CustomMade, the online marketplace for one-of-a-kind goods and creations, today celebrates the company's fifth anniversary, starting the New Year with 265 percent growth in custom projects requested over its platform, significant product enhancements to improve the user experience and key additions to its management team.

Since CustomMade was launched as a marketplace in January 2009, it has grown from a network of 350 registered woodworkers to a community that helps provide a living for 3,000 Makers of all trades, including jewelers, furniture makers and other professional craftspeople. Initially founded as a subscription service, CustomMade's leadership team transitioned to a transactional marketplace business model in late 2011. Since CustomMade began to facilitate transactions, it has handled more than 110,000 requested projects.

Fueling this growth is a vision to make buying custom easy and accessible to everyone. To that end, the company conducted in-depth customer research throughout 2013 and, as a result, focused on enhancing the user experience. In 2013, CustomMade launched new features such as a dedicated payments platform, in partnership with WePay, which makes purchasing custom goods even simpler than before by allowing customers to pay Makers directly through CustomMade.

Additional updates include a new home page, a new Maker profile design, the ability for registered users to "favorite" projects and Makers on CustomMade, a new blog and an entirely new mobile experience. Bolstered by $18 million in Series B funding secured in June 2013, CustomMade also brought key management hires on board in the product and marketing teams, and is continuing to expand and grow its team.

"Building on many months of investment and dedication to creating the best online platform for custom goods, 2013 was a critical year of growth, refinement and, perhaps most importantly, deeper engagement with our Buyer and Maker community," noted CustomMade CEO Mike Salguero. "We've listened to our customers and in response, we've enhanced our marketplace to make buying custom as easy, secure and fun as going to a big-box store - and massively more meaningful. Looking ahead to 2014, we'll continue to grow by delivering on our promise to build a marketplace that helps people buy custom, and which thousands of Makers can use to make a living doing what they love."

Buying custom has emerged as a viable alternative to traditional online and in-store retail, with the custom market for furniture alone topping $27 billion, and the custom clothing market projected to exceed $320 billion by 2016. CustomMade, the pioneering marketplace for all custom goods, is positioned for leadership in the market, with more than 3,000 active artisans and craftspeople participating as Makers on its site and more than 100,000 registered customers looking to purchase custom goods.

About CustomMade

CustomMade is an online marketplace connecting Buyers who want one-of-a-kind creations with professional and passionate Makers of those goods. Born in 1996 with the vision to help people find the unique gifts, objects and goods they cannot find through traditional retail channels, CustomMade was acquired in 2009 and has since grown from a community of 350 carpenters to more than 3,000 active Makers of all trades. For more information, visit www.custommade.com.

Version 2.0 Communications for CustomMade
Meghan Gardner, 617-426-2222
mgardner@v2comms.com