Meet Your Soul Mate in 3D Printed Miniature, Courtesy of Match.com

I know several people who use online dating websites like Match.com and OkCupid, and the results of their adventures have been…mixed. I’ve heard plenty of hilarious horror stories from some, while others have gone on to find wonderful long-term relationships, engagements, and marriages. I also know people who have profiles on more than one dating site, and while that sounds exhausting, it makes for a large pool of potential soul mates. If you’re thinking about trying online dating for the first time, though, how do you decide which site to use? There are an overwhelming number of platforms out there, each offering something slightly different, yet with the same end goal.

The other big question is: with so many dating websites out there, how does a site stand out above the rest? Companies are having to get creative, and one site that’s always been especially creative is Match.com. Online dating is, in itself, a hallmark of the technological era, and Match.com is a big fan of using technology to set itself apart from other dating sites. At the beginning of this year, the company gave a new meaning to the term “coffee date” by leveraging Ripples technology to create custom beverages with the faces of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes 3D printed in the foam. If that’s not tactile enough for you, though, Match is now offering another pop-up event that lets women meet potential matches in 3D printed form before meeting them in real life.

Called “Model Males,” the pop-up event will be taking place from Wednesday August 2nd to Friday August 4th in the Marylebone area of London. Several men from Match.com have been 3D printed courtesy of Mini-You, each at around seven inches tall, and they will be proudly displayed in the pop-up shop, located at 34 Thayer Street. Interested women can come in, receive a free glass of prosecco, and learn about potential dates by reading details on their packaging, while getting a look at them in miniaturized 3D. If they’re interested in learning more, they can then contact those men by following a link on the packaging.

The shop will be open from 11:30 to 3:00, and will start in London with the goal of eventually spreading to other cities around the UK. The initiative is launching in conjunction with Match’s “Match Badge” idea, which encourages men who use the site to, well, not be jerks to women.

“Dating should always be fun, but it can be tricky at times. There is an ever-growing list of different terms used to label the negative side of dating, but we should stop focussing on those and start celebrating the amazing single men and women who are looking for the right person,” said Match dating expert Vicki Pavitt. “The idea behind Model Males is to showcase the brilliant and reliable men that wouldn’t even think of ‘ghosting’ a date. There are still plenty of gents out there and this is a way of giving women the power and opportunity to find their very own Model Male to take home.”

This isn’t the first time Match has 3D printed some of its eligible males, so it seems that the tactic is working. So, ladies, if this works out for you, when people ask how you met your partner, you can truthfully say to them, “I picked him up at the date store.” From the sound of it, only the most reliable and gentlemanly of suitors have been chosen to be 3D printed, so you can relax and know that you’ll be contacting someone who will treat you well – and who won’t be weirded out that you already have his action figure. Discuss in the Match.com forum at 3DPB.com.