Make no mistake, this invention couldn't have easily emerged anywhere but in China.
For some years now, it's been widely known that Chinese painters are excellent in creating reproductions of paintings. They are incredibly meticulous and work fast. There's an entire industry created around this speed and meticulousness.
But now, the digital and physical world collided and expanded the definition of what a coveted object of a reproduction may be. Would you like that Instagram photo you are so proud turned into an oil painting? No problem, Pixelist can do that.
Pixelist is a start-up founded by an American who ended up in China in 2005, and never returned. With a good reason, in that: he managed to spot the right need in the digital photo market and the right opportunity in the abundance of Chinese painters very skilled at reproductions. Just like that, the custom-made oil paintings once available to the selected few are now within the mass reach.
As of now, Pixelist has reached and surpassed its funding goal on Indiegogo. Still debating whether to order something.