Yum!  Last week, we launched our Gourmet Foods section on Trunkt.  The pantry is still a little bare but we’re quickly adding amazing new entrepreneurs.  They’re creating the most delicious concoctions!

The Gourmet Foods section will be curated by our editors and is aimed at specialty retailers including gourmet grocery stores, hotel gift shops and spas looking for something a little different to sell in their establishments.

We’re giving all new Gourmet Foods members a free upgrade to a Standard portfolio until July 1st so apply now and join the Trunkt community.

Our goal is to bring the beautiful work of our member artists to coffee tables, cafes and libraries all over the world. It will be a community-driven, collaborative series of art books that feature the amazing artists of Trunkt.

Why books?

Because, as amazing as our members’ work looks online, no amount of pixels can match seeing artist’s work in vibrant color on paper. No amount of mouse clicks and server space and processor speed can match flipping through a lovely book filled with gorgeous imagery.

It just doesn’t compare.

When do the first books come out?

We’re spending the summer experimenting with formats, themes, printing methods, pricing and all the other stuff that makes this kind of project sink or swim. The ultimate goal is to create a beautiful series of books that help our members get the attention they deserve and help art lovers like us discover new artists in a joyful new way.

Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

We designed the Premium portfolio to be an affordable, elegant, easy-to-use gallery of your work. Many members use their Premium portfolio to archive and display their best work and show themselves off to art enthusiasts and merchandising professionals.

After uploading and organizing images of their best work (past and present), savvy artists send potential retail and wholesale customers a link to their Trunkt portfolio.

The clean interface coupled with the high caliber of the Trunkt community gives our members instant credibility in the marketplace.

Success Stories

Recent success stories on Trunkt include a major department store that picked up a jewelry member based on the beauty of her Premium portfolio.

A major juried trade show took a chance on a brand new Trunkt accessories member based solely on the fact that she was a member. And those are just the stories we know about.

Amazing Case Studies

Here are just a few of the many Premium portfolios that make wandering trunkt.org a joy. There is so much beauty here and we have to thank all our members for sharing their talent.

Black Bags, Shayla Maddox, Ethnique Cultural Living, Amy Burhoe, Pamela Tang, Modern Printed Matter, isphotography, Bidwell Botanical and Kim Westad

… and so many more.

How Design is one of our favorite magazines and is read by prominent art directors, illustrators and graphic designers around the world.

Click on the image below to see the feature in full size.

The Basic portfolio is still completely free. See which portfolio works for you.

The website has come a long way from the little designer directory that grew out of our boutique in New York City. We’re honored that hundreds of amazingly talented artists and thousands of buyers have joined our community so far this year.

We thank our members for their patience during the chaos of building out new features and making sure our servers hold up during traffic spikes.

Thankfully, the majority of engineering is complete and we’re spending the next year bringing even more art enthusiasts and merchandising professionals to the website via our marketing campaigns.

This blog is meant to keep our members and our audience up to speed on the latest happenings. We hope you’ll join in the discussion in the comments. We’re looking forward to another exciting year of celebrating amazing artists on trunkt.org.