1xRUN made its move to its own building in Eastern Market a year ago, and the art e-commerce startup's business has taken off since then.
The 3-year-old company's staff has grown to a dozen people over the last year after it hired seven people. The new jobs include creative positions, shipping department personnel and an office manager.
"It just keeps growing," says Jesse Cory, president of
1xRUN. "We continue to spread our wings into the global marketplace. We opened a gallery in Eastern Market as well to serve as our physical location."
1xRUN sells limited-edition prints and other pieces of artwork from contemporary artists online. It spun out of the
Ohm Creative Group nearly three years ago, focusing on domestic artists. It has now grown to including work from international artists. Some of those artists have also stayed at 1xRUN's Eastern Market headquarters to produce some of the artwork for sale.
"We have had 30 artists stay here since we opened up a year ago," Cory says. He adds that his company has taken on a Spanish-language partner to help expand the company’s reach into the South American and European markets. "There is no real limit to the market at this point," Cory says.
1xRUN got its start in downtown Royal Oak but made the move to Eastern Market late last year to a bigger space that is better accommodating its growth. The company bought 1410 Gratiot for its century-old character and several thousand square feet of work space in its three stories. Cory adds that foot traffic and business have been up at its
Inner State Gallery in Detroit compared to its previous location in the suburbs.
Source: Jesse Cory, president of 1xRUN
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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