SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Minted, the premium design goods marketplace committed to discovering and fostering the world’s untapped creative talent, will commemorate 15 years of empowering artists with the founding of the first annual Independent Artist Day on April 3, 2022. Beginning today, Minted will host a week-long celebration of independent artists, honoring their contributions to the Minted creator economy and the arts at large. The festivities will culminate in the announcement of the winners of Minted’s Fearless Optimism Challenge, a creative open-call for design that demonstrates inspiration, strength and courage across art, textiles, and stationery.
“I launched Minted in 2007 with the goal of bringing great design to people everywhere, while empowering independent artists. Over the past 15 years, we have helped creators learn and grow in their craft, find an audience, and earn while following their passion,” said Mariam Naficy, Founder and co-CEO of Minted. “Inspired by them, we decided to create Independent Artists Day, which celebrates the vision and courage of all independent artists and designers and their impact on our lives. In future years, we hope to celebrate this day with others who share the same appreciation.”
Over the last 15 years, Minted has supported creators around the world and enabled them to pursue their passion. Today, Minted’s global creator community comprises more than 16,000 artists from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. More than 90 percent of Minted artists identify as female and a majority of those are parents. Minted’s design challenges are open to any creative, regardless of their experience or connections, to submit their work. Since its founding, Minted has received nearly 600,000 submissions from artists to design challenges and over 200,000 peer critiques—a means of connecting artists so they can give and receive valuable feedback and validation within a supportive framework. A pioneer in decentralized decision-making, Minted has empowered its customers and artists to vote, handing traditional merchandising decisions over to the crowd. This has resulted in over 70 million votes over the last decade and a half. Minted produces and sells winning designs, paying the artist a commission on every purchase.
Launching today, the Fearless Optimism collection is representative of how creators have navigated the last two years of uncertainty with perseverance, ingenuity and dedication to their craft. The collection is a homage to all of those who tried new things and embarked on new projects, new mediums, and unfamiliar formats. While the past two years have been challenging, Minted’s community of independent artists has emerged stronger and wiser. Minted wants to celebrate the creator community’s fearless optimism with a product collection and holiday dedicated to them.
The Fearless Optimism collection comprises limited edition fine art, textiles, and stationery. Bold color, form and typography are prevalent in the winning designs with themes of rebirth, light shining out of darkness, and opportunity on the horizon coming to life via design motifs such as blossoms and suns.
From Monday, March 28 through Monday, April 4, shoppers can celebrate Minted’s 15th anniversary with 15 percent off site wide, including fine art, and 25 percent off of Save the Dates with code FIFTEEN. As with all Minted products, a portion of every purchase directly supports the careers of independent artists in the Minted community. Visit www.minted.com/lp/iad for more information.
About Minted
Minted is a premium goods marketplace, committed to discovering and fostering the world’s untapped creative talent and bringing it to market. The company’s art, stationery, and home furnishings products have reached more than 75 million homes worldwide. Using Minted’s crowdsourcing technology, consumers are empowered to vote for the designs they love and want to see sold, ensuring that Minted continuously sells fresh and trend-forward products. The winning designs are manufactured by Minted, enabling artists from around the world to sell their work while letting Minted do the rest. Since launching in 2007, the company has expanded to serve consumers in new categories including wall art, textiles, digital content, and home furnishings. Minted also builds traditional retail distribution for its independent artist community, partnering with major retailers and consumer products brands. The company has raised more than $300 million from top-tier investors including Benchmark Capital, T. Rowe Price, Permira, Ridge Ventures, Technology Crossover Ventures, and Norwest Venture Partners.
