ABSTRACTmall past, present, and future
For those of you who feel our cause and would like to support ABSTRACTmall, please copy and paste the code from one of the following logos and publish it on your MySpace or personal website or blog. ABSTRACTmall is all about smooth simple style so we've created these badges using standards-compliant sizes and .png format with clear backgrounds so no matter what your site looks like these logos will shine!
ABSTRACTmall was conceived and created by Blake Kimmel and Court Rye during the 2006 season of scholarship at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Blake, having grown up in Huntington Beach California, was exposed to the independent clothing and art industry. Court, having less exposure to this movement, made up for artistry with his 1337 technology skills and business sense.
Blake and Court ultimately identified a need for secure professional distribution of up and coming clothing and apparel. Having the right connections, the technical know how, and the motivation to get it off the ground, ABSTRACTmall became a reality on April 28th of that year. Since that time, ABSTRACTmall has grown into a network of sites, activities and sponsorships referred to as the aM Netowork. Offering exposure and support for artists is our mission. Some of our long term goals include creating a recording company called aM Records and an annual collegiate level scholarship fund for young artists.
ABSTRACTmall functions by skimming a small percentage of each transaction done through it's interface. These percentages are kept as low as possible in order to benefit up and coming creative geniuses and truly support the art. aM is also unique in the way it handles distribution. Instead of storing the art in a warehouse, we operate on a drop shipping system where each artist ships out their own product. This saves paper, gas, and other natural resources while also lowering costs. Due to these cost savings, ABSTRACT mall is able to give a much larger percentage of sales back to artists.
The ABSTRACTmall Music Player and video gallery serve artists in a similar way as the the other products available on aM. While these features don't bring in money for aM directly, they do create interest and repeat visits to the site, which drives exposure of new art. In the process, these galleries link to the contributing artists' websites or iTunes products. By streamlining the exposure > interest > purchase process, ABSTRACTmall encourages legitimate distribution for all art mediums - catering to all five senses.
One other aspect of of aM is the Visual Playground - Photograpic Gallery and ABSTRACTcore mentioned earlier. These serve as a showcase for alternative art such as graf tag, short videos, and photography. This part of the site is always in flux and we really base it off of the community interests. Our current "extra curricular" projects include Happy Holidays Film by Sassy Mohen and OnFIREbeerpong by Russel M. featuring portable beer pong table.
Outside of art, philanthropy, and business, Court and Blake also value the environment and natural wonders that inspire so many artists. For this reason they have built a relationship with the World Land Trust and have donated a portion of revenues when and where available. This trust was set up as a way to protect endangered animals, forests, coral reefs, and ultimately people who would otherwise be lost in entropy.
We are proud to help our friends and represent positive change in the natural world which inspires us. We appreciate your support and encourage you to spread the word about ABSTRACTmall.
Forwarding the creative agenda »