Lensbaby spent the early part of its existence refining the original Lensbaby and some variants on that original theme. The original design featured a simple single element lens that created a “sweet spot” in the center that was sharp followed by a radial blur all around that sweet spot. The lens could be manipulated with its semi flexible barrel.
Lensbaby has come a long way since those early plastic bodied creator lenses. They still offer a variety of variants on the original themes but in the last few years they have put forth some very nice quality optics that still offer a creative alternative to traditional lens design but in a fantastic high quality product that looks and feels premium.