About This Project
Built and launched a niche marketplace for miniature original artwork (ACEOs), focused on creating a more sustainable and community-oriented alternative to large marketplaces like Etsy and eBay. I designed and engineered the platform independently, including listings, bidding systems, subscriptions, Stripe payout infrastructure, moderation tooling, admin dashboards, and automated support workflows. The platform grew to 3,000+ users, 150+ paying subscribers, and around $15k GMV within the first 4 months through fully organic growth.
Growth
3,000+ users
150+ paying subscribers
1,500+ sold listings
~$15k GMV in the first 4 months
2,500+ newsletter subscribers
Fully bootstrapped and profitable
What I Built
Full marketplace architecture across buyer, seller, admin, and moderation workflows
Listing, checkout, live bidding, sealed offers, favorites, seller subscriptions, and Stripe payout systems
Trust-and-safety tooling for seller enforcement, disputes, refunds, moderation, and support
Admin dashboards and automated support workflows that keep operations manageable as a solo builder
Brand direction, UX/UI, platform strategy, and organic growth loops
Community initiatives including newsletters, artist partnerships, giveaway programs, platform events, and retention-focused engagement loops
Community & Ecosystem
A large part of TinyGallery has been building not just a marketplace, but a genuine community around miniature art and independent artists.
Alongside the platform itself, I write a Substack newsletter with 2,500+ subscribers where I share platform updates, roadmap discussions, marketplace insights, artist spotlights, indie art brand features, and community events. The newsletter has become one of the main ways I communicate openly with the community and build trust around the platform.
I have also partnered with independent art brands like Peerless Watercolors to create artist-focused collaborations, giveaways, and free sample programs for TinyGallery Pro artists. These partnerships are designed to uplift small art businesses while creating additional value and excitement for the artist community.
One of my favorite parts of running TinyGallery has been creating playful community moments and experiences, from platform-wide Easter egg hunts with hidden rewards to TinyGallery Tuesdays, where artists receive 100% of their sales with 0% platform fees.
Challenges & Learnings
The hardest part of TinyGallery has not been the engineering itself, but balancing everything around it.
There is always something competing for attention: international expansion requests, new feature ideas, moderation tooling, buyer and seller experience improvements, marketing, partnerships, tech debt, analytics, community events, support, and keeping momentum going without burning myself out. Since I am the only person running the platform, I have had to get really good at deciding what actually deserves focus now and what can wait.
On the technical side, much of the complexity comes from marketplace state management and trust: keeping listings consistent under buyer and seller concurrency, designing bidding and reservation systems that feel fair, handling disputes and refunds, and building enough trust-and-safety infrastructure for the platform to run smoothly without support work taking over.
One of the most interesting lessons has been seeing how product mechanics shape behavior. Early on, many users were skeptical of Sealed Offers, but they became one of the most successful parts of the platform. Artists often made significantly more through Sealed Offers than through live bids or direct listings, which taught me a lot about marketplace psychology, perceived fairness, emotional buying behavior, and how small UX and product decisions can change outcomes.
I have also learned that transparency and authenticity matter deeply in niche creative communities. I am open with users about how the platform works, why decisions are made, what the roadmap looks like, and where things still need improvement. I try hard not to overpromise. That honesty, combined with a genuine mission around uplifting small artists and making online selling feel more human, has created an incredibly loyal community. There are artists who now only sell on TinyGallery because they believe in the platform and the culture around it, which means a lot to me.