Seattle - WA United States
The big idea: In 25 words or less, please tell us how this Fast 50 Nominee is helping to address the planet's problems.
Imagekind is democratizing the art market by allowing consumers to easily browse and purchase museum-quality framed prints from over 50,000 emerging and established artists.
Please describe how this nominee is using business as a force of positive change. What technology, idea, or strategy is the nominee using -- and what problem, such as global warming, poverty, or pollution, does it address? (suggested length: 100 words)
The founders of Imagekind started the company because they were passionate about art, but also about disrupting a staid industry. The art market, unlike most other creative fields, has changed very little during the Internet era. Most buyers still visit galleries, see paintings they like hung in coffee shops or displayed at farmers’ markets, or hear about new artists from friends. Meanwhile, the majority of artists languish in obscurity, because few people get exposed to their work. Imagekind was created because the art world was ripe for an online revolution. Imagekind is a new online art experience that provides both consumers and artists with a new outlet for sharing, creating and buying art from digital files – giving artists a global reach and allowing buyers to find works they love more easily.
Imagekind is also a unique people-powered online community that allows artists from around the world to upload their works and to connect with one another to share ideas, inspiration and techniques. Already, over 50,000 artists of all stripes – from modernist painters to landscape photographers – have joined the community, and more are joining every day. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of art enthusiasts regularly visit the site to browse and purchase museum-quality framed artworks to decorate their homes and offices.
With Imagekind, original artwork is more affordable and accessible to a broader group of people, which is why we say we’re “democratizing the art world.” Because we leverage sophisticated print-on-demand technologies, Imagekind is able to print each artwork for each buyer individually – which saves money and saves trees. We finish each artwork by giving customers access to more than 5 million different combinations of professional mats and museum-quality frames.
What are the results, both financial and social? How has the nominee's business performed, and what impact has it had on the problem it addresses? (suggested length: 100 words)
Sales on Imagekind are growing amazingly fast – about 600% between Q107 and Q108. It was tough signing up the first 100 artists; Imagekind’s early employees trawled cafes and farmers’ markets and emailed the artists whose paintings they liked, asking them to join the Imagekind community. Then, word of mouth took over, and within one year, the site now has over 50,000 artists and 750,000 original artworks from around the world. Framed, museum-quality artworks are being sold at a record pace. In the beginning, Imagekind employees printed every image themselves, shipping a few boxes out via Fedex each night. Now, the company has a professional printing-and-framing facility in downtown Portland, Oregon that fills two Fedex trucks filled to the brim with finished artwork every day. But the best measure of success is how much artists are earning: top artists on the site are earning upwards of $60,000 a year from selling their works on Imagekind, some making a living off their art for the first time in their lives.
Comments that readers have made about this submission:
Imagekind is THE best site on the web for buying and selling your art. I also use it as a referrence guide because the information is thoughtful and professional. Who ever thought you could take your kids art off the refrig and print it on a museum quality canvas!
Love 'em
This site is great. We decorated a few of our offices here with the help of Imagekind. The quality is top notch, and the artwork is amazing.
Very cool concept! Great for artists & buyers.
I rec'd framed photo images from these guys. The quality is fantastic and my pictures look like chic objects. Love it. Would def reco to anyone looking for unique, quality art product.
Imagekind is one of the best sites that I've seen emerge over the last few years. My whole house is decorated with framed images I found on the site! The art is so much fresher and more unique than that found in frame shops and other framing sites.
Imagekind is great to find artwork that matters. I love supporting independent artists! The quality is amazing and the customer service is incredible.
Wow, what a find...Imagekind provides a one stop shop for creating a platform to put my kid’s art in high quality frames, at a reasonable rate. The service is fast and there were no surprises with my recent order.
Great Company,Great Customer Service!
Imagekind is a truly unique concept! For the first time in my life I feel like I have an "in" to the exclusive world of publishing and distributing prints. Great idea, great people, and the service just keeps getting better.
What an innovative site that is easy to use and supported by a wonderfully responsive company. Our experience was great!
I worked with Imagekind last year to put on an event and needed almost 100 pieces of art made in only a couple weeks. The great team of people up North were able to help us have a successful event by being creative and super "fast."
Absolutely fantastic, 110%! Picture and frame arrived within 48 hours and it looks even better in real life. I can’t wait to order my next print. Thank you Imagekind.
This company is a great resource for me. I'm a senior citizen that tries to do as many transactions via the internet as practicable. I find ImageKind particularly helpful in that their frames give a real professional appearance to my photos. A gift for Grandma is easy now and it's delivered right to our door.
