NorCal and Shill
A podcast where NFT artists tell stories, hosted by NorCal Guy. https://twitter.com/GuyNorcal
https://twitter.com/norcalandshill
NorCal and Shill
Mushroom Man's Money Moves: Tales from an NFT Collector
Ever wonder what goes through a collector's mind when they decide to purchase digital art? Funghibull pulls back the curtain on the fascinating world of crypto art collecting in this candid conversation about connection, community, and the future of creative ownership.
Funghibull's journey begins like many others—with healthy skepticism. "What the hell is going on here?" was his first reaction to NFTs before recognizing their revolutionary potential. Through a friend's guidance, he made his first significant investment in CryptoPunks in late 2020, experiencing that initial "am I a genius?" moment before quickly recognizing it as fortunate timing and good connections.
What truly sets Funghibull apart is his philosophy on collecting: "Connect with people because you want to, not because you want something." In a space built around transactions, he emphasizes authentic relationships over opportunistic networking. This approach has guided his development of Schiller, which has exhibited approximately 800 artists at major events and evolved into a multifaceted platform supporting creators through media, exhibitions, and community building.
The conversation delves into the nuanced decision-making process behind collecting art—from the pieces that linger in his mind long after viewing to the balance between emotional resonance and financial pragmatism. Funghibull envisions a future where blockchain enables average people to collect art directly from creators, creating more equitable relationships while acknowledging the challenges this frictionless environment presents for artists.
Beyond collecting insights, Funghibull shares his "hot takes" on the space—collectors should stop telling artists what to do unprompted, while artists might benefit from remaining open to strategic guidance from business-minded collectors. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the technology that makes this all possible, noting how artists who master both their craft and the underlying tech often find unique ways to express themselves.
Curious about the intersection of art, technology, and community? Listen now to gain perspective from someone actively building "permaculture in the space"—sustainable systems that nurture creativity and community for the long term.
Who is this guy?
NorCal Guy:Who is this guy? Who is this guy?
Funghibull:Who is this guy? Norcal? Guy NorCal and chill podcast. So it's chill time. Norcal and chill podcast. What the f***? Norcal and chill podcast. Collector's Vault.
NorCal Guy:Today we have Fungible joining us to dive into the mushrooming world of crypto art and investments. In this episode, we unearth Fungible's journey through the highs and lows of digital investments, including his biggest win and the learning curve of his silliest purchase. We peel back the layers on the importance of community, with Fungible emphasizing the value of Twitter spaces for authentic connections, and discuss the multifaceted approach to art collecting that Mary's financial savvy with personal resonance. Plus, we get the scoop on what's next for Schiller, as fungible teases their upcoming media season and innovative, innovative NFT-backed art collecting experience and a buzzworthy three-day event series at NFT NYC. Tune in as we share a genuine conversation on growth and gratitude in the dynamic world of crypto art. Stay with us for an episode that promises insightful shill without the fluff, right here on norcal and shill collector's vault. Everybody, please welcome fungible. Hey, fungi, welcome to the podcast. How you doing today?
Funghibull:I'm doing great. Yeah, thank you so much for having me, man man, I, I'm glad we.
NorCal Guy:You know it should have been a lot earlier. But you know, I just like get focused on like artists, and then I'm like, who am I gonna have? I'm like, oh yeah, I got all these collectors I should have on here, that I actually chat with and I'm glad you can make it and thank you for coming on well, thanks, thanks for having me.
Funghibull:I honestly the artists are more interesting, so I think I think you know both they will be appreciative of that as well the other collectors and, and, yeah, different builders and folks. Uh, you've had on, but I'm grateful, grateful to be included and really appreciate the work you do, um, both on this podcast and elsewhere. So stoked to chat, man.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, man, I'm ready to get into it. So I know you've been in this game for a little while, this collector game. What were your first thoughts when you heard about NFTs or crypto art?
Funghibull:Yeah, I think, like a lot of people was kind of like what the hell? You know what? Uh, make it make sense? Um, I had a time grappling with the right click save, uh, quite I don't know like pseudo dilemma or or issue, uh. And then I started to draw comparisons and started to think about you know other areas of ownership and activity online where ownership should exist, and started to think like you know what this makes a lot of sense. And also, like wherever people are going to want to spend money, there will be a market there, and the fundamentals of this and the way in which it could be changing economies, whether they're creator economies or like macro economies, are really compelling or like macro economies, are really compelling.
