What started as a one man project has quickly turned into a premiere destination of contemporary art. Continuing to grow exponentially, DROOL is the place to be for all things design. Founder Alex Liepman, a graphic designer himself, set out to provide people with the opportunity to shop affordable, unique prints. At the same time, he developed a strategy to promote and sell emerging artists’ work — handling all of the logistics and behind-the-scenes complications so that they can focus on their creativity while reaching a global audience.
Whether an art newbie or an avid collector, DROOL welcomes all with a diverse curation of photography, illustration, painting, and graphic design. The website even offers advice, a quiz to find the right piece for you, and curated sets — adding an element of fun interaction as well as a personalised shopping experience typically only found at high price points. Working with the highest quality and sustainable printers, DROOL prioritises people in every step of the production process — from the artists they work with, the production team, and the consumers. When joining the DROOL community, you can be certain you’re joining something meaningful.
On 11th May, you can join the community in person for DROOL’s first physical event. The exhibition will have giveaways, DJs, and drinks.
We talk to Alex Liepman about the process of creating DROOL, his hopes for its future, and the upcoming event.
Find more information and register here.
And now for the interview…
What inspired you to start DROOL and what is its mission?
It all began in my bedroom, and several years of hard graft later, it’s completely changed from how it started. The first iteration of DROOL was an art event listing website and an overall guide to art in London. Although I did love keeping up to date with what’s on, I quickly realised there was a better way to spread the word about decent art and directly support the artists I was shouting about.. and that was through selling their works. I am a graphic designer myself and around this realisation, I also moved into a new flat and really struggled to buy decent prints. And when I asked around, lots of people felt the same. So when lockdown hit I knew this was the perfect opportunity to launch DROOL and this was the catalyst for growth, as every man and their dog was interested in some form of DIY or home improvement.
What was the process of starting it and getting the word out there?
From day one I had this vision to motivate a creative movement that’s driven by people transforming their homes and creating spaces that better represent their style and personality. Instagram has allowed us to do this, so we try to promote content that inspires people to push the boundaries with their home decor. People really resonated with this and trust the fact we’ve kept the art curation very selective, so they know they can use DROOL to find fresh artworks that fit the tone of their home, without the need to dig through thousands of options. Having launched in the UK I knew I had to find quality print partners across the world to really open up our audience and allow us to ship on an international scale. This has been huge for us as the US is now our largest customer base. But that approach doesn’t come without its headaches, as ensuring quality control on such a scale no doubt has its issues.
How has it grown since you founded it?
It’s moved on considerably from a one-man band in my bedroom. There are now eight of us and we just moved into our first office in Shoreditch, London, which feels a bit surreal. In terms of the business and where we’re heading, we’re now set on building DROOL into the world’s most progressive destination to discover contemporary art prints – a place to explore and shop unique artworks that are created by grass-root creatives.
How do you find creatives to work with? Do you scout them, do they come to you, is it a mix?
It’s a bit of a mix of both. It began with me personally reaching out to creatives I admired, many of whom I followed and found on Insta. All of our day ones are still with us as our model means once the artist has shared their artwork file we handle the complete sales, logistics, returns and customer service, allowing them to reach a global audience with no effort. So what artist wouldn’t want that. We’re in a great position now though as many artists come to us, but I still really enjoy seeking out new creatives to work with that I feel fit the platform well.
The artists you work with represent a breadth of experiences, backgrounds, and artistic styles, yet their work together feels like a comprehensive collection. How do you curate this?
I basically curate and work with artists that I personally like. I feel like I’m a DROOL customer, so when I see a work of art I really dig I simply reach out to the artist and start working with them. So the collection of artworks on sale represents the breadth of artworks I was attracted to and that jumped out at me. There’s not much process or science behind it. I think sticking to this approach makes it much more natural and allows us to represent a niche that otherwise might not get a look-in.
Are there any new artists you’re particularly excited about?
One designer I’m really excited about is Alexander Khabbazi. We’ve worked with him from early and had a great relationship with him. He’s really grown with us, pivoting his career as before lockdown he was an architect, but now he’s a full-time designer. Straight away he had a really nice design style that I knew people would love and over time it’s been great to see this style evolve. So his newest drop with us has some really cool pieces in. ‘Nine Lives’ is one I love.
From the consumer angle, you give people the opportunity to discover new art and bring their work into their homes at reasonable prices. Can you talk about how important this is to you?
I could see how saturated the art print market was by either horribly mainstream art or super high-cost art that wasn’t accessible to the average person. Art is a tool for self-expression, it enhances creativity and enables you to create a space that makes you feel good. It was a no-brainer that all kinds of people needed access to this, and that’s where DROOL comes. So yeah, we’re ultimately trying to get creative artworks in more homes globally.
What is next for DROOL and/or for you personally?
With our first IRL event in the calendar for the 11th May I’m super excited to meet some of the community that has been supporting us over the last few years. We’ve got an exhibition, lots of giveaways, free bevs and djs, so it’s going to pop off!
