design democracy is a yearly competition based on the belief that mass customization is a viable alternative to mass production. unlike ponoko, this competition is based on free trade in design patterns that you can then make yourself at your local highly computerized wood shop. but given that finding and manufacturing this kind of product probably requires a design education, we are probably not replacing the tradition designer-manufacturer relationship, but instead empowering designers to benefit from the open and free sharing of design templates.
pictured is the rocker by hollerdesign