Don’t know about you, but I have to say that I was under the impression that the Makerbot retail store in New York was open for business and up and running. Regardless, yesterday saw the ‘official’ grand opening of the store, which offers for sale MakerBot’s proprietary 3D printers and filament materials as well as a select range of 3D printed goods including bracelets, watches and toys.
A wholly new feature at the store that was revealed by Bre Pettis, MakerBot’s CEO, yesterday is a 3D photo booth — powered by ShapeShot. Essentially this allows anyone browsing in the store to have their photo taken — in 3D — and three reusable shots can be purchased for $5. Of course, in a 3D printer store this is hardly likely to suffice, and so you can order a 3D print of your head for $20, $40 or $60 – depending on the size of print you require.
Following the press around the Japanese 3D photo booth last week, this is likely to capture the imagination of many and is a great feature to have in-store at a relatively accessible price. It makes 3D printing personal while highlighting all of the tech’s main advantages and in a metropolitan centre such as New York City the market is vast.
I know for a fact that the retail store has been a long-term goal for Bre, and it is heartening to see it taking off. Early days yet, but I really look forward to the time they start opening stores around the rest of the world — London next please!
