The Guild, an online marketplace for gifts and art has raised $2.5 million Series C in a round that included Dolphin Equity Partners.
Madison, Wisconsin based The Guild bills itself as the “leading source for artist-made home décor products shipped direct from artists’ studios to customers’ homes nationwide.” The company represents more than 1,200 artists working in media from glass, sculpture, and prints to furniture, lighting, and jewelry.
“Guild Sourcebooks” have a positive effect for the artist outside of the site, resulting in thousands of new art commissions for public and private spaces.
The Guild offers 12,000 items for sales.
(via PEHub)
Interesting.. smart VC’s.. Give some business to the impressive China painters… SEE THIS
that or one dumbass VC who saw that etsy.com just got funding…..
Aren’t these types of sites just glorified classifieds, or am I missing something?
The site has a lot of nice items but the price/value is a little expensive for my taste. I think they need to diversify their items to Low-Medium-High prices. Get more involved into new artists and broaden the appeal to different cultures.
Unbelievable that Etsy wasn’t mentioned in the post, and I can’t tell if it was deliberate or an oversight. That was the first thing that came to my mind (ie. “sounds like Etsy”).
@Ivan, I don’t think they are targeting “value shoppers” and allowing people to sort by price makes the site a game of commodities. Artists hate that and so do I. You want price/value, go to wal-mart.
Look like VCs don’t have many projects to invest. A sub group of Ebay, or community classified ad site can now become a subject of investment.