Labs
Our own project

Kristallgras - Botanical plates that exist only once

Our own shop: a name, a birth date and a place grow an invented plant, drawn as a botanical plate like in an old plant atlas, with a Latin name. As a poster, framed, on a shirt or a mug - printed only when someone orders.

A film that grows as you scroll.

Scroll film on kristallgras.de, act IV: a blue-flowering plant covered in ice crystals in pale winter light, next to the words “And then the frost”
The home page tells the life of a plant in five acts. In act IV the frost arrives: one night below zero, and every plant carries crystals - hence the name.

Pressed, identified, labelled.

Act V of the scroll film: the finished botanical plate Kristallgrasia inzellensis with detail figures of flower, leaf and fruit and a labelled tag
At the end of the film the plant lies pressed as a plate from an old plant atlas: Latin name, place, date and detail figures of flower, leaf and fruit.

Three details, one plant.

Generator on kristallgras.de: name Lena Huber, birth date 21 March 1991 and place Ruhpolding produce the plant Lenia huberi with a yellow spike and feathered leaves
Type a name, a birth date and a place, and the plant grows instantly. March colours the flower daffodil yellow, the first name shapes the leaves, and Lena Huber becomes Lenia huberi.

From screen to wall.

Product overview: the plate as a poster, in a wooden frame, on a black shirt and on a white porcelain mug, each with its price
Poster 50 × 70 cm, framed print, shirt and mug. Nothing is printed until someone orders - in Germany, and on request shipped straight to the person receiving the gift.

At a glance

  • Every plant is generated live in the browser from name, birth date and place
  • Latin name following real botanical convention: Lena Huber becomes Lenia huberi
  • Scroll film in five acts: the plant grows, frost adds crystals, and it ends as a plate
  • Poster, framed print, shirt and mug, printed on demand in Germany
  • Payment and invoices via Stripe, printing and shipping automated via Gelato
  • No cookies, no tracking - the details stay in the browser

Background

Personalised gifts are everywhere: name mugs, star maps for birthdays, posters with coordinates. Most look the same, only the name changes. We wanted something that truly exists only once and is still beautiful enough to hang on the wall. Kristallgras is our own shop for exactly that.

The challenge

Three details were to grow a plant that looks believable, different every time and always identical for the same details. It had to be printable, from poster to mug. The path from click to parcel had to run without manual work: payment, invoice, printing, shipping. And all of it without collecting data about the people the plants are made for.

Our solution

The plant is generated right in the browser. Every detail controls a trait: the birth month colours the flower, the day sets the number of petals and the flower type, the first name the leaf shape, the birth year the growth habit, the place the roots and fruit. The Latin name follows the convention botanists have used for centuries to name plants after people - Anna Müller becomes Annia muelleri. The drawing follows the style of old plant atlases, with detail figures and a labelled tag. Because nothing is stored, the site needs no cookies and no tracking.

A special detail

The home page is a scroll film in five acts: the plant sprouts, grows and blooms, then the frost arrives and adds crystals - hence the name - and finally it lies pressed as a plate. Anyone in a hurry can skip the film with one click.

It can be ordered as a poster, framed print, shirt or mug. Stripe handles payment and invoices, Gelato prints in Germany and ships, on request straight to the person receiving the gift. Both are connected via webhooks, so an order runs through without a single manual step.

On top of that there is a comfort view with calm motion, larger type and high contrast, and llms.txt, llms-full.txt and agent.json for AI assistants.

The outcome

One plant per person: the same details always give the same plate, different details a different one.
Latin names following real botanical convention, from Annia muelleri to Lenia huberi.
Four products from 24.90 to 54.90 euros, shipping within Germany included.
Ordering, invoicing, printing and shipping run fully automatically via Stripe and Gelato.
No cookies, no tracking: the plant is computed in the browser.
A scroll film in five acts as the home page, with a comfort view for calm display.

Tech used

Own shopNext.jsGenerative graphicsScroll filmStripePrint on demand

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All references
Kristallgras - Botanical plates that exist only once | CAZ Labs