Spoonflower, the textile printing marketplace, has been bought by Shutterfly in a deal worth $225m. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, once certain regulatory approvals are given and customary closing conditions met.

Founded back in 2008 by Stephen Fraser and Gart Davis, North Carolina-based Spoonflower is a global marketplace offering custom, print-on-demand fabric, wallpaper and home decor designed by global independent artists. In addition to artists, Spoonflower’s diverse community also includes makers, consumers, interior designers, and small business owners.

The acquisition of Spoonflower, which also has an office in Berlin, Germany, is intended to allow Shutterfly to better serve the fast-growing decor marketplace by adding Spoonflower wallpaper, fabric, linens, bedding and other home decor soft goods to its arsenal as well as connecting Shutterfly’s 21 million active users to Spoonflower’s artists and design community.

‘We are excited to welcome Spoonflower to the Shutterfly family of brands,’ commented Shutterfly CEO Hilary Schneider. ‘Millions of consumers use Spoonflower to make and upload their own designs on premium fabric, wallpaper and home decor, ignite their entrepreneurial spirit by launching small businesses or express their personal style by shopping the marketplace of more than one million designs. Driven by its passionate creative community and a visionary management team, Spoonflower has also experienced explosive growth over the last 18 months amid the thriving DIY consumer movement. It’s a highly complementary strategic fit for Shutterfly and a win/win for consumers, employees, and members of our creative community alike.’

Spoonflower will retain its distinct brand, culture and team structure and current CEO Michael Jones will continue to lead Spoonflower, reporting to Ms Schneider. Mr Jones commented, ‘Shutterfly is truly our perfect match. Not only will Spoonflower now enable Shutterfly consumers to buy artists’ customised design creations in addition to personalising their own, but we will also unlock the ability to reach new audiences and scale the small businesses of our incredible creative community thanks to Shutterfly’s manufacturing expertise and expansive customer reach. We’re simply thrilled to be joining the Shutterfly family.’

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