Enjoy a trip to one of Germany's most historic towns

After several years in Hamburg and China, the owners of Allernixe: “Atelier für schöne Dinge” [Studio for Beautiful Things] opened their very first pop-up shop in Celle in June 2017. Located in one of Germany's iconic and charming half-timbered houses, the store features an array of stationery goods, prints, and more.

In the winter of 2018, the owners took their concept store to the next level, opening up an official location at Schuhstraße 47. However, no one could have expected that just a year and a half later, Allernixe would be forced to temporarily close its storefront as a result of COVID-19. While the team had already created an online shop, they wanted a way to welcome visitors from around the world to the brick-and-mortar store without restriction

Roman Thomas and Matterport’s technology made it possible to do just that. Now, visitors can not only virtually walk through Allernixe, but they can also interact with different videos to learn about the store's local supplies and the workshop services it offers.

We caught up with Roman Thomas, owner, photographer, and artist of Fotoatelier Thomas, to find out more about his process as well as Allernixe's plan for its new digital store.

What inspired the 3D capture of this space?

We wanted to show customers the varied spectrum of these design stores, especially in the era of COVID-19. This allowed us to make the articles "tangible" despite contact restrictions and lockdown, and to continue generating sales for the store by linking it to the online shop.

What are the “must-sees” you want visitors to explore and why?

Particularly interesting are the many videos on local suppliers and on the workshop of the small design store.

What’s the one thing you want visitors to take away after exploring your 3D tour?

Customers should enjoy the tour and look forward to seeing the store and the beautiful half-timbered town in real life.

What are the benefits of Matterport digital twins?

That we’re able to give our customers the opportunity to present themselves 365 days a year, 24 hours a day on the Internet — and that’s regardless of contact restrictions or spatial distances. This allows us to reach a much larger audience worldwide.

Do you have any plans to capture more 3D experiences?

We will make some showrooms and retail stores virtually accessible to everyone. We are also building digital exhibitions for the cultural scene.