Saving the world from disaster is the ultimate full-time job! And superheroes are very busy people. So when do they get the time to do all the other things that being a superhero requires, like mixing up another batch of invisible spray, sewing together a new costume or fixing a pair of x-ray goggles? 

On a leafy street in Brooklyn, New York, I found out the answer when I visited the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company. A one-stop shop for all your superhero needs. The front of the store is highly graphic with witty messages declaring the stores intent to help the local superhero community, inside the store are shelves of jars, bottles and canisters with attractive labels declaring their contents such as, anti-gravity matter, time travel, and ectoplasm. Another section contains secret identities, costumes and capes whose flapability can be tested on a stand on air fan. Once customers have selected their goods, they can purchase them at a special desk, where they must stand and solemnly declare the superhero oath.

But, like all superhero headquarters, there is more than meets the eye, as a store side-kick revealed by pulling back a shelf to reveal a hidden classroom and play area. The store is the brainchild of author Dave Eggers, and raises money to provide creative writing lessons for local children. The store then gives the children the opportunity to see their work in print by publishing the best stories in volumes and sold in the shop.

I left the store after buying a bag of goods that have, let’s face it, limited use but having had a great brand experience with an added altruistic feel good factor.

The store has now become an inspiration to the British author Nick Hornby, who has now opened a similar store in London called ‘The Hoxton Street Monster Supply Store’.

http://www.826nyc.org/about/826nyc/