NFT Bazl is perceived as the first physical NFT gallery in the world. Its aim is to bridge the gap between traditional art and digital assets using blockchain. Their mission is to introduce potential investors and buyers to this burgeoning asset class by putting together immersive physical global exhibitions.
NFT Bazl is also the next exhibitor to join the Unifty Gallery.
Unifty: Warm welcome to Maxim Shishkin, Luca Hodyjas and Ori Ohayon!
Luca Hodyjas: Hey guys, happy to be here!
Maxim Shishkin: Wow wow! Hi there!
Unifty: Let's start with a short introduction, can each of you tell us how you discovered NFT technology and what motivated you to start building and creating in this space?
Luca Hodyjas: Sure Michael one sec. I got into crypto early 2018, first touch points with NFTs were in early 2019. Actively started working with it only in January 2021 when the opportunity came up with NFT Bazl.
Our goal was since 2018 to combine the Blockchain with the physical world, to make it more tangible for “old school” investors, simplify and focus on security.
Ori Ohayon: I got into the crypto space full time about a year ago. Prior to that I worked in banking.
Unifty: This is amazing! From such a background to NFTs, what a journey!
Luca Hodyjas: Yea he got converted at one point.
Maxim Shishkin: I have been working in digital (ui / ux) for a long time, but I never thought that this is the main meaning of my life. For the last 8-9 years, my hobby has been to study myself, the brains of my body in the wild. My family and I have lived in different countries for many years.
Being in different countries, different climatic zones, I studied how my body perceives heat, cold. I had a lot of experience with fears. All this was a great and interesting experience, but it was not a form of creativity through which I would feel my realization.
I worked a lot with photography, video, but this was not the form I was looking for. 7 months ago my friend from Moscow told me about NFT. And it all came together. I realized that the level of digital design has become on par with the traditional one. This was my fuel and my answer. In a short time, I studied 3D programs and began to create my own works (3D mix, photos, photoshop and other software).
All my long experience in the wild is now being realized through my work.
Question: What inspired you to create NFT Bazl and what's the purpose of the company?
Ori Ohayon: Initially I was thinking of ways to use blockchain to improve what we already do on a daily basis. Investing into tangible alternative investments is more approachable and simple to understand.
NFT BAZL was just a way to use NFTs as a way of giving regular people access to an otherwise very difficult world to break into. It allows people to now invest in physical or digital investment grade assets.
Question: For many, one of the fascinating characteristics of the NFT market is that they function as indivisible entities. What are the benefits of being able to segment artworks in various NFTs now?
Ori Ohayon: There are many ways we can look at this.
Luca Hodyjas: To add to Ori I would also say that with NFT Bazl we want to educate, and we want to create unforgettable experiences through our physical exhibitions, that create a „WOW effect“ for people.
Question: How are NFT Bazl's artists selected to present their artwork at the events?
Ori Ohayon: We hired as our CEO an extremely well established art dealer. She grants us access into the world of art that we otherwise would never be able to break into. I have purchased paintings for a few hundred dollars and been able to sell them in the tens of thousands.
I would never have had that access had we not had an art dealer.
Question: You guys just recently partnered up with Samsung and the SLS Hotels, can you elaborate on the partnership and implications?
Ori Ohayon: Absolutely, we are now trying to tap into a section of the NFT market that has everyone talking. And that’s the exclusivity component, we want to start adding artists to our market who will work exclusively to create physical and or digital masterpieces that will tie to perks and exclusive offers from brands such as the SLS.
And given that we are only working with high end, reputable artists we are able to gain that access.
Plus get our marketplace listed in the hotel rooms.
Question: "NFT BAZL is the only exhibition that lets you cruise a roomful of NFTs, then pay with crypto or your credit card". So you're not only involved with crypto but also with fiat payment methods, how are you going to connect the fiat, the crypto and the NFT worlds into one single distribution platform and keeping it secure on the way?
Ori Ohayon: Our goal is to make crypto and NFTs accessible to everyone. We have partnered with the best brokers and payment platforms to ensure this.
Luca Hodyjas: Yes another thing we did for our last event in Dubai in October was to partner up with Samsung‘s THE FRAME, to bring digital art right into your living Room. We also integrated them in the checkout process of our marketplace, to help „old school collectors“ to see the value in this emerging technology.
Question: Are you planning to get onboard classical art houses and create NFTs for their artworks?
Ori Ohayon: Depending on who the IP belongs to, yea. We are already in talks with many art collectors.
Our digital art goes far beyond what you are seeing in the majority of the nft market, we’re making true masterpieces from real artists and finding the best way to display them and integrate utility.
Question: Cool... btw what are the characteristics of physical artworks? It is mentioned that you will have an NFC chip, but how can this guarantee authenticity?
