Get Online, Get Artsy
By PAT DOLENTE
Updated 3:30 PM EST, Tue, Jun 30, 2009
We know money is tight these days. So the thought of buying original art pieces online must sound absurd.
But it’s not.
Bucks County's Pete Borowsky and his partner Randy Engler created Zatista.com so that artists can post their works online and let’s buyers shop for original pieces of art from the comfort of their own homes.
Zatista (which was made up with help from Borowsky’s seven-year-old son) started when Borowsky and his wife bought their first home. They wanted to buy pieces of art to decorate their new house but all they found online were reprints. They really wanted an original piece, but with their budget and their kid’s schedule, going to a gallery was out of the question.
Then it hit him. An Internet man with 15 years of experience at places like Half.com and CDNOW, there was no one more suited to start an original art Web site then Borowsky.
The concept was a simple one: create a Web site that allowed emerging art buyers to look at different types of art and their prices, whenever they want.
But Borowsky didn’t stop there.
With the site geared to emerging art buyers at the moment, Borowsky’s patented “Art Explorer” better helps buyers find what they want.
“The Art Explorer is for those who know what they like when they see it, but don’t know much about art to find it otherwise,” Borowsky said.
Using different data such as style, medium, price range and even color, the system will show you similar art works uploaded onto Zatista. It will even teach you a little bit about art at the same time.
“[Zatista] understands that the art world can be confusing, so they’ve integrated several tools and lots of information to help make purchasing art a little easier,” EmptyEasel.com wrote.
The site also offers a one-hundred-percent buyer guarantee. If the artwork comes damaged, or even if you don’t like it after you purchase it, Zatista will refund the cost and send the piece back to the artist.
But the site doesn’t just work for buyers. Artists can post their art, as well as their own price. Zatista doesn't charge for posting art or joining. But They instead take a flat commission of 18 percent on purchases.
While the site was only launched in April and the types of art are currently limited (photos, paintings, drawings, mixed media and digital only), over 300 artists currently have postings on Zatista with some artists overseas.
So now you no longer have an excuse to decorate your house with posters and stolen road signs.
Or is that just me?
First Published: Jun 30, 2009 1:59 PM EST
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