Imagekind Blog | Buy, Sell, Create and Discuss Art

Happy Independence Day!

Remember you can receive Sparkling Savings for July 4th and get 25% off Frames* by entering promo code July42008 in the promo box at checkout. Hurry, offer expires July 7th, just in time to get all your Fourth of July photo memories framed.

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Shop Artwork: 4th on Lake Austin by Trey Ratcliff

Shop Artwork: Fireworks by Tommi Arina

Shop Artwork: American Flag at Train Station by James Crotty

Shop Artwork: Fireworks 7.3.2007 by Notley Hawkins

Shop Artwork: USA Flag by Lenora De Lude

*Discount applies to custom frames only.

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We heard some fantastic news the other day.

Imagekind was recently nominated as one of the most innovative companies in the world by FastCompany.com. Now, we need your help to get us in the top 50!

On July 15, the editors of FastCompany.com will select the 50 most innovative companies worldwide based on participants’ overall feedback and rating.

You can read the submission, vote and comment about why you think Imagekind is innovative at FastCompany.com.

Every year Fast Company magazine highlights the most innovative companies around the world that take business to new creative heights. Imagekind was nominated as one of those companies because of how Imagekind is revolutionizing the way people experience, interact with and enjoy art.

The more comments we get and the higher the votes we receive, the better our chances are of getting into the top 50 most innovative companies worldwide. Read, vote and comment and show why Imagekind is the best community for buying, selling and creating art.

- Nate

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We are thrilled to announce a big day in the history of Imagekind. We have just launched a significant overhaul to the look and feel of the site. As some of you may have noticed we have been slowly rolling out landing pages with the new design over the last few weeks. Now, it’s time for our Homepage to shine.

The new look adds a greater level of sophistication and polish to our website and offers a much more immediate understanding of who we are and what we offer. As we continue to straddle web 2.0 and the retail space, we wanted our look to better reflect who we are as a brand, while offering our member artists greater exposure.

Our new homepage is much more visitor friendly:

• Clear large images change daily and make it easy for visitors to get a quick view of what our member artists have to offer
• Product section allows for an easy understanding of our assortment of product offerings
• Two different Member Artists are featured daily to allow greater exposure to our community

Along with the new look comes an easier navigation. Improvements include:

• A persistent left navigation (or A-column) allows customers and artists to better find their way around
• A new set of steps will help guide customers through the product selection and checkout path
• Product pages make it easier for visitors to get a good sense of all that Imagekind has to offer through better product merchandising

More changes will be happening over the next few weeks. We are thrilled about our new look and have incorporated many of the comments that we have heard from our community. We hope you like it too!

- Imagekind

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We are making some changes to the site shortly. Please, hang with us if we have any transitioning pains.

- Imagekind

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If you haven’t noticed yet, we recently integrated PayPal into the Imagekind checkout process. This addition gives customers the option to checkout using PayPal or our own standard checkout process. It’s good to know that both options are safe, secure and quite simple.

We added this feature because many online shoppers prefer to consolidate their online shopping purchases through one system and PayPal provides that service. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out, it’s a great feature update that gives shoppers who love art more ways to buy high end framed art prints.

Also, PayPal makes it simple for international shoppers to quickly and easily shop for artwork online.

Always remember that if you would rather pay over the phone, we are more than happy to help assist you with that too. Feel free to give us a call!

- Nate

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Hey, check it out! Imagekind got featured on Apartment Therapy, a website whose mission it is to “[help] people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online.” They are currently running a contest where one lucky winner will win a $100 gift card to Imagekind. Pretty sweet, huh?

Apartment therapy is a fantastic resource for all things decorating and all-around home and lifestyle improvement. Readers are encouraged and inspired to connect with others to share their collective talents and resources.

Imagekind is participating in this contest to give one lucky winner the chance to win some new art for their walls.

Take a look at the contest, and make sure to read some of the fantastic comments.

