In other acquisition news this week, membership platform Patreon announced that it is acquiring Kit, an online community where users can work with designers to create collections of their favorite products – grouped into kits. The acquisition will help Patreon artists and creators to more easily develop and offer customized merchandise for their subscribers and members. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

In Patreon’s Medium blog, Wyatt Jenkins, vice president of product, wrote this about the reason for this partnership:

‘One of the most effective ways creators build a growing and sustainable membership is by selling merch. Patrons want something personalized, a physical artifact to connect them to the creator?-?and the more unique the better. But today, merch is unnecessarily painful for creators; we’ve talked to heaps of creators who spend time stuffing envelopes, researching the lowest prices on shipping, and take endless trips to the post office. We want to make merch easy. A simple solution empowering creators to easily add merch to their membership business, and connect deeply with their biggest fans,’ said Jenkins.

‘When we met Kit founder Camille Hearst and her team, we were impressed with the product they built, the active community of creators they support, and how much thought they put into the needs of creators. We knew immediately we wanted to work with them,’ Jenkins added.

Kit co-founder and CEO Camille Hearst also commented on the partnership.

‘We launched Kit a little over two years ago with a simple idea: help people discover the products worth getting?-?and create a new kind of experience where your creativity and expertise actually earn you money,’ said Hearst. ‘We’re elated to join Patreon and work on merch, and look forward to developing features that will give creators a simple way to deliver their products to their members. It’s an honor for us to continue building tools that enable creators to share their life’s work while earning a sustainable living.’

Insider Take:

Patreon was built on the premise that artists and creators should be compensated fairly for their work. The Patreon platform helps those entrepreneurs to monetize their work through tiered memberships, so they can become financially sustainable, allowing them to follow their passions and ultimately create more work. In exchange, Patreon collects a 5 percent fee on paid memberships. To date, approximately 100,000 artists, writers, podcasters and other creators on Patreon have attracted 2 million patrons, or members, who want access to creations. Kit does not currently take a cut of revenue from its creators. It is funded through kits that don’t include affiliate codes and venture capital. By joining forces, Patreon and Kit will both be exposed to new audiences while providing creators with more options and products for attracting and retaining a fan base.