Ori Ohayon: Correct, we are partners with the first guys to develop a physical NFC chip.
Question: What are these NFC chips? Can you explain the important role of NFC chips to NFT BAZL’s products and how it works? How can we access these chips? Will they be owners of NFT BAZL or under any standard?
Ori Ohayon: Totally, the chips are used to authenticate the physical piece by permanently embedding these chips into the art. There is a perfect 1 to 1 tie with the chip to the token. Revealing the authenticity, ownership, price and history. Essentially doing everything an art dealer does but on blockchain.
Question: Will NFT Bazl collaborate with NFT AR Generator projects or already have its solutions in this regard?
Ori Ohayon: Already working on it.
Question: Guys, I hear some artists rent their NFT's draft to some big companies. Will NFT Bazl's art gallery have such presences?
Luca Hodyjas: Are you involved in that? Could be cool to have a chat anyways, I think AR will blow some minds in the near future :))
Ori Ohayon: https://nft.elitium.io/Warbb/Sign-Of-The-Times-2-MICKEY
This is one of my personal favourites. This piece will soon become an SLS exclusive, meaning that it will release perks to the holder from the hotel chain.
Question: Amazing! can you offer us more details about the perks ? Will the owner have also access to artists to commission pieces from them?
Ori Ohayon: VIP memberships, free hotel stays, party access etc… As we release more of our partnerships, we will announce more of the perks.
Question: Can you present your most treasured piece? What makes this piece in particular standout?
Luca Hodyjas: @maximshishkin will also present some of his work shortly :))
Question: Does NFT Bazl have consultants that have art collector experience before the Covid19 period started obviously?
Ori Ohayon: Yes, our ceo has been in the art space for over 10 years. We hired as our CEO an extremely well established art dealer. She grants us access into the world of art that we otherwise would never be able to break into. I have purchased paintings for a few hundred dollars and been able to sell them in the tens of thousands. I would never have had that access had we not had an art dealer.
Question: Can you share with us what your inspirations are? What is the main message behind your art?
Ori Ohayon: I don’t think there is only one message, the goal with this art is to democratize the world of investments into art, watches, cars etc..
Luca Hodyjas: For me personally, ultimately it’s about bringing the old world and the new world together, not just in art but also when it comes to unifying people, creating community and invent systems that encourage people to create value for themselves and others. Let’s inspire each other and collaborate where we can!
Question: Can you offer us more details about the Elitium marketplace and what are the unique features?
Luca Hodyjas: The Elitium marketplace is "a boutique NFT marketplace offering collectors rare, investment grade assets, promoted and highlighted through unique experiences, exclusive partnerships and global exhibitions".
I think that should be a good summary, easy to use, accepting bank wire, credit card and crypto, and also including physical art work and live auctions in our exhibitions.
Personal support 24/7 is another great feature, we take time for each investor to educate, support and listen closely to feedback.
On other marketplaces you are just a number in the system. Not all of them of course.
Question: We know that you have physical artworks, so if the user lives in a country different from where the artwork/artist is, can the artwork be shipped worldwide?
Ori Ohayon: Correct, we have logistics partners around the globe who know how to authenticate the pieces for us and ship them securely.
Question: Do you have any plans for fractionalized ownership for NFTs?
Ori Ohayon: Yes we have a few, we were the first to launch an NFT mural in Dubai and we intend to fractionalized the next one for charity.
Question: Why did you choose to collaborate with Unifty? What benefit do you think the Unifty gallery offers artists?
Luca Hodyjas: Let me elaborate on this . First of all, the team is great! I follow Unifty already since January and the level of expertise really impressed me.
To bring it to the point: There are hundreds of NFT projects popping up this year. Unifty was one of the few that really impressed us with their tech. We think the future is multi chain and the concept of virtual galleries combined with giving artists the possibility to earn „passive income“ through the exhibitions is super innovative and provides lots of value. This space is all about collaboration.
Question: How did you come up with the idea of creating a physical NFT gallery?
Ori Ohayon: The concept of bridging the gap between the physical and digital art world lead us to it.
Instead of doing digital drops every few weeks and over saturating the market, we host quarterly, exclusive NfT exhibitions showcasing both the physical and digital pieces.
Luca Hodyjas: We are already working on “connecting the old world to the new” since 2018, with Elitium, where we are building a wealth management solution for digital assets for HNWI, the NFTs came and helped to bring this to a new scale and create unique events where we could bring different heads together and build community.
GDA Capital (another founding party) and Ori then helped to get the use case rolling and brought in the needed IP, while we could focus on the marketplace with Elitium.
Question: What is the structure of these events? Can artists outside the NFT Bazl team participate as well?