Funghibull:And I was very lucky to have a few friends much smarter than myself, who were a lot earlier to NFTs, that were helping me kind of break down these walls of comprehension. So, yeah, but I think first I was like what the hell is going on? What the hell is going on here? And then quickly like I think there might was like what, what the hell is going on, what the hell is going on here? And then quickly like I think there might be something to this and yeah, eventually I have to get involved in some way. This is fascinating, yeah.
NorCal Guy:Now, did you get involved in like late 2020, or was it early 21? It was late 2020.
Funghibull:Yeah, a close friend of mine, alex gosman, founder of nftx um, helped me pick up a couple of punks. Uh, that was my first like big bet on nfts um, and I was just going to like chill, you know, I didn't expect them to get a lot of price action uh in the short term. And then they did and I had that oh, am I a genius moment? Uh, which was really just me realizing like, wow, I'm so lucky. Uh, thank God for good friends. Um and uh, and then started to get more deeply involved in like early 2021, like February is-ish, yeah were you part of the the top shots thing, or totally?
Funghibull:missed top shots. Yeah, I totally missed top shots. And I also missed art block summer. I I, oh yeah, barely minted, uh, during that luckily picked up a few pieces, but nothing that you know, no Fidenzas or uh, ringers or anything like that.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, all right, all right, fair, fair. So did you collect art or anything else before getting into NFTs?
Funghibull:Uh, I think as a kid, you know, like a lot of others, um, I developed a pretty sick like pokemon card collection, uh, and some other sports cards, and I had a thing for like hot wheels and, um, oh yeah, yeah, I would even like. Once we had like a computer and, uh, I was good at using it. I remember like I'm gonna start making like folders for all of my favorite cars and I'm going to organize them and like find pictures on the internet and and and started to, yeah, just right click save. I guess what was kind of like a vision board, you know, of a kid who's just like I want cool, fast, expensive things, uh, in the future, um, but I, I'd say that that's probably about it. Yeah, I wasn't really into collecting art in any meaningful way a few prints here and there at like craft fairs, um, uh, or just from online marketplaces and stuff, but that was about it, yeah.
NorCal Guy:All right, all right. So what are the best things about Web3 today?
Funghibull:I think it's still the people first and foremost.
Funghibull:I think the concentration of deeply passionate, incredibly intelligent, creative and optimistic people with deep sets of skills is unparalleled truly believe there is no other industry or area of focus that has as well-rounded of a community of participants who are as capable and future forward thinking, um, and who are also as fun to be around. So, uh, I'd say the the people first and foremost, and then, I think, also just the ways in which the space is slowly but surely maturing. I think I've seen a lot of companies rise up, whether they're great products or more community-based. Seeing that happen in the art side of Web3 has been really cool. Some artist and curator-led initiatives or companies I mean big shout out to ClickReit and the work you guys do, as well as some artist collectives like BritoDAO and Making it what Patrick Amidon's doing. Yeah, just seeing these cultural machines kind of like take shape and do meaningful things has yeah is kind of one of the more exciting things for me these days.
NorCal Guy:Yeah Well, I mean you yourselves are like focused on the people there at Schiller. I mean all the time giving shout outs and doing spaces for people. So I mean a big part of that. I mean you're helping foster that jokingly.
Funghibull:Uh tweeted earlier like um schiller is my roman empire uh, it's like that is like where, so much of my focus is uh and ultimately, where. Yeah, like, a lot of the work I do goes towards um and it's been really fun to build out and grow at a steady, programmed, uh kind of organic pace, uh, so that's been super rewarding um, and, yeah, very grateful for all the community support on that, for sure so where do you see digital art and nfts in five years and do you have any concerns as it expands?
