Roots Studio

What Roots Studio does

Roots Studio, now operating as Rurban, is a digital archive and licensing platform founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco. The company catalogs and digitizes the work of traditional Indigenous artisans worldwide, curating a proprietary library of 20,000+ rare prints, crafts, and cultural narratives built over a decade of community-based fieldwork. Its core product, the Rurban Library, is a digital archive platform that enables instant, customizable licensing of artisan designs with transparent royalty distribution flowing back to source communities.

The company serves three primary customer segments: fashion brands (NOAH, 3.1 Philip Lim, Triple Five Soul, Springfield) licensing traditional designs for collections; corporate clients procuring ethically-crafted custom gifts; and individual collectors purchasing original art pieces priced in the $450-$850 range through the DTC e-commerce storefront. Revenue is generated through three streams: B2B art licensing royalties, one-time sales of original art via Stripe-powered e-commerce, and custom corporate gifting partnerships. The go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales for major brand relationships with a self-serve digital library platform for scalable licensing access.

In 2023, the company rebranded from Roots Studio to Rurban, repositioning as 'the world's most equitable arts exchange.' The business operates with a lean team of 1-10 employees and has secured funding from MIT delta v, MassChallenge, Exponential Creativity Ventures, and most recently Garnier International and Gold House in May 2025. Notable brand partnerships include Cartier Women's Initiative, Foundation Chanel, New Museum, National Geographic Society, Patagonia, Conde Nast, and UNDP.

Name

Roots Studio

Legal name

Rurban

Website

https://rootsstudio.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Roots Studio (operating as Rurban) digitizes and licenses rare Indigenous artisan artwork through a 20,000+ asset digital library, serving fashion brands, corporate gifting clients, and individual collectors with transparent royalty distribution to artisan communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Indigenous Art Licensing Marketplace

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Art Dealers (459920), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAHAF

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

SECONDARYTHAJADAK

Indigenous & Community Cultural Institutions

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Museums, Galleries & Cultural Institutions

SECONDARYBPAGAHAI

Indigenous, Ethnic & Folk Arts/Heritage Organizations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

Keywords

• Indigenous art licensing
• Cultural heritage archive
• Art marketplace platform
• Corporate cultural gifting
• Ethically sourced artwork

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Art Licensing: License rare prints, crafts, and cultural designs to fashion, lifestyle, and home brands with transparent royalties directly supporting artisan communities
2. Original Art Collection Sales: Direct sales of original art pieces through e-commerce storefront
3. Custom Corporate Gifting: Ethically crafted corporate gifts in partnership with Indigenous artisans, featuring customization options for business clients

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Roots Studio curates and digitizes a global archive of more than 20,000 Indigenous art prints and licenses these designs to fashion and consumer brands for commercial use. It also sells original Indigenous artwork directly to collectors and provides a custom corporate gifting service that sources culturally meaningful art pieces for businesses.

Product overview

Rurban (formerly Roots Studio) operates as a unified platform offering both a digital library of Indigenous art and physical/original art products. The core offering is The Rurban Library—a digital archive of 20,000+ rare prints, crafts, and stories that users can license. This is complemented by License Art services for exclusive customizable licensing and Custom Gifting for corporate partnerships with Indigenous artisans. The Original Art Collection represents physical products available for direct purchase, including items like The Cat Bag, Jonah and the Whale, and Metal Fish. The platform connects global artisans with fashion, art, and design brands, facilitating equitable partnerships where creative innovation and cultural heritage mutually flourish.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rurban Library Rights-cleared digital archive of Indigenous artwork that brands and designers can browse and license for commercial use, with the underlying rights and royalty flows managed by Roots Studio.
• License Art B2B service allowing fashion, apparel, and lifestyle brands to license Indigenous designs from the Rurban Library for use in commercial product lines, with rights clearance and artist royalty handling managed by Roots Studio.
• Custom Gifting Custom corporate gifting service that sources and packages Indigenous artwork-based items for businesses seeking distinctive, ethically sourced gifts for clients, employees, or events.
• Original Art Collection B2C offering of original Indigenous artwork sold directly to individual collectors and design enthusiasts through the Roots Studio online storefront.

