CoKreeate Brings 3D Printed Selfies to Their new Pop-Up Store

Only a year after opening their first storefront location in Alhambra, California, 3D printing and 3D scanning service provider CoKreeate is opening a second location as a pop-up store in the Westfield Santa Anita shopping center in nearby Arcadia. The staff at the pop-up store will educate local shoppers on the variety of services that CoKreeate offers, including 3D printing services, 3D photo reliefs, full-color 3D selfies, full-body 3D scans and help them schedule appointments at the main studio location. If the small pop-up store becomes successful, the company plans to open additional locations throughout the Los Angeles area.

CoKreeate was founded in 2013 by Will and Jewelyn Co, along with Will’s brother Andy Co with the intention of making – at the time – cutting-edge, high-tech, industrial-quality 3D printing services available to everyone. The family business was one of the very first companies in Los Angeles to offer full-body 3D scanning services and full-color 3D printed selfies and it didn’t take long for it to catch on locally. It started with cosplayers and the area’s trendy residents eager for one-of-a-kind keepsakes, but because CoKreeate is located in the Los Angeles area, it didn’t take long for Hollywood to get in on the 3D printed selfie action.

If I tried to list all of the famous faces that CoKreeate has captured using their 3D scanner I would probably run out of room. Some of the biggest names include broadcasting legend Larry King, pop star Christina Milian, Vern “Mini Me” Troyer, MMA fighter Bas Rutten, adult film actress Christy Mack and of course Stan “the man” Lee, famous for creating most of the iconic comic characters starring in the popular series of Marvel movies. And of course you can see all of their celebrity 3D printed selfies proudly displayed at their Alhambra studio, where they also sell 3D printers, 3D printing supplies, hold 3D software classes and naturally, 3D scan their clients.

Will told me that he and Jewelyn have been thinking of opening a second location in a higher traffic area than their current studio for a while, but the right space had never presented itself. But after visiting the massive Westfield Santa Anita location, and discovering that the pop-up space easily fit their budget, they took the plunge. The CoKreeate Pop-up store is right in the center of the massive 1.3 million square foot shopping center, and sees thousands of people a day walking by. Although, not everyone who walks by is really sure exactly what to make of a 3D printed selfie.

“People tend to walk by with a very bizarre facial expression. Their feet keep moving, but the head doesn’t turn away. Eventually they’ll backtrack to the kiosk. We get the same responses every time, ‘It’s creepy, but cool!’, ‘Absolutely amazing!’, ‘I’ve never seen this before’, and etc.” Will told me.

3D printing is something that sometimes just needs to be seen, and because of the nature of their business having a studio in a high traffic area is simply not possible. That’s where the Cos’ plan to open small pop-up locations comes in. They want to actively reach out to a segment of the population who may have never seen anything 3D printed in person, and to bring new customers to their larger, nearby studio space. Even if someone has heard of 3D printing, just holding something that was 3D printed in their hand can transform it from something that they’ve heard of into something that they can actually do. Although it turns out that for some visitors just holding onto things can be a bit of a challenge.

“The best story [about the pop-up store] I have was when a lady picked up one of the figurines to look at it and it slipped right out of her hand. The figurine bounced off the table and the head broke right off. Her facial expression looked extremely guilty and red, and she walked away as quickly as possible,” Will told me with a laugh.

Let’s hope that it wasn’t poor Stan Lee that got decapitated. If you’re in the LA area then you can visit the CoKreeate pop-up store at the Westfield Santa Anita shopping center in Arcadia right in front of Macy’s, and you can always stop by their nearby Alhambra studio and see what they have printing.Have you checked out this new location?  Let us know in the CoKreeate forum thread on 3DPB.com.