Official Leonard Nimoy Store To Support COPD Research

Six months after the death of the actor, director, singer, author and photographer Leonard Nimoy, his granddaughter is donating the profits of the store founded by her and her grandfather to support research on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nimoy, who became best known for playing the role of Spock in Star Trek, publicly announced that had been diagnosed with COPD a year prior to his death and his granddaughter Danielle Schwartz wants to make his memory an inspiration for others fighting the disease.

The shop, which stands for Live Long And Prosper, was founded by Nimoy and Schwartz, and the actor’s granddaughter even considered closing it after his death. Instead, she decided to re-launch it along with more products in order to keep Nimoy’s memory alive as well as support research on COPD. “We considered closing our store when my grandfather died, but it was so clear that the people whose lives he has touched so wanted it to continue,” stated Danielle Schwartz.

“My goal is to keep its prosperity and preserve the immortal bond between my Poppi (Grandpa) and his fans,” she added. The new purpose of the store included a re-launch of their website, the donation of 70% of the store’s proceeds to COPD research and the expansion of its products, including “Spock’s Quote” shirt, “The Vulcan” shirt, LLAP t-shirt, shirts in memory of Leonard Nimoy, among other products.

The project for the store started in January 2010, when the actor asked his granddaughter for help to make some t-shirts for a photography project he was exhibiting at MASS MOcA. A few months later, the two launched the t-shirt project, under the same name of the photography project, Secret Selves, on Etsy.com. Beginning as a small business, the t-shirts gained great attention as Leonard Nimoy started tweeting about it, always signing with LLAP, which later gave the name to their store.

Now, Danielle Schwartz has decided to redirect the purpose of the store, and she also announced that the LLAP Shop’s customers and fans are reacting with enthusiasm to the decision. “I have loved every item (T-shirts, totes, photos, cards, etc.) I have ever purchased from Shop LLAP (I even go back to the Etsy days!) So grateful you are maintaining the shop and your Poppi’s legacy!” stated a long time fan of Leonard Nimoy and his work, identified as Bonnie M.