Dutch conceptual artist Florentijn Hofman’s famous inflatable rubber duck has seen many continents and corners of the internet during its travels around the world of both digital and physical. It was last seen in Hong Kong as a middleweight – measuring 14 m x 15 m x 16.5 m – where it also served as an inspiration for children of all ages at the local Toys-R-Us Ocean Terminal store. Due to its noble, although ever-changing (but never lacking) size, the Duck itself couldn’t be brought out of its natural habitat, so the toy store had to figure out other means to successfully attach the purely artistic experience into a retail-oriented one.
To help with this process, 3D Systems’ Cubify organized an event in-store on June 6-9th, where customers could commemorate the ubiquitous Rubber Duck’s appearance in the harbor by buying themselves a 3D printed memorabilia version of the duck called the R, served appropriately(?) in a Dim Sum basket that was also 3D printed, and finished with a personalized nametag and a certificate to go with the set. If you are wondering, the parents – whether they were buying the R duck for themselves of for their kids – had no problem fitting the 3D printed versions on their cubicle desks or on shelves at home, as the size of these ducks was 6 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm.
Source: Cubify
