Roots Studio digitizes endangered art from isolated regions and licenses it as surface patterns into the $32B fashion, interior decor, and stationery markets. Unlike hundreds of artisan products plague by difficult supply chains, we enable artists to move upward from "craft laborers" to visual designers through sustained royalties. Through a digitization and royalty model, indigenous artists are able to access multibillion dollar brands and average a 20x increase on value of art sold. Over 4 years, they have digitized hundreds of unseen art from 3,000+ artists in India, Syria, China, and Indonesia. Our team and advisors are leaders of tribes, designers, National Geographic Explorers, former business developers for Ralph Lauren, and former VPs of Bloomindale's and Macy's. Funders include the Co-Founder of Tesla, Echoing Green, MIT, and Stanford, amidst others.
Press: TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/19/roots-studios-shutterstock-for-cultural-art-could-transform-rural-communities/
Stanford Social Innovation Review: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/creating_new_markets_for_tribal_art
Website: www.rootsstudio.co
