NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--littleBits Electronics, Inc., the startup that is democratizing hardware by empowering everyone to create inventions, large and small, with its platform of easy-to-use electronic building blocks, is thrilled to announce it is opening its first ever littleBits Store in New York City. The pop-up store, located at 355 West Broadway in the SoHo district, is opening to the public on July 31, 2015, and will have a Grand Opening Celebration Thursday, August 6, 2015.
littleBits Store
355 West Broadway
New York, NY 10013
917-924-2302
ext 102
Hours: M-F: 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.; Sat & Sun: 10:00 a.m. -
7:00 p.m.
littleBits.cc/store
The littleBits Store is a lab for inventions, large and small, and like the company, is on a mission to empower everyone to unleash their creativity.
The store is targeted towards families, educators and creative professionals and promises to take visitors on a journey of invention through a series of interactive experiences including:
- Get inspired: Warm-up with the musical twister wall, a new take on and homage to the iconic (and sadly gone) FAO Schwarz giant piano.
- Create inventions: Take a seat at one of the workshop tables in the lab and create your own invention such as a Keytar (a synth guitar), a BitBot car, a self-powered drawing machine or anything from your imagination.
- Share creations: Step into the Get Snapped Photo Booth to share your invention with the world, inspire others in the community, and see how everyone is an inventor.
The littleBits Store is also pioneering a new concept in tech retail: Inventions To Stay and Inventions To Go. Visitors who participate in the workshop tables are able to leave their inventions for others to remix, encouraging open source collaboration, or buy what they invented on the spot, thus putting into action littleBits' agenda of breaking down the boundaries between the technology we consume and the technology we invent.
“We are very excited to announce the littleBits retail store,” said Ayah Bdeir, CEO and founder of littleBits and MIT Media Lab grad and TED Senior Fellow. “We want littleBits to be in every home, every school, every creative space. But for us the littleBits Store is about getting closer to our customers individually, fostering a local community of inventors and imagining a world where products and experiences are not parachuted onto you from technology companies, but you are inventing them yourself.”
For the design of the store, littleBits commissioned award-winning, Montreal-based design firm Daily tours les jours (DTLJ), renown for their large scale participatory experiences such as Musical Swings and Giant Sing Along. “littleBits is one of the most inspiring electronics products: it is changing the way we live with technology, demystifying it and befriending it,” say Melissa Mongiat and Mouna Andraos, co-founders of DTLJ. “It is an honor to design their first store and contribute to the revolution that littleBits is enabling. The littleBits Store is a place for experimentation and collective invention, where anyone feels empowered by technology and compelled to tell their own stories with it."
The littleBits Store will run through holiday 2015 and will feature a continuous stream of talks, classes and hands-on activities for all ages, from the beginner starting their journey as an inventor, to STEM/STEAM educators, to the experienced prototyper or inventor.
littleBits Electronics, Inc., is New York City-based and recently announced that it received $44M in additional funding and would be using those funds to expand distribution efforts as well as building its executive team and its retail presence. The littleBits Store is part of that expansion. littleBits products are currently available online at littleBits.cc and with other retailers, such as Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Marbles. This will be littleBits first foray into having its own retail location.
About littleBits
littleBits is the New York-based
hardware startup that is on a mission to Democratize Hardware by
empowering everyone to Create Inventions, large and small, with a
platform of easy-to-use Electronic Building Blocks. The company’s
innovative building blocks snap together with magnets to allow anyone to
build, invent, and prototype with electronics independent of age, gender
and technical background – no soldering, wiring, or programming
required. littleBits breaks down powerful technology – from music with
the littleBits Synth Kit, to space exploration with the littleBits Space
Kit, and the Internet of Things with the Smart Home Kit – and makes the
technology accessible and easy to understand. The company was founded in
2011 by MIT graduate, TED Senior Fellow and cofounder of the Open
Hardware Summit, Ayah Bdeir, and has grown to be a global leader in
hardware. Bdeir was named one of Fast
Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, one of Popular
Mechanics’ 25 Makers Who Are Reinventing the American Dream, and one
of MIT
Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35. The littleBits platform
includes more than seven kits and 67 interoperable modules with millions
of products sold in more than 100 countries around the world. littleBits
also recently launched the Global
Chapters Program and has expanded its network into more than 100
countries, as well as with 8,000+ educators and in 2,100+ schools and
universities. The company was named in CNN’s
“Top 10 Startups to Watch”, one of the CNBC
Next List, and has been profiled by the BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Wired,
Popular Mechanics. To learn more, visit littleBits.cc.