Funghibull:Yeah, I mean, that's a great question. I don't know if I'm smart enough to really comprehend where things will be in five years, but I'll try, I think. When it comes to looking ahead, I see, just in general, a world where its community members, on average, are having a greater and greater surplus of either time or liquid capital that can be expended freely, or disposable income. I could say, um, I think that where art collecting, for example, used to be something done by only the richest of the rich, uh, in very closed circles, I see this propagating to the average random person who is currently, you know, buying uh prints on etsy, um, and uh buying you know, uh shower curtains of their favorite artists, like work on, uh, uh, not artsy, but uh, society six or something, um, I see that coming onchain because it is just so much cooler. It's one of those things where crypto can both only crypto, I guess can support that those direct, frictionless payments and ways of supporting creators and provably knowing that you did indeed support the person who made it, rather than paying a massive fee to like a print on demand service, who may or may not have just like ripped off that artist, right, and, I think, having that concept become common knowledge, and then having the back-end infrastructure that abstracts away all of the clunky crypto payment UX and onboarding is just going to make that super ubiquitous to, instead of buying, yeah, just random crap on the internet, actually supporting artists in a way that's much more equitable and aligned with the creator economy that we want to see, you know, thriving and flourishing. So I think that is, like, at a macro level, a trend that I'm very, very bullish on, and very bullish for artists, as well as for those that are supporting artists, whether they're brands, like recognizing that, hey, maybe working with an artist in a super equitable way is an awesome chance for us to, you know, exhibit our cultural relevance and awareness and have like a bit of a symbiotic relationship where artists are compensated but the brands benefit too, and I think that's fine and great. Or for patrons and collectors who are really showing their conviction in the artists who are here presently or soon to arrive, who share our excitement at a, you know, tokenized world of art. And, yeah, I'm super excited for that and I think the worries less of I don't have a lot of. I mean, like one thing I've been thinking about recently.
Funghibull:Um, that, I think, is just going to be really hard to work against, uh, or you know, uh, negate in any way. Is that the things that we love and benefit from the most about? You know, blockchain enabled tech and and currency or wealth or asset transfer is that they are permissionless and frictionless and it runs 24 seven and that's great. It feels like you know it should you know, like I should be able to transfer anything that I own whenever I want to whoever I want, um, and have that kind of free market um be expressed in the rails wherein it lives. Um, like that just is very logical, but uh, and then I, we benefit and artists benefit from that um, when you are able to uh directly support a creator, uh, and then I think where it gets really challenging is just the exact same side of things.
Funghibull:Uh, when people can buy and sell as freely as they want something that you put your heart and soul into. Uh, I think it's there's that's just always going to be really difficult to manage, um, where an artist or creator of some kind releases work into the world, um, and just sees it floored, you know, and with the royalties negated. Like I think that, uh, that is one way, uh, or one example where, like emotionally, it might be easier for a gallery to just take care of that uh, for you not to uh be super aware where your heart is or who is enjoying it. Uh, because you don't know that some you know quote-unquote patron or lifetime supporter of the arts just sold for half what they paid you for it and is moving on to other things. So I think that's like just a really tricky thing.
Funghibull:Like we want you all kinds of asset transfer and ownership to be 24-7, frictionless, permissionless, but then we have to deal with the results of that or the environment that that creates, and I think that's just always going to be hard. So I think it's going to take a while for people, especially new coming artists, to attune themselves to that and build up that degree of resilience which I'm like very confident they will Uh cause. Artists, I think you and I both know, are like the most resilient human beings uh on the planet, probably, um, but it still is a piece of themselves Uh, and and and. Yeah, my heart always goes out to the creators of work that you see getting maybe mistreated, maybe yeah, if I could use that word Right, right.
NorCal Guy:So I'm curious what makes you decide to buy a piece, what pushes you over the edge like, okay, I need to go get that piece. Do you sit with it for a little bit, or is it like talking with the artist, getting to know them first?
Funghibull:or sometimes just a. I need that. Yeah, it's a good question and, like, um, I think it's often has to come from a place of I am aware of this person. I've been developing some context of who they are. You know, there's a part of my mind that is now dedicated to who I understand that person to be and what their body of work is. Their body of work is Just because I want to know that I'm not buying something or collecting something totally speculatively and that I feel like I have a good sense of, you know, why somebody is doing something, whether or not that's making art or releasing a project or whatever it may be, or not that's making art or releasing a project or whatever it may be.
