An Inside Look at MakerBot’s New Nolita Store [SLIDESHOW]

Kelly Faircloth — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:00:18 -0400

At the conclusion of the unveiling of MakerBot's latest 3D-printing marvel, Betabeat was treated to a look at the company's brand-new store, located at Mulberry and Houston Street. But before setting out (as the assembled reporters snacked on sliders and waited for our rides back to Manhattan) we got a bit more detail from CEO Bre Pettis about his hopes for the store and for the Replicator 2.

For one thing, "the store is a dream of mine," Mr. Pettis explained.

But its purpose goes beyond mere wish-fulfillment: "I think it's a power play on our part," he said. "Most people are moving all of their retail stores to the web. For us, we come from the Internet, and with a machine like this, you have to see it to believe it."

"We're creating a real-life portal for people to experience the product," he added. In other words: It's basically a showroom.

He also clarified who's likely to buy one of these machines, which'll retail for a cool $2,199. It's "the people who have been waiting for it, really," Mr. Pettis told Betabeat. "They're people who have AutoCad, or SolidWorks, or Sketchup, and they're used to working with the refrigerator-sized mainframe machines. Except now they can have something that's as good as that, but smaller and fits on their desk."

"That, I believe, is where the onslaught is going to come from," he added.

Lest MakerBot alienate the hobbyist constituents, Mr. Prettis hastened to add: "But it's also just people who love to make things."

For more, check out the slideshow above.

Betabeat » An Inside Look at MakerBot’s New Nolita Store [SLIDESHOW]

An Inside Look at MakerBot’s New Nolita Store [SLIDESHOW]