The announcement follows critically-acclaimed debut of Design Miami/ Paris
Today, Basic.Space – a curated marketplace that sells a blend of pre-owned/vintage and new, exclusive products – announces its acquisition of Design Miami/, a global forum that brings together collectible museum-quality 20th and 21st-century furniture, lighting, and objets d’art from leading galleries at fairs in Miami Beach, Basel, Shanghai and Paris.
In addition to creating a robust e-commerce strategy for Design Miami/ to cultivate other categories of collectible material, Basic.Space will introduce new collaborations with designers, establish creative ways to evolve the fairs’ format and explore additional locations for fairs.
Design has become the fastest-growing category within Basic.Space, and this acquisition will further expand the company’s home and art offerings at a time when Gen Z and Millennials, the largest group of consumers, are increasingly investing in collectible design across all categories.
Craig Robins, co-founder of Design Miami/ and an early seed investor in Basic.Space, will join the Basic.Space board.
“Combining Basic.Space’s digital reach, keen understanding of curated collaborations, and community of leading-edge creatives with Design Miami/’s global forum of galleries, designers and luxury brands will invigorate the brand and position it for expansion into new territories for live experiences,” says Design Miami/ co-founder, Craig Robins. “Furthermore, benefitting from Jesse’s vision, Design Miami/ will have one of the most innovative and creative thinkers in the digital space creating new and exciting strategies for growth.”
Design Miami/ will continue to run independently with Jennifer Roberts remaining as CEO to oversee all fairs. Jesse Lee, the CEO and Founder of Basic.Space, will now serve as the chairman of the Design Miami/ board. The acquisition is an all-stock transaction signaling alignment from all stakeholders of the deal’s long-term vision and potential impact.
“Our community has become passionate about products beyond fashion, spending more on collectible design and related categories, and valuing both historic and contemporary material. This is an opportunity to both meet that demand and shape how this and future generations will consume,” says Basic.Space Founder and CEO, Jesse Lee. “To us, design isn’t just a product category; it’s a mindset and a point of view that guides you through every purchase decision. We believe that everyone should have access to exceptional products from uniquely creative individuals and brands; this partnership also helps us expand globally.”
Basic.Space has offices in Los Angeles and New York, and Design Miami/ will remain headquartered in Miami.
About Basic.Space
Basic.Space is a digital marketplace with a curated blend of pre-owned/vintage items, new limited edition products and exclusive brand collaborations. Each seller is onboarded and verified by the Basic.Space team directly – sellers consist of designers, artists, musicians, photographers and athletes. Multi-hyphenate creatives such as Emily Oberg, Purienne, Justin Reed, Agnes Azria and Dr. Woo are selling their own pre-owned and vintage pieces alongside brands like Mirror Palais, Alessi, Basketcase, Saintwoods, and Aquatic Leisure Center, selling new, exclusive products. Since officially launching in 2020 with Naomi Osaka as the featured seller, Basic.Space has over 500 active verified sellers on the platform.
About Design Miami/
Design Miami/ connects the world through extraordinary collectible design, with live fairs and experiences on three continents that bring together galleries, designers’ studios, brands, experts, collectors, and enthusiasts, and designmiami.com, a content-rich digital marketplace. Each edition of Design Miami/ features museum quality 20th and 21st century furniture, lighting, and objets d’art from the world’s top, expertly vetted galleries with flagship fairs taking place alongside Art Basel in Miami, Florida, each December, Basel, Switzerland, each June and Paris, France each October.
