His Girlfriend Wanted a $10,000 Birkin Handbag. He Spent 60 Hours Making Her a Replica.

Alexander Sway once made a pine cone for fun. The Bellevue, Wash., real-estate agent stumbled upon a particularly beautiful specimen one day while on a walk, and was inspired to make a cardboard replica of it. He taught himself three-dimensional design and learned to use a 3-D printer and laser cutter at his local library. He turned the finished pine cone into a lampshade.