If you’re walking the show floor at Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), you may see a new player on the block. Displate, a company that makes metal posters with a unique mounting system, will make its first-ever appearance at the con — with lots of new products in tow. The Pop Insider chatted with Displate’s Director of Business Development Bart Silberman about what Displate has to offer, from its product assortment and SDCC debut to its nonprofit work and plans for the future.
First off, your company is rather unique. Can you tell us: What exactly is a Displate? Are they all officially licensed?
Displate is a one-of-a-kind metal poster with a unique, tool-free, magnet mounting system. With Displates, you can slap posters on your walls in seconds — and then swap out your art like you were trading baseball cards.
Not every Displate is licensed. Within our Artist Marketplace, you’ll also find well over a million original designs sold by independent artists. Just about anything you can imagine is included there — from abstract designs to dark fantasy art to anime-inspired pieces. One of our mottos is “bring your passions home” and with more than 1.5 million designs on the website, we certainly have something for everyone!
Another important note is our commitment to “turn metal into wood.” Over the years, we have been working with the nonprofit Trees for the Future, and thanks to Displate collectors, together we have planted more than 19 million trees around the world.
Displate is a one-of-a-kind metal poster with a unique, tool-free, magnet mounting system.
What kind of licensed Displates do you offer for fans?
With more than 220 active licenses, we cover almost every aspect of pop culture: video games, TV shows, movies, music, you name it. Some of our most popular licensed collections feature official artworks from Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, DC Comics, and Elden Ring. Whether you are looking for space photography from NASA or cute Hello Kitty artworks, collectible baseball posters licensed by MLB or futuristic art straight from Cyberpunk 2077 — we’ve got you covered!
What’s more: Collectors can customize their Displates by selecting the size, choosing matte or gloss finish, and adding a frame. We make growing your metal poster collection easier through the Displate Club, which you can join at any time for early access to our limited series drops, free shipping, and a bunch of other fun stuff.
At The Pop Insider, our tagline is “fuel your fandom,” so we want to know: Which of your own personal fandom obsessions would be the dream for you to work with?
Luckily, Displate has most of my personal collections covered — and if we don’t have them up yet, they are coming soon! At my age, I am very much a child of the original Star Wars (Yes, I was there on May 25, 1977 – thanks, Mom!), so Star Wars is always No. 1 for me. But, as anyone who has seen my office can confirm, I collect a ton of stuff — and now, I can’t wait to finally put my hands on three of my other big collecting passions that are joining the Displate catalog really soon. Quick tease: Willy Wonka, John Wick, and, of course, Major League Baseball, as I am a crazy baseball fan and have worked with MLB for more than 25 years!
Displate's collector base. | Source: Displate
This is Displate’s first year exhibiting at SDCC. What are your big plans for the show?
While about 40% of Displate’s total distribution is here in the U.S., this year’s SDCC is really our “coming-out party” in America. There are thousands of pop-culture enthusiasts that still haven’t heard of Displate, so getting our metal posters in front of the fans at SDCC was my No. 1 goal when joining the company. I am fortunate in that I have a relationship with SDCC that goes back a long way, and we were able to get space on the floor. Now, we plan to make the most of it!
We will be showcasing posters from some of our biggest licensing partners at the show and will also display some SDCC exclusives (Don’t worry, they’ll also be available online for a limited time!). Having been an SDCC attendee for decades myself, I know that carrying around a metal poster can be a pain, so you will be able to scan a QR code and have your posters shipped directly to you.
We also plan to announce some huge new licenses at SDCC. As I’m sure you know, those things can come down to the last minute, so I can’t talk about them just yet.
Looking forward toward the rest of the year — and maybe even early 2024 — what can fans expect from Displate?
Our main goal is growing our global Displate collector family. Right now, our client base is mostly driven by the young male gaming demographic, and while that fanbase has been incredible for us, we also aim to reach more female collectors, as well as families. We have already initiated a major launch of American sports (MLB, NHL, NCAA schools, and many more are on their way), and now we’re focused on bringing more music to Displate, with more than 100 of the world’s most popular bands and artists joining our catalog by early 2024. Who wouldn’t want to hang their favorite album art on their wall, and then swap it out for another to match the mood?
Later this year, we also aim to bring Displates to major retailers here in the U.S., so that more collectors can finally experience our metal posters firsthand. Stay tuned for more news on that in the coming months!
For more information, visit displate.com.
