While Pinterest has become a go-to destination for crafting ideas for accessories, parties, home design and more; the pinning giant (and Pinners) doesn’t provide the instructions on how to actually make these creations. Enter DarbySmart, a do-it-yourself crafting startup working with top Pinterest designers of DIY accessories, fashion and home items to Kit, market and sell their projects to consumers, complete with all materials and instructions needed to complete the project.
DarbySmart, which was co-founded by Nicole Shariat Farb, former Head of Emerging Private Companies in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Karl Mendes, a Senior Software Engineer from Eventbrite; wants to take advantage of growing trend of people looking for inspiration and DIY crafts on Pinterest, while also tapping into the $29 billion crafting industry. The challenges many users face, however, is that once they are inspired by crafts on Pinterest, it’s tough to fund the materials and execute.
The startup offers pre-packaged Kits that have been compiled by popular designers on Pinterest. The DarbySmart team works closely with the project designers to test and identify the best possible materials for DIYers to create lasting products. Then, Darby Smart handles sourcing and purchasing the materials, to packaging the Kits and more. These Kits, which range from $25 to $45 each, include all the materials and instructions necessary to successfully complete the project at hand. Designers in turn receive a share of revenue from the kits sold.
For example, one of the kits offered on the site allows you to create a magazine clutch, a small purse with a Vogue magazine cover shellacked on the purse. The startup’s kit includes the Vogue magazine, the purse, glue, and shellack (Mod Podge).
The company is also announcing $1 million in seed funding from a number of strategic angel investors and advisors, including Forerunner Ventures, Novel TMT, Vivi Nevo, Warby Parker co-founder Dave Gilboa, and Maveron, among others.
Crafting is a huge business, and DarbySmart could be an interesting way to harness some of the virality on Pinterest and add an ecommerce component to the mix. Soleil Moon Frye just announced her crafting startup, Moonfrye, which is aimed at families.