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Bezar was a curated online design marketplace founded in 2015 by former Fab co-founder Bradford Shellhammer (CEO), Matt Baer (COO), PieterJan Mattan (Creative Director), and Justin Chen (CFO). The site featured unique pieces from both emerging designers and established brands in four categories: home, accessories, jewelry, and art. The company was headquartered in SoHo, Manhattan.

The name “Bezar” comes from a combination of the words bazaar and bizarre, which both are phonetically pronounced \bə-ˈzär\.

History

In 2013, Bradford Shellhammer left his role as co-founder and chief design officer of ecommerce website Fab, maintaining a role as a shareholder and non-executive advisor.

In early 2015, Shellhammer announced he would launch and curate his own online design marketplace. Bezar launched in March 2015, featuring four new virtual pop-up shops daily, and a range of exclusive collaborations with designers, labels and brands like FLOS and Refinery29. Bezar's marketplace component, featuring hundreds of permanent designer storefronts, was rolled out in September 2015.

Funding

Before its launch, Bezar raised a total of $2.25 million in two and a half weeks from seven investment funds and 20 individuals. Notable investors include designer Yves Béhar, Kenneth Lerer, Hiroshi Mikitani and Whoopi Goldberg.

Acquisition

In February 2016, Bezar was acquired by online luxury goods retailer AHAlife Holdings, Ltd. (ASX:AHL)

References

1. “At Bezar, Design Meets Retail.” The Wall Street Journal.
2. “Fab Cofounder Bradford Shellhammer Is Launching Design Sales Site Bezar.” Fast Company.
3. “Fab Cofounder Bradford Shellhammer is Launching Design Sales Site Bezar” Fast Company.
4. Lu, Julia (May 1, 2015). "Bezar". Surface. p. 42. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
5. Konrad, Alex. "Fab.com Co-Founder Departs After Pivot From Flash Sales Model". Forbes. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
6. “Flos for Bezar 2015 Summer Kelvin Table Lamp” Hypebeast
7. “An Instagram for Design Lovers, Artworks for Sale from the Refinery29 Staff and an Airstream on a Boho Mission” New York Times' T Style Magazine
8. “Bezar, Bradford Shellhammer’s Reimagined Fab.com, Goes Live Today.” TechCrunch.
9. “Bezar Launches Designer Storefronts” Fast Company
10. “After Fast Times at Fab.com, a Founder Starts Over Slowly.” Inc.
11. “Fab Co-Founder Returns with Bezar” Dezeen.
12. “Online Marketplace Bezar Has Been Acquired By AHAlife.” Fast Company
13. “AHAlife Acquires Bradford Shellhammer’s Design Marketplace Bezar” TechCrunch
14. “Bradford Shellhammer's Bezar acquired by online retailer AHAlife” Dezeen

• 2015 establishments in the United States
• Online marketplaces of the United States