Funghibull:Um, I have a limited amount of capital and I have to spend it wisely if, if I want to be, you know, efficient both, uh, in terms of supporting the quote-unquote right people, as my mind tries to see fit, uh, as well as making, like you know, reasonable financial decisions, um, right, right. So I would say it's probably on a sliding scale of like, uh, you know, no one ever wants to talk about the money side of things, uh, but if, like, if something is like, if, if I can buy something without worrying about the price at all, like whatever it's listed, it doesn't register as uh, uh, a serious expense for me or expenditure for me, then like the other things aren't quite as important. Um, in terms of like, I don't have to like vibe or fact check or whatever, like I don't, not that I'm like you know, not that I'm like doing like detective work or anything, but like I don't necessarily need to have developed like a thesis on. Like I think this is why this person makes art and like I think this is kind of what they're scratching at. In terms of both you know their inner workings and the world as they see it, and I don't necessarily need to have that degree of connection or perceived understanding.
Funghibull:Um, if I'm just like this is dope and I can easily afford it and never sell it, cool, like that's all I need to know. Um, and when it's a larger uh, like when the price is higher, um, and isn't something that I can just like hit, you know, buy or collect like multiple times a day on without thinking about how that affects me, I do have to like really sit with it. It's pretty rare that I'll just collect something as soon as it pops up, right, it's usually. I've gotten to know that artists, either directly or just having you know, followed them for ages. Um, I've uh been waiting for the right piece.
Funghibull:You know right in terms of me and what resonates, um, and I have to know that, uh, uh, yeah, I am very comfortable spending this amount of money and potentially never selling Realistically never selling is kind of always the way to plan. It is like I've acquired this, I have to be okay with never letting it go, and then, if it's much more than that, then I have to have like I'd be lying if I said I wasn't contemplating, like okay, what is like my conviction in this?
Funghibull:in this artist like long term, like do I feel like there may or may not be a financial upside in?
Funghibull:the next x, you know years, whatever, um, but the latter is like rarely the case, like it's only occasionally that I'll spend amounts that really warrant that kind of, uh, internal dialogue, um, and often it's because I've seen a piece and then, even after I stop looking at it, I keep thinking about it. I'm just walking and I'm like, oh, maybe this is what they were saying. Or, man, I have to pull out my phone or I have to look at it again, I have to go look back through their other work, or I have to like message them and ask because, like I'm just so goddamn curious now, and it's when that's happening and, uh, I I'm resonating deeply enough that I'm like, okay, like yes, like I will absolutely try and pick this up, yeah yeah, that makes sense.
NorCal Guy:I feel that a lot. I feel that what, what would you like to see more of in this crypto art space?
Funghibull:It's a good question, like a lot of things, man, like a lot of things. It's got so many good parts to it. Has a lot of like, not great parts to it. Some of the things that I'd love to see more of because that's definitely the more positive way to speak about it, uh is I'd love to see more encouraged experimentation.
Funghibull:Um and I'd love to see people putting less pressure on artists to quote unquote deliver. Obviously, there's times in which promises get made or plans get published and, like anything, we should try, and, you know, hold people to their word, but also show compassion when their circumstance changes. And I think, just having spoken with and connected with so many artists luckily over the past few years, it's just so abundantly clear how much pressure they are each putting on themselves, uh, and it's immense, like the world is putting on so much pressure, typically first telling them don't do this uh, and yet they do. And then, once they're starting to find a community that supports them and all of these technological devices and tools, whether it's smart contracts or dynamic, you know, dynamic art techniques or new mediums that they can express themselves in, uh, in, in, you know, digitally, um. I think just adding levels of uh, of pressure is not good. So I I'd love to see more experimentation, um, supported uh, and I'd love to just see more artists doing it, um, who feel, because I think many do want to uh, many want to try putting out additions or pieces on other chains, but they will say in private, like I don't want to get, you know, viewed as being opportunistic, um, and or I don't you know want to want people to think I'm just like jumping on the next thing and I'm going to keep doing that, and I think it's like you know, you do have to develop a sense of what is like right for yourself, um, and you have to act in accordance with your understanding of that Um. But I think there's just a lot of fear, um, behind a lot of this hesitation. Uh, and yeah, I, it's just a lot of fear behind a lot of this hesitation. And yeah, it's just a cool thing when you see artists behaving and operating freely, because I think that's when it starts. You start speed running, the knowledge acquisition or skill acquisition of knowing when it is the right thing for you, um, through, you know, figuring out what's the wrong thing, um and uh, and what felt good, and and not in a wow, so much dopamine kind of way, but in a like, very heart-centered, like, oh, I feel much freer for having done that. Um and yeah and I, I think that's like the main.
