MakerBot Store

Profile

Brooklyn-based MakerBot opened its first boutique in Soho to hawk $2,000 3-D printing machines to professionals and $5 printed tchotchke to curious passersby. At least three desktop 3-D printers buzz away at all times along one wall, while old-school gumball machines line another, churning out trinkets and tiny statuettes. Serious enthusiasts can shell out big bucks for printers and supplies in stores, while others can pick up conversation starters like rigid, pixelated bracelets or the MakerBot mixtape, a hipsterfied iPod shuffle-esque device printed to look like a cassette tape from the nineties. Large items, like a four-inch-tall cupcake or helicopter and car models, can run up to $200 or more, while personalized busts go for as low as $25 ($5 for the 3-D head scan, $20 for the smallest replica of your head). And if none of the pre-printed items suit your taste, in-store classes and lectures can help you design original creations. — Jessica Chou