In short. The new iluminari3d.com is a Shopify theme we designed and wrote from scratch, line by line, around our two main products: graduation laurel wreaths and decorative luminarie, both 3D printed in bioplastic. It is not a purchased theme that we customized: it is our code, hosted on GitHub, with custom-designed animations and tools built around our products. And it is the same work we can do for your store.
Why a pre-made theme was no longer enough
For years our store ran on a free Shopify theme, adapted and re-adapted as the workshop grew. This autumn we tried to change it: we tested several pre-made themes, even great ones, and dressed them with our products. The result was always the same: a beautiful store, but not ours. It looked like the old site stuffed into a new suit.
The reason is simple. A pre-made theme is designed to sell anything, and we don't sell just anything. We sell two objects that seem far apart but actually come from the same material and the same printer: a lightweight luminaria to hang in your home, and a laurel wreath that never wilts. We wanted a site that told that story from the first second, and that supported our products without compromise.
First we studied, then we designed
Before writing a line of code, we asked ourselves what people who enter our store really need. The answers were very concrete:
- The wreaths have so many combinations. Colors, sizes from 52 to 63 cm, berries, baby's breath, flowers, single or double bow, vinyl lettering or embroidery. Shopify themes show a maximum of 250 variants per product: beyond that threshold, some combinations disappeared. In our theme, every combination is loaded from the server the moment you choose it, so they are all available, with the right price and photo.
- The descriptions were too long. Now they automatically split into accordions: only the information needed to decide remains visible, and the rest opens with a tap.
- Some products are designed together with the customer. The doormat with your phrase, the coasters with your words, and the doily luminaria have their own configurators, integrated into the product pages.
- Mobile comes first. Most people who discover us come from Instagram, so every page was designed first for the small screen and then for the large one.
Dualism, translated into animation
The home page opening is the heart of the project. It starts with black, like in the workshop before turning on the LEDs, and our original logo is revealed with light. Then the screen splits in half: on one side, a laurel wreath draws itself, traced in gold like a technical drawing; on the other, only later, a rosone appears, the symbol of Apulian festival luminarie. When both are ready, the two halves open onto a bright site.
Two products, one material: plant-based bioplastic, printed layer by layer.
It is not an effect put there to impress. It is our story in a few seconds: the precision of technical drawing, light, tradition, and the lightness of objects that weigh very little. We also made sure it does not become an obstacle: it lasts a few screens, you see it only once per visit, and if you have activated the option to reduce motion on your phone, the site shows you everything immediately, without animations.
Elegant outside, workshop inside
For the style, we looked for a precise balance: a clean and readable sans-serif font, accompanied by a soft cursive for the words that matter. The golden patterns reproduce the lines of our design files: they are the same paths the printer follows to build a laurel leaf or a rosone. Elegant, yes, but with the technical soul that has us solving problems every day, our own and our customers'.
Under the hood, there are choices you cannot see but can feel:
- the code lives on GitHub, so every change is tracked and you can go back at any time;
- the fonts are hosted on our site, without requests to external services, for faster, more privacy-friendly pages;
- the animations only move what the phone can handle without stuttering;
- every page also speaks to search engines and AI-based assistants: who we are, where we are, when we are open, what we sell, and the most frequent questions are written in a format that Google and AIs read directly.
And artificial intelligence?
We used it, and we say it gladly: it is one of the seven technologies we work with every day, along with 3D printing, laser, plotter, embroidery, prototyping, and LED electronics. But an instrument, on its own, doesn't play. A piano does not write a sonata, and a 3D printer does not invent a laurel wreath.
The ideas, the taste, the dozens of proposals discarded because "it wasn't us", the choice of every font, every color, and every second of animation were ours. AI allowed us to turn that direction into code faster. Without someone who knows where they want to go, it remains a good tool sitting in a corner.
What changes for the buyer
- Choose your wreath without limits: all combinations, with the price updating as you choose and the estimated delivery date.
- Find what you are looking for immediately: wreaths, luminarie, Lumiè, personalized gifts and wedding items are one tap away from the home page.
- You can pay in installments with Klarna and add a greeting card directly from the cart.
- Write to us in an instant: WhatsApp and Instagram are always at hand, and a person from the workshop answers you.
We make custom Shopify themes and websites
What we did for ourselves, we can do for you. We design custom Shopify themes and custom websites for businesses that have unique products and don't recognize themselves in a template identical to thousands of others: artisans, workshops, stores with configurable products, shops that want to sell online without losing their identity.
We always start with the same method we used here:
- Study: we understand what you sell, who buys, and what is not working today.
- Prototype: we show you a navigable draft before touching the real store.
- Development: we write the theme from scratch, with the code tracked on GitHub and the animations designed around your brand.
- Publication: we put it online only when you have tried and approved it.
Do you have a store or an idea to put online? Tell us about it on WhatsApp, on Instagram, or from the contact page. Or stop by our workshop, at Via Annunziata 32 in San Vito dei Normanni (BR).
Frequently asked questions
What is a custom Shopify theme?
It is the code that decides how a Shopify store looks and works, written specifically for a business instead of adapted from a generic template. It includes graphics, pages, animations, and specific tools, such as configurators or product pages with many options.
Why choose a custom theme instead of a pre-made one?
A pre-made theme is fine for starting. It becomes limiting when products have many variants or require customization, when the brand has a precise identity, or when you need features the template does not provide. A custom theme starts from the store's needs, not from the template's limitations.
Do you also make sites that do not use Shopify?
Yes. In addition to Shopify themes, we make custom websites for businesses and associations. Tell us what you need and we will tell you what the most suitable solution is.
Does the store remain updatable without programmers?
Yes. Texts, images, products, collections, and home page sections are changed from the Shopify editor like any other theme. The custom code is for what a normal theme does not know how to do.
Where is I Luminari 3D located?
Our workshop is at Via Annunziata 32 in San Vito dei Normanni, in the province of Brindisi, in Puglia. We work with customers throughout Italy.