Funghibull:There's lots of other things like I'd also love to see more artists getting together and just supplying a bit of organization, um, into doing things, uh, whether that's putting on exhibitions, raising money for, you know, relevant causes, um, whether that's supporting themselves or, you know, doing something like bringing other artists out to conferences or anything like that. I would love to see more organized groups that they find their. One person who is like, hey, I wrote down the plan and the notes and, oh, I'll set up the nonprofit and I'll do, I'll set up the multi-sig, and like I'd love to see more of that. I feel like I've only gone to know intimately at least, like a very small handful of collectives such as that, such as that, and I feel like there's there's a ton of value to be both generated and captured in equitable ways. So, yeah, those are. Those are my top answers, I think.
NorCal Guy:I like it. Do you have a piece of advice or a mantra that you kind of live by? Go by that like is in your head that's a good question.
Funghibull:Um, trying not to say something that sounds too cringe and, yeah, like attempting to be too profound or anything. Um, I'd say like, uh, you know, connect with people because you want to, um, not because you want something. Um, I think the best friendships, the best things that have happened to me in this space have just come from a pure sense of curiosity, for wanting to better understand people, or just know them, or having some inkling selfish, even that, like, I think my life might be better for knowing this person. And yeah, I think that it's much too easy to, or far too easy to, operate transactionally in a space that is so heavily predicated upon transactions, whether they're on chain or whatever transactions, whether they're on chain or whatever. And I think we're in a very rare window of time where we're able to connect with pretty much anyone in crypto or web three, and that's to be, you know, honored, I think, for yourself as well as for the window of opportunity for all of us that it presents. And, yeah, I would say, yeah, connect because you want to and also think like big.
Funghibull:I mean, there's a lot of people wanting to build things. There's a lot of people wanting to build things. There's a lot of people with very enmeshed ideas of what would be a great feature tool, product, collective publication, content series and I think that it gets really hard when we try and do it ourselves and also it doesn't go very far when we think too small. I think having those unattainable goals is super helpful and then finding the people that naturally vibe with whatever it is you're trying to do or put out. So I don't think I have like, uh, a single thing, um, uh, it's really just um, be the vibes you want to see more of in the world, whether that's supporting others for the sake of it or or just sharing more of who you are in hopes that, uh, maybe someone else does too, and maybe someone resonates with you and you get to be friends. Yeah, I think some one of those three is maybe the things I think of the most.
NorCal Guy:I like it. So now kind of changing it into some more fun, lighthearted questions, let's do it. What is your favorite movie quote?
Funghibull:Ooh, the one that comes top of mind is a fun one, and I might be paraphrasing, but this is from the movie Waking Life, where one of the characters says on quiet nights of the self, I go salsa dancing with my emotions. And I don't know what it is about that, but I saw it when I was 13 and I haven't stopped thinking like it's always.
Funghibull:It's always just taken up space, uh, and as someone who's like a little insular and and really enjoys time alone just thinking and walking, um, uh, yeah, that one hits sweet.
NorCal Guy:That's solid. What is the best thing?
Funghibull:and the silliest thing you've spent money on, uh in this space uh is probably been investing in schiller um. That has been uh there. You know there's a bunch of artists that have felt really great for having supported and art that I'm like super grateful and lucky to now own um other things that have involved like trades, which cool, but, um, I'd say the most rewarding has been like investing in what we're building at schiller um and that, yeah, that's probably my top choice. Uh silliest thing one of the janky ether rocks man I, I remember I got a phone call one night, um, and someone was like, hey, okay, so you know, ether, there's actually a version of them that's two days older and we've just found a way to buy them. They're currently all listed for like 20 ETH.
Funghibull:This is when ETH was like $4,000. If you want one, you have to get them now. But the problem in the contract is that unless you instantly list the price for higher than what you bought it, it will revert back and be available as a buy now for the price that you paid for it. It was like a contract bug. So I was like just smashing fast gas and battling between, like Gary V, 888, and a bunch of like I don't know much bigger traders and collectors than me and I managed to get one of these, but I didn't know if I had to list it in Gway or in ETH, um, because you had to do it at the contract or like the janky, like ui level on the website.