-Nate

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Just wanted to drop a quick note about a sweet new collaboration with REDEFINE, a nationally distributed, independent magazine based in Seattle, dedicated to helping independent artists and musicians get the attention they deserve. Redefine magazine offers an alternative to the mainstream by highlighting independent artists and musicians. An equal opportunity magazine not limited to a narrow style or genre, Redefine covers a large amount of submissions sent to them by highly talented, yet relative nobodies.

However, in addition to the lesser known artists, they also feature extremely talented, well known artists like Dean Zulich who was featured on VH1’s “The Shot.” You can purchase signed, limited edition copies of Dean Zulich’s prints (including the one above) from the REDEFINE website, which are printed by Imagekind.

Image: Bones by Andy Haynes
http://redefinemagazine.imagekind.com

You can shop for other prints available from participating artists by visiting REDEFINE’s Imagekind gallery at:
http://redefinemagazine.imagekind.com.

To find a location near you where the magazine is sold, check out REDEFINE’s distribution list.

Nice!

Nate

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First, thanks to all those who have provided excellent feedback on how we can continue to improve Imagekind together. We have just released version 1.1 of our updated search function which is now live on the site! There are several key advances included in this first phase update that are sure to improve the overall Imagekind experience.

The enhanced search features demonstrate a significant step forward in our pursuit to providing the best artist community for buying, selling and creating art. You can read about all of the great new features here, in the Imagekind newsletter sent out to all of our member artists.

We have also rolled out a new search results page with some amazing enhancements that include:

• Larger thumbnails that gives artists’ work the attention it deserves
• Separate search returns based on relevant artists’ names and artwork
• Pro and Platinum artists’ images are visually differentiated
• Images from Pro and Platinum artists get an increased bump in search results

In addition, to help make search even more relevant and robust, we are also introducing a new way to categorize member artists’ images: Taxonomy. With taxonomy, customers will be able to shop member artwork by Subject, Genre, and Medium; all based on the artists’ individual selections. The new taxonomy is in place to start populating information for more search improvements and navigation updates that are on their way. However, search returns don’t utilize this information just yet.

These are just a few of the amazing improvements we have made to our search function, though many more improvements are in the pipeline. Find additional information about Imagekind’s improved search release, by visiting the Imagekind newsletter sent out to all of our member artists.

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There are some fantastic art shows and exhibits going on around the US that we thought we would share. Thanks to our fantastic intern Grace for rounding these up!

SEATTLE

Happily Ever After II
What: A group show featuring 18 of the most whimsical and illustrative artists from across the United States presenting their reinterpritations of some of our most classic fairytales and story book fables.

When: Saturday, April 11 to Saturday May 2

Where: Suite 100 Gallery, 2222 2nd Ave Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98121 (206.956.3900). See http://suite100gallery.com for more info.

Continue reading for shows and Exhibits in other locations around the nation.

(more…)

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Imagekind’s constant growth is a true testament to the innovative way artists can show and sell their work. We recently announced that Imagekind is now offering art from over 50,000 artists, to a fast-growing marketplace of over 250,000 users. Kevin says it best when he explains what this really means for artists and the new way Imagekind can help artists sell their work.

The fact that the Imagekind artist community has grown from just a handful of artists to over 50,000 in just a few years really shows that up-and-coming artists are looking for new ways to display and sell their work. Imagekind is creating a new democracy that allows little-known artists to share the landscape with better-known and established masters. Imagekind’s print-on-demand model allows artists to create their own galleries where they can set their own prices and connect with art lovers looking to discover unique pieces that can be custom framed and delivered to their door within days.

At Imagekind, artists of every medium and style - painters, illustrators and photographers - create online galleries to showcase and sell high-quality prints of their work. Visitors can purchase art prints, create custom framed masterpieces and order newly available greeting cards. In this way, emerging artists are discovered, and established professionals find new clients without relying on agents. Many artists are on track to make $60,000 a year or more in passive income just from their sales on Imagekind.

Three of Imagekind’s featured artists - Eli Halpin, Richard Stine and Sion Lee - are featured in the announcement as having generated new and loyal audiences for their work through their online galleries. Read on to find out how.

(more…)

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