Imagekind was really the first time that someone leveraged the web "the right way" such that artists and photographers could sell their work online and beyond their local markets. Before Imagekind, people only knew they could buy posters of old, dead artists. But, nobody knew you could choose from MILLIONS of images made by people just like you.
Every once in awhile, a truly great idea evolves into a successful venture. Imagekind has professionally and creatively bridged the gap between artists and art lovers (of every degree) by providing an unparalleled platform to showcase works and an expanded forum for independent artists while providing a welcoming and rewarding experience for the consumer
Every once in awhile, a truly great idea evolves into a successful venture. Imagekind has professionally and creatively bridged the gap between artists and art lovers (of every degree) by providing an unparalleled platform to showcase works and an expanded forum for independent artists while providing a welcoming and rewarding experience for the consumer
Imagekind actually want the artist to be recognised and succeed and are very friendly and that in itself makes this company stand out above many others! I think they are great!!!
Finally – framed art for my needs! Imagekind does a great job at providing friendly customer service, a broad range of art and photographs from all over the world and easy to use customization tools which make my framed art unique to me. Love it!
Great company with high-quality products. I recommend it to all artists and art lovers. I just love Imagekind.
Art needed to find its way into mainstream media in the same way that digital music and movies have. Imagekind is the perfect portal for art in the 21st century.
As a member artist I greatly appreciate their service because they save me numerous steps in the process of producing and selling my art. They produce the finished product as well as create nice digital marketing packages I can integrate into my own website, the <a href="http://www.Greater-Yellowstone.com" target="_blank">Greater Yellowstone Resource Guide</a>
As a member artist I greatly appreciate their service because they save me numerous steps in the process of producing and selling my art. They produce the finished product as well as create nice digital marketing packages I can integrate into my own website, the <a href="http://www.Greater-Yellowstone.com" target="_blank">Greater Yellowstone Resource Guide</a>
When I communicate with a buyer and they tell me that the print arrived with an even higher quality than they hoped for, I feel confident sending another client to Imagekind for their office or home wall art needs.
This makes art buying dramatically easier for art buyers and home/office owners as there is no need to keep running to a physical Gallery location. And with their 100% satisfaction guarantee policy I can confidently recommend to all of my customer base.
I'm happy to be an Imagekind artist. IK provides a way to sell my whimsical illustrations as high quality giclee art prints; opening up a new market for me. I don't have to worry about the expense or the storage problems of keeping stock, bum checks, or packing and shipping. Imagekind handles All the things that kept me from trying this avenue before.
As an artist with work on Imagekind, it's great to finally have an outlet to help pay the equipment bills as a small artist. The fact that anybody can get on and use it is fantastic. It provides top-quality features & services for even complete amatuers..
I buy stuff on Imagekind all the time and the quality is amazing. I like that I can scan through so much art for the right colors and style for my need, and I can get it in whatever size I need, and frame a bunch of pictures together to make it all match. I used to get stressed buying something I saw in a store because I didn't know if the size, etc. would work. Now I decide it all while at home looking at the spot where it will go!
Imagekind helped me meet my customers needs for artwork to finish off my construction project. Easy to use with fast friendly service.
I have not bought too much art mostly because I want originals and I don't have a big budget but imagekind provides access to all sorts of original artwork and the prices are affordable for me. In a time-crunched world it's awesome to be able to view original artists I would never have the time to see. This MUST be good for the planet in that if art serves to allow us to see more passion, more beauty, more reality....maybe there will be more comapssion in the world.
Imagekind is a leader in quality and variety. Excellent concept and execution!
I must in all honesty, state quite the opposite. I am very frustrated and unhappy with the bugs and parts of the site that worked fine before now not working. The feedback I am getting and seeing on the IK forum is one of frustration amongst many of the members.
ImageKind is a good site, but it is by now means unique. There are a lot of competitors in the fine art "print on demand" market who are growing faster, attracting more visitors, and offering a greater variety of features, such as: redbubble.com, artistrising.com, fineartamerica.com, deviantart.com, myartspace.com, etc.
Imagekind are rapidly growing and listen to their artists, which means happy artists, equalling happy customers :)
Great for the established artist, vital for the emerging artist, wonderful for shoppers. It's a win-win-win.
IMGAGEKIND is an AMAZING site to both browse and be part of. In a short while I've already begun to sell my work! The added bonus is the incredible camaradarie amongst the artists on this site...it's everything an arts community should and could be - innovative, interactive, supportive and proactive. I celebrate IMAGEKIND and look forward to maintaining a long association with them.
What a great idea! And what better way to revolutionize the art world than through the world wide web! Now art really can be for the masses indeed!
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