Quantifiable outcome

• 240% additional income annually for Rurban's artists from Springfield partnership
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cartier Women's InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner showcasing Rurban's positioning in luxury and social impact space
• Foundation ChanelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner demonstrating connection to major luxury foundation focused on women empowerment
• New MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner showcasing cultural institution collaboration
• National Geographic SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner linking to exploration and cultural documentation mission
• MITminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner in academic innovation space
• PatagoniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner connecting to sustainable fashion and environmental mission alignment
• Conde NastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner showcasing fashion media industry connections
• UNDPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner linking to United Nations development programs and global impact initiatives
• NOAHcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFashion brand collaboration where Rurban reimagined overstock garments with Indigenous villages in Asia, featured in Hypebeast coverage
• 3.1 Philip LimcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFashion brand collaboration where Rurban reimagined overstock garments with Indigenous villages in Asia
• Triple Five SoulminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFashion brand collaboration where Rurban reimagined overstock garments with Indigenous villages in Asia
• Business of Fashion (BoF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoF VOICES conversation featuring Indigenous Activist Seno Tsuhah and Rurban founder Rebecca Hui on mindful cross-cultural borrowing
• Indigenous Villages (Asia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner artisan communities in Asia who collaborate on reimagining overstock fashion and creating licensed designs

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Folklore Group: The Folklore Group is a B2B wholesale and licensing platform connecting luxury fashion brands with underrepresented designers and artisans globally. It is a direct peer in the ethical-fashion licensing category, with comparable brand customers and a similar mission-driven positioning.
• Novica: Novica is an e-commerce marketplace selling handcrafted art, jewelry, and home goods directly from artisans around the world, with a similar ethical-sourcing and artisan-empowerment mission. It is a direct peer to Rurban's B2C original art collection and artisan partnership model, though Rurban adds a B2B licensing layer.
• Ten Thousand Villages: Ten Thousand Villages is a fair-trade retailer that sources handmade products from artisan cooperatives in developing countries. It overlaps directly with Rurban's artisan-support mission and crafts-based product category, though Rurban leans more heavily into digital licensing and IP.

Broad incumbents

• Artnet: Artnet operates a global art marketplace, auction house database, and price database. It is a broad incumbent in the art-dealing and art-information category with significant overlap in serving collectors and design professionals, though its focus is auction and secondary-market pricing rather than artisan licensing.
• 1stDibs: 1stDibs is a luxury online marketplace for high-end art, antiques, jewelry, and home decor. It is a broad incumbent in the curated-art e-commerce category where Rurban's original art collection also competes, though 1stDibs targets ultra-luxury buyers while Rurban emphasizes ethical provenance.
• Artsy: Artsy is a leading online art marketplace and editorial platform connecting collectors with galleries, auction houses, and artists. It overlaps with Rurban's original art collection sales and art-focused content positioning, but Artsy operates at a far larger scale and serves the fine-art collector segment.
• Faire (Indigo Fair): Faire is a large B2B wholesale marketplace connecting independent brands and makers with retailers. It serves as a broad incumbent in the artisan/maker-to-retail distribution space, with comparable e-commerce infrastructure and GTM approach, though at much greater scale and broader scope than Rurban.
• Etsy: Etsy is a public marketplace for handmade, vintage, and craft goods with a global artisan seller base. It is a broad incumbent in the artisan e-commerce category, with comparable target buyers (collectors of unique handmade items), though Etsy is significantly larger and offers self-serve seller tools rather than curated licensing.

Emerging players

• Material Exchange: Material Exchange is a B2B digital marketplace for sustainable and innovative textile materials serving fashion brands. It is an adjacent peer in the digital sourcing/licensing infrastructure for fashion, sharing Rurban's focus on transparency and sustainability, but targeting materials rather than cultural designs.

Others

• WIPO Gold/Smithsonian Open Access: WIPO and the Smithsonian Open Access initiative are institutional providers of cultural heritage and IP databases. They represent the broader ecosystem of cultural IP and licensing infrastructure that Rurban operates within, but as public-interest stewards rather than commercial licensing peers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/roots_studio
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/rootsstudio
• Facebookfacebook.com/Rootsstudio.co
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/roots-studio
• Instagraminstagram.com/rootsstudio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Roots Studio