Frenzied shoppers find solace in art and design as ideal last-minute holiday gifts

17 December 2007, Madrid &Miami

PicassoMio.com, the leading online contemporary art and design gallery, announced today that sales of original and licensed design from around the world have tripled in the past three weeks – a clear indicator that design is a hot item for holiday shopping—and throughout the year. “We’re thrilled to apply the same degree of creativity and high-quality customer service to design as we have to art these past six years,” explains Allan Majotra, co-founder of PicassoMio.com. “Judging from our clients’ enthusiastic feedback, it was the right choice to make. Unique gifts are often hard-to-find, especially during holiday shopping frenzy – we take pride in helping our clients find the perfect work of art or design, something which will be loved for years to come.”

Nicolette Brunklaus, Folkform, Martin Holzapfel and Kijode are only a few of the internationally acclaimed designers found on PicassoMio.com, offering larger acquisitions and spur-of-the-moment stocking stuffers.

In addition to design, at PicassoMio.com, one can find curated, one-of-a-kind or limited-edition works, including paintings, graphic prints, photographs and sculptures, by modern masters, such as Matisse, Chagall and Miro; contemporary masters, such as Hirst, Hockney and Wegman, and hundreds of extraordinary emerging artists. The current online-catalog includes more than 50,000 different artworks valued at $200 million, with prices ranging from $100 to $100,000. In 2007, PicassoMio opened PicassoMio Design, featuring design and furniture and jewellery to become the one-stop gallery for the complete range of curated high-end items.For more information, please contact [email protected] or [email protected] or visit the website at www.picassomio.com.

About PicassoMio.com / PicassoMio Galleries

With a presence in Europe and the U.S., PicassoMio.com / PicassoMio Galleries is an art company that operates the leading online gallery. In operation since 2000, PicassoMio.com has sold contemporary art by over 4,000 artists to clients in over 50 countries. The gallery’s sales are growing at a rate of over 50% per year. At PicassoMio.com, one can find curated, one-of-a-kind or limited-edition works, including paintings, graphic prints, photographs and sculptures, by modern masters, such as Matisse, Chagall and Miro; contemporary masters, such as Hirst, Hockney and Wegman, and hundreds of extraordinary emerging artists. Their current catalog online includes more than 50,000 different artworks valued at $200 million, with prices ranging from $100 to $100,000. Every month PicassoMio.com receives approximately 1 million visitors and serves over a hundred clients. The average order size is approximately $1,500. Clients include private parties, businesses and trade companies, including interior designers and galleries and dealers. Customers are served by art consultants, all of whom have significant art business and art history experience. The website’s powerful art search engine allows buyers to find the artwork of their choice by selecting from medium, style, theme, color, price, etc. All clients are also assured of a 7-day, no-questions-asked return policy. The company contributes 5% of its gross profits, in cash or kind, back to the art world. In 2005, El País called PicassoMio Gallery “the world’s biggest gallery”, Emprendedores magazine selected PicassoMio.com as one of the “100 Best Companies”, the Wall Street Journal’s Smart Money magazine selected PicassoMio.com as the only recommended art website, and Financial Times called PicassoMio.com the “Amazon.com” of the contemporary art scene. In 2007, PicassoMio Europe was ranked as one of the Top 50 companies by the European Tech Tour. In 2004, the company was nominated as a finalist for FAST50, organized by Fast Company magazine, and was selected for the Gate-2-Growth forum, sponsored by the European Commission. In 2001, PicassoMio Europe was nominated as a finalist in the pan-European “Milestones” Business Awards. PicassoMio has also been recommended by the New York Times, Architectural Digest, Real Simple magazine and ArtsWorld TV, amongst others. PicassoMio was founded by Allan Majotra and Nicholas Marchalleck and has offices and galleries in Miami and
Madrid.