Funghibull:I think I listed it for like eight billion eth or something like that, thinking I was doing it in quay and uh, and yeah, like didn't end up turning a profit on that um, but uh, that was probably the stupidest thing I've bought. Um, and yeah, I, it was one of those like peak euphoria season of the 2021 bull run, uh, fever dream moments where you're like guys, gary v is trying to buy, we need to like, your time is now or never. Uh, and if I had just sold it five minutes later, I could have like 5x my money, uh, but I got greedy held, uh, waited two weeks and then eventually listed it and sold it like for a little less than what I paid for um, and then, within five minutes, sotheby's announced that they would be auctioning one of these like earlier ether rocks. Uh, uh, like a week later and then one instantly sold for double what I had sold mine. So I was like god damn it, stupid, stupid moves, stupid games, stupid prizes oh man solid.
NorCal Guy:That's a good story, man, yeah it was fun.
Funghibull:For sure not smart, but fun man.
NorCal Guy:So this one's a little bit harder. But if you could commission a piece and have two artists collaborate on it, which two artists collaborate on it?
Funghibull:which two artists would it be? That's a really good question. I don't know how this would come into existence, but I would probably say Joe Peace and Summer Wagner. I don't know what it would look like, but that is what I would want, all right.
NorCal Guy:Have to make it happen now.
Funghibull:Yeah, I'm setting the intention out there, joe or Summer, if either of you hear this and want to make my happen now. Yeah, I'm setting the attention out there, joe or summer, if either of you hear this, uh, and want to make my dreams come true, um, I'd be happy even to just right click, save or enjoy on.
NorCal Guy:Uh, virtually um, but my, my wallet address is publicly available too what is your favorite way to connect with new people in the space?
Funghibull:um, I'd probably say on spaces honestly, um, yeah, I think, uh, I like it's very chronically online of me to say, but IRL, when we go to conferences and events and things, be excited to see that um, it's always a struggle just to fit in the people that I feel like I could comfortably call my friends already. Um, so the uh opportunity to connect, uh, the opportunities to connect with people I don't have a relationship with yet um are maybe fewer and far between, far between at something like NFT, nyc or Art Basel or something. So I think a really nice way to get a sense of someone and connect with them is just talking on a Twitter space or X space where you can get a sense of their tone space or x space, uh, where you can get a sense of, you know, their tone. Um, it's easier to like vibe, check and understand and, you know, probe and ask questions.
Funghibull:Where dms are in are a minefield for me. I rarely see stuff that I should uh and comments get lost and yeah, I would say, like you know, even just having like a five minute conversation even if it's not me like on a stage, just me getting to listen to someone from the audience, that's one of my favorite ways, like either talking to them directly or just listening to what they have to say. Yeah, nice.
NorCal Guy:Do you have any hot takes?
Funghibull:um, I feel like I like one hot take. Um, is that, I mean, I'm not a like, uh, I'm not a maximalist, but I think so any hot take I have, okay, I usually have the hot take on the other side of the equation too. So, uh, you know, one example would be like collectors in web 3 should stop trying to assert their knowledge over what artists shouldn't or shouldn't do Like it's a bad look. It's rarely being requested and you may not actually know anything about that person, what they want to do or about art in general. And maybe you've just been obsessed for a few months. And even if you do like, there's a chance that by just asserting that take in an unprompted way, you are diminishing the likelihood of someone receiving it positively. So collectors should stop telling artists what to do.
Funghibull:On the other hand, I often see takes from artists that are like don't ever like, let a you know collector or anyone tell you how to market your artwork or yourself. And I don't agree with that either, because a lot of the people that are on the collecting side of things come from like business or entrepreneurship or industry of some kind, often related to tech. There may be viewing, you know, online presence and leverage, you know, the use of social media in a more analytical way, and they're also doing a lot of reflecting on how they're acquiring or stumbling upon new artists, and I think to discount the knowledge or opinions of others is maybe not the best, and so I think it's all about you know the, the medium, uh, or intentions, uh, or arena wherein the message is shared, um, or received from the artist side, uh. So I think, yeah, those are my two like hot takes that maybe create one lukewarm take, um. And then I think another thing like uh, is that people should, um, probably learn the fucking tech like uh. I think that's something that is majorly slept on in this space, um, whether it's from, like you know, early entrants who are just doing a little degenerate trading, or from artists who have maybe been around a long time but the only functions they ever really had to master or like tasks was like minting artwork and to go beyond that felt extra and maybe just totally seemed like unnecessary.
