Photography giant Polaroid is putting its faith behind 10 brick-and-mortar retail stores this year, dedicated to helping people edit and print the photos saved on their smartphone or uploaded to social-networking services like Facebook and Instagram.
The company will use CES 2013 to launch the new stores, called Fotobar, which promises to turn digital images into "museum quality art".
The first Fotobar will be a 2,000ft2 store in Delray Beach, Florida. Scheduled to open in February 2013, the store will serve as a model for all Polaroid Fotobar locations, and has been in design and development for the past 12 months. Stores in New York, Las Vegas, and Boston are also planned next year.
In a press release, Polaroid says every Fotobar store will be explicitly designed around the consumer experience, with the goal of helping people release their "trapped" photos and display their cherished memories in the form of premium quality art.
"Polaroid has always been about much more than just taking pictures," said Polaroid President and CEO Scott Hardy in a statement. "Polaroid is about sharing life's most precious and memorable moments. We have been, and continue to be, about self-expression, creativity and fun. Polaroid Fotobar retail stores represent a perfect modern expression of the values for which we have stood for 75 years. We are very excited about the opening of these stores, and the opportunities they will create for millions of consumers to have classic Polaroid experiences."
Customers can go to any Fotobar store and wirelessly transmit them to one of the store's bar-top workstations. The workstations will allow you to edit your pictures and then print them on a variety of materials including canvas, metal, acrylic, wood, and bamboo, as well as add framing options. After that, Polaroid handcrafts each product and promises to ship them worldwide.
Fotobar is already available online. You can check it for yourself here.
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