Ori Ohayon: We typically have a very rigorous process to become one of our artists, reason being we want our users and collectors to only have access to the best pieces. That will return a) the best investment b) the best quality works.
Luca Hodyjas: It’s a mix between finding the best artists in the physical space and helping them go digital while supporting emerging digital artists and bringing their name on the map in the traditional space.
There is so much new talent out there. And new possibilities with VR,AR, 3D etc.
Maxim will shortly present some of his work, there are 5 other artists who are part of the Unifty Gallery and around 30 in total I believe (+/-). In around 3 weeks we will have a presence again during the art Basel week in the SLS hotel.
Question: Do you agree that the NFT and the community are inseparable? As an NFT platform how does NFT BAZL plan to involve the community in developing this project?
Ori Ohayon: By providing its collectors with more perks, benefits and access to memberships by holding the NFTs.
We have a buyer who purchased our first NfT watch and he now has access to wholesale pricing on the watchmakers' pieces. We plan to continue expanding this.
Question: If I am an artist and interested in selling my art collections with you, how can I contact you and what requirements do I need to be able to sell at NFT BAZL? Also, how safe would it be to expose my work without it being copied through the internet, do you offer a copyright contract.
Luca Hodyjas: You can reach out directly to my telegram, Luca_EUM. That’s the fastest way, otherwise if you go through the website the process is longer, happy to get in touch personally with all of you and see how we can create value for each other.
Ori Ohayon: We have an application form on our website and our Instagram is also very active.
We spent a lot of time creating an artist agreement protecting their IP, their works and their NFTs. We protect and work with our artists super closely.
Luca Hodyjas: @maximshishkin , you wanna share some more info about your work now perhaps?
Maxim Shishkin: Haha, yep yep, @luca283 I hope you all don’t mind being the first to see the new collection, which has been going on for 8 years.
I just finished it yesterday and haven't made the official presentation yet.
Exclusive https://maximshishkin.com/the-canvas-of-my-life/
Luca Hodyjas: Thanks Maxim. More details will be revealed when the gallery launches :)) maybe also give people a way to connect with you @maximshishkin perhaps on Instagram or telegram.
Question: What are some of the challenges that you face on a regular basis working in the NFT space? How do you usually tackle these issues?
Ori Ohayon: I think the main issue is cutting through the fluff.
Luca Hodyjas: The events are challenging because there is always high urgency and many things to be sorted at the last minute. Finding the right people to trust and really build something long term is the most challenging I think, scaling great Human Resources.
Ori Ohayon: So many people want to launch NFTs to make quick money, we’re not here for that. We believe in the long term value of the tech and the assets we’re launching.
Luca Hodyjas: Business is made between people, your environment defines who you are to a certain degree, so that’s crucial to also deliver the atmosphere and values you want to express.
Ori Ohayon: We are constantly told that we are 5 years ahead of the market with what we are working on. So we are trying to make it as clear cut, exciting and educational as possible.
Digitally authenticated assets, and investment grade digital will@be the future of NFTs.
Question: How often can we find auctions on NFT BAZL and where can we find information on auction events? Can you give us more details about the information of this auction?
Luca Hodyjas: https://nftbazl.com/
Ori Ohayon: So we announce our drops usually a month in advance on our Instagram. Our next one will be Nov 29 and physically hosted in Miami.
https://instagram.com/nftbazl?utm_medium=copy_link
But our marketplace constantly has pieces available for sale.
Luca Hodyjas: I think Instagram is a great way to keep track since that’s our most active channel, also there you can always reach out via DM, the team is usually fast in replies. And all articles will be shared there in the story.
Question: How do I acquire tickets for the event, not on the website yet?
Luca Hodyjas: This event we didn’t promote much on purpose so far, last Miami and Dubai was a few hundred people, this time it’s a smaller circle and more art people then Blockchain, we will start sharing invites in a week from now.
Ori Ohayon: We will be sending out details shortly, you will be able to get tickets on the website.
Luca Hodyjas: As mentioned Instagram DM is the best way or a direct message on Telegram to me then I will share an invite once we made the guestlist final.
That’s all the questions so far? Big thanks again to Michael and Marin for making this possible.
Unifty: I think we can end on this note!
Ori Ohayon: Incredible. Thank you so much guys!
Luca Hodyjas: Happy to intensify the partnership! Awesome stuff you are working on here.
We thank Maxim Shishkin, Luca Hodyjas and Ori Ohayon for joining us today for a great AMA! We are also excited about our collaboration and upcoming Unifty Gallery Exhibition of NFT Bazl! https://www.unifty.com/blog/announcing-nft-bazl-a-bridge-between-digital-and-physical-galleries
Stay up to date with NFT Bazl work here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nftbazl
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nftbazl
Homepage: https://nftbazl.com/
