Etsy Came to Visit!
Etsy came to visit me!
DLJ has had a long-standing relationship with Etsy (6 years strong!) so I was flattered that they wanted to come and check out the studio. Believe it or not, Etsy just celebrated their 10th birthday as a company (HBD!) and over that time period they have grown to over 1 million sellers and craftspeople. It’s been a whirlwind of growth, for both Etsy and DLJ, so I was happy to welcome them into the office and talk about growing our partnership. 
Here’s what went down:
Last Thursday, a team of seven Etsy sellers walked over to the DLJ studio in Downtown Brooklyn from their headquarters in Dumbo. The women were genuinely interested in the background of DLJ, they asked me how I got started making jewelry, and how DLJ began as a company. In turn, each of them told me how they got started at Etsy and what their roles are there. They told me what it was like to work at Etsy, and one of the coolest things I learned was that every department at Etsy handles the support@etsy.com emails at some point during the year. I think it's really great that Etsy makes sure the entire company, no matter what department, is in tune with the questions and concerns of the sellers and buyers on Etsy.
After we finished the initial intros, I gave them a tour of the office and a breakdown of how each piece is made. I picked an order to fill that required me to make my Gold Teardrop Hoops. I showed them how I measured and shape the gold filled wire on a pill bottle (they're significantly lighter and much less expensive than mandrels, so I don't care if it looks sketchy!) and then hammered them out on my steel block. I showed them how I gift wrap each item with a hand cut lace bow.
What I loved most about our meeting was the ability to be honest. I shared some of my insights: on Etsy’s branding (enough with the hipster-mustaches-on-everything!), creating a better filtering option for shoppers, and I suggested that they purchase a large beautiful building and rent out the spaces as studios to Etsy sellers (can’t hurt to suggest!). In turn, the Etsy sellers gave me some great advice on how to grow in the online jewelry space and how to continue to grow on Etsy. They also gave me an open invitation to get lunch at their office, (their cafeteria is known as “Eatsy!"), so I decided to take them up on that offer and interpreted it as seven separate invitations to go to lunch. Ultimately, it was great to be able to relate and be real with a company I’ve done so much work with over the years. It’s also great to know that Etsy is committed, and invested, in their relationship with me and DLJ. It was such a fun day, I’m looking forward to seeing them again, and the Eatsy, soon! 