobby-store PLA because Bambu's matte formulation includes additives that improve layer bonding and surface uniformity.
The honest limits: PLA isn't waterproof, it isn't dishwasher-safe, and it isn't food-safe. It also isn't heat-resistant beyond about 60 °C. Knowing these three boundaries makes everything else simple.
Daily handling
Pick pieces up by the body, not by thin extensions like a baby's outstretched arm on a sculpture or the loop on a keychain. Repeated stress at a thin connection point is the most common cause of damage we see come back to the studio. Display pieces benefit from being placed where they aren't repeatedly bumped — a bookshelf, a mantelpiece, a desk corner — rather than directly on a heavily-trafficked counter.
If you're handing a Whishy figurine to a child, fine — PLA is non-toxic and the matte finish is genuinely lovely to feel — but supervise younger children with thin-detail pieces the same way you'd supervise them with any decorative ornament.
Cleaning
For routine dust, wipe with a dry or barely-damp soft cloth. A microfibre cloth is ideal. The matte finish hides the occasional smudge well, so you won't need to clean as often as you would with a glossy resin print.
For stubborn marks, a tiny amount of mild soapy water on the cloth works — wring it out so it's damp not wet, and dry the piece immediately afterwards. Don't submerge the piece, don't run it under a tap, and don't put it in the dishwasher. Water can wick into thin seams and the heat of a wash cycle will warp the geometry.
Skip household cleaning sprays — most are designed for ceramic, glass, or sealed wood, and the solvents in them can dull or chemically attack the matte surface. Plain water is better than any cleaner.
Heat and sunlight
The single most common way PLA gets damaged is heat. PLA softens around 60 °C, which is below the temperature inside a parked car on a sunny day, and well below the temperature of a radiator surface or a sunny windowsill in summer.
Three rules cover almost everything:
- Don't leave a Whishy piece in a parked car for hours, especially in summer.
- Don't display it on a windowsill that gets direct strong sunlight in the afternoon.
- Don't place it on top of, or directly next to, a radiator or under-floor heating vent.
Indoor lighting is fine. Diffuse natural light through a curtain is fine. The only thing to avoid is concentrated heat or unfiltered direct sun for extended periods.
Vases and planters — a special note
Our vase collection and planter collection are decorative pieces designed to display dried arrangements, faux flowers, or a soil-filled inner liner with live plants. They are not designed to hold water directly. For fresh-cut flowers, use a small glass tube or jar inside the printed shell. For potted plants, use an inner pot, drain excess water, and don't let water sit at the base of the printed planter — moisture seeping into the layer lines can stain the matte finish over time.
Long-term storage
If you're storing a piece between seasons (Christmas ornaments, for example, are part of our seasonal collection), wrap it in soft tissue paper and store in a sealed plastic box at room temperature. Avoid attic storage — attics swing through summer heat extremes that PLA won't tolerate. A wardrobe shelf or a cool bedroom cupboard is perfect.
If something breaks
Honest answer: PLA can break under enough stress, especially at thin connection points if the piece is dropped onto a hard floor. The good news is repairs are usually clean and seamless. Drop us a message with a photo of the damage. For Whishy pieces we made, we keep the original print file and can either repair the broken section or print a replacement quickly. For genuinely irreparable damage, we'll work with you on a discounted reprint — we'd rather see the keepsake survive than disappear.
Caring for personalised pieces
If you've ordered a personalised gift with names, dates, or custom text, the lettering is part of the printed geometry — not a decal that can peel — so it ages at the same rate as the rest of the piece. The advice above covers it. The one thing to watch is fine ornamental detail like the strands on a doll's hair or the petals on a Sweetberry; those areas are designed to flex slightly but not survive being pressed flat with weight.
The short version
Wipe with a soft cloth. Keep away from heat and direct sun. Don't submerge. Don't drop. If something happens, message us — we made it, we can fix it.
If you have a question we haven't covered, the FAQ has thirteen of the most common ones, or just send us a WhatsApp.