The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
NBAinspired retail concept coming to Blends Gallery
Bridgeport’s Blends Gallery is going in a new direction, as the building’s new tenants said they plan to incorporate retail into the downtown arts space.
Owners of the building at 1163 Main St. recently told Hearst Connecticut Media that they leased the space to New York City street artist Billi Kid, who plans to use the space as the brick and mortar incubator for his business, the NBALab.
“We found an opportunity to not only introduce ourselves to the NBA through the artwork that we created with them, but also with the idea that they’re looking at exciting innovations that come from other grassroots businesses,” he said.
Kid and his partners, Hayley and Bill Fickett, have been running the group as an online marketplace that sells NBAinfluenced products created by small and minorityowned businesses.
With companies like Nike vying for the NBA’s attention and licensing, Kid said the group has rights to sublicense NBA properties and logos to smaller businesses and budding product lines.
“What we do is we strip away all of (the obstacles) and do experiments with small brands to help them through the process of gaining their own license in the future,” he said.
While the group plans to set up the space like an art exhibit for their array of NBAinspired work, Kid said they also plan on hosting popupshopstyle opportunities for patrons to be able to walk out with something. Artwork featured in the venue will also include designs and concepts that a customer would be able to purchase on an article of clothing or a backpack.
The storefront is slated to carry a mix of products from accessories to footwear and clothing sourced from roughly 30 brands that NBA Lab will have on its online platform.
“The idea is that art becomes the reason to come and then hopefully there is related merchandise that goes along with it … it’s
“We found an opportunity to not only introduce ourselves to the NBA through the artwork that we created with them, but also with the idea that they’re looking at exciting innovations that come from other grassroots businesses.”
more of an environment to create opportunities for our brands,” Kid said.
The future for the space is a work in progress, according to Kid, who said the retail component of the business is still underfunded. He and his partners are fundraising to open the retail piece of the gallery, but haven’t named a date yet.
NBA Lab is planning to set up a popup shop in February in Chicago during the NBA AllStar Weekend to build interest around the model, he added.
Kid said he has been involved with the NBA for years prior to launching the NBALab with the Ficketts. He has designed and curated two basketballfocused street art collections with the support of the NBA.
The NBALab will be the group’s first brick and mortar location to sell its products, according to Kid.
“In retail, you need an experience, and we think this place could be an experience in terms of the way we present the art,” said Kid.
Billi Kid, NBALab partner