Funghibull:I think learning things like proper security, also learning like, hey, what is DeFi? What is a smart contract? Like, what other token standards are there, and are there any that might make sense as like vehicles for me to deepen both my creative expression as well as express my understanding of the medium wherein I'm releasing work. I think those things can go a really long way. It takes like there's not that many artists that like deeply understand or even like yeah, let me say deeply understand, like smart contracts and kind of like the underlying tech culture, or like CT, crypto, twitter culture, as well as mastering their own craft during their own craft, and I think those that do continue to seek knowledge on those things often seem to do quite well and find ways to express themselves in forms that resonate with collectors and people who deeply value just the fact that we're doing this all on Ethereum or solana or wherever else, um, and that the, the tech is important, uh, within this industry. Um, yeah, I'd say those are.
Funghibull:Those are my, my mild takes not good with hot takes, like I anytime there's drama. I'm just like my life will be better if I just don't care and for sure and like avoid getting into this like cesspool of a twitter debate. Um right, uh, it's true. Yeah, so I don't know. I wish I thought I probably do have some, but like none that I think are that good or productive.
NorCal Guy:So last question you've mentioned Schiller a few times. Tell us in the audience about Schiller, what you do there and any other projects you might be having or coming up.
Funghibull:Thanks, yeah, so um Schiller started as a marketing and consulting company, um, really catering towards transparency, hence the name Um. We wanted to work with great people and we've done that for a few years. Uh, we've worked with over 35 companies across verticals in the space, touched on pretty much every domain of on-chain activity or community that might exist, and we originally wanted to start by working with artists, realized it's kind of tough to do in an equitable and ethical way, so let's just see if we can support artists for free in other ways. So we started that by exhibiting the works of artists on these mobile galleries around NFT NYC and Art Basel Miami. To date we've exhibited about 800 artists so far at events like these.
Funghibull:We leaned into media last year, launching our first kind of NFT sales, have done a bunch of fun art commissions and have five weekly spaces series covering art tech culture, series covering art tech culture and as well as offering, you know, two hours of free consulting for artists or developers or founders every Wednesday, alongside a couple of podcasts we put out, all headed up by our awesome director of media, buna, and assisted by our amazing creative director, connor, and our goal really for Schiller is to be a source of permaculture in the space, a source of support for what we want to see more of. We don't typically talk about that. Our tongue-in-cheek rule since starting Schiller was we will not shill Schiller unless asked, hence me talking about that. Our tongue in cheek rule since starting Shiller was we will not shill Shiller unless asked, hence me talking about it. But yeah.
Funghibull:I think this year we're going to start talking about it a little bit more because there's not a lot of others doing the same thing and we're super proud of what we're doing.
Funghibull:So the most pressing new things to come out is we will be rolling out a new season of Shiller Media, which is kind of a NFT-backed art collecting experience for our community members to support us, however they can, and for us to commission great artworks and put on some exhibitions for artists in real space and have just some fantastic content that celebrates those that are making the space special as it is so founders, artists, collectors and so forth. And we'll also be putting on a three-day event series at NFT NYC. So I'm really excited about that. It's the first time we've fully leaned into you know IRL events beyond, you know single night dinners and kind of parties and stuff. So really stoked about that. And, yeah, just working with some bad-ass people uh doing cool things in web three, um, that uh, we're super grateful to uh have have a board, um, but yeah, thanks. Thanks so much for asking.
NorCal Guy:Yeah, man, well, fungie, I just want to say thank you so much for coming on the show today and so much for your time and uh, I really appreciate all you do in the space and uh, I actually can't wait to uh hang out and see you in uh, what was that about? A month from now.
Funghibull:Yeah, yeah, thank you so much for having me on and for all you do. I wish this hologram, uh punk of mine, uh could show when I'm smiling definitely blushing and smiling at the Braves. But yeah, really grateful for everything you do in this space and just grateful to have the chance to come on and chat with you and stoke the vibe, whether that's in Denver or New York. Well, I'll be looking forward to it.
NorCal Guy:Sounds good, man, you take care, yeah, you too, have a good day Bye.
Funghibull:Who is this guy who?
NorCal Guy:is this guy? Who is this guy? Who is this?
Funghibull:guy. Who is this guy? Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal guy. Norcal and chill. It's show Norco guy. Norco guy, norco and chill podcast. So it's chill time, norco and chill podcast. What the what the chill? Norco and chill podcast. So it's chill time, norco and chill podcast. What the what the chill.