Maria (Etsy’s Chief Executive Officer) and I (Liz, Etsy Admin for Internationalization) just got back from Europe! We had the great pleasure to meet with Etsy sellers, buyers and friends in Munich, Berlin, Paris and London between March 29 and April 4, 2009.
From left to right: Fée à Bastille, TortillaGirl, MonAmiVie, LaCometaLab, Muka, Malam (Photo by Maria aka pesmou)
We also had the chance to meet with marketing and PR specialists, bloggers, and the founders of other leading ecommerce companies in different industries. All of these folks helped provide a much clearer picture of not only the differences and similarities of the individual markets, but also the challenges and opportunities for Etsy as we continue to grow internationally.
Still being new to Etsy (I started working here in January, 2009), it was great to meet and hear in person the passion that you all have for your work and for the Etsy community. And what an incredibly global community it is! As Diana (LaCometaLab) so eloquently put it in her blog post about the Paris event: “As soon as the gathering started we realized what truly an international community we are: The range of nationalities was quite impressive… There were people from the U.S., Switzerland, Argentina, Norway or Spain, and some of them had come from different locations in France to be just there.” We counted at least a dozen nationalities beyond the ones that were local to the cities we visited, and we heard story after story of the valued relationships formed through Etsy — the word “addicted” was used more than once to describe the relationship many people have to the community.
In each meeting Maria and I shared a bit of the nearly 4-year history of Etsy and gave some background as to how we got to where we are today. But we tried to spend most of our time listening to all of you! In addition to feedback about desired features and functionality, we were also given great suggestions about popular local blogs (LesMads, for example) and magazines (such as LandLust) to check out. We were educated that people love to blog (and write books!) in France, that Germans strongly prefer bank transfer as a form of payment, and that sellers in the UK are really clamoring to list their prices in British pounds. Though we can’t promise when that last request will be met, we can say that making USD more clear on the site really is coming soon, and that in addition to “Europe” as a shipping option we also plan to include an “EU Only” choice based on your feedback from this trip.
Some more of Maria’s photos from the trip. Top: Anasousa (Paris), ArianeLulu (Paris), RoseRedRose (Berlin)
Bottom: GetEurofied (Denmark via London) with me; SnapDragonBeads & MyAphrodite (London)
As you might have guessed from that bottom photo on the right, I also had the pleasure of attending “Handm@de Cambridge” on Saturday April 4, 2009. Hand@de Cambridge was put on by several Etsy members, including the ladies above, as well as LazyGiraffe, MomentsByMartha, and TwinklySpangle. There’s a great blog post recapping the event. Six hundred people turned out to buy fantastic handmade items.
LushandLovely with ArtyAllSorts
Maria and I want to say thanks again to everyone who came out to see us — often traveling to do so — as we really appreciated that you took the time out of your busy lives to help educate us on both your market and individual needs.
As mentioned in the original post about our trip, the next stop is Canada! This time I’ll be traveling with a couple other members of the Etsy team (likely from the Product and Engineering Teams) and we’re targeting the first weekend (Friday-Saturday) in May. Details will follow in a separate post. In the meantime, if you’d like more information you can click here to add your name to the Canada mailing list. If you’ve already done so from our earlier post, no need to do it again as we have your name on file.
A bientot!
Liz aka Muka
90 comments
Sign in to add your owntinahdee says:
Wow, that would be so cool to check out the UK Street Team. I especially love Ireland. :)
3 years ago
ScottieinaCanoe says:
Sounds like an Awesome trip! I am envious!!! :)
3 years ago
SeaFindDesigns says:
Talented team!!!
3 years ago
monamivie says:
It was so great to meet everyone! We should make it an annual event :)
3 years ago
WoollyWonka says:
Lucky them!
3 years ago
heidiburton says:
Yay! I popped along to Handmade Cambridge too, it was fantastic! Hope you enjoyed your visit :)
3 years ago
inRibbons says:
Glad you had a good time! Almost made it to Cambridge but just missed out:)
3 years ago
AMIdesigns says:
sorry to have missed your trip. maybe you'll fit Ireland into your next one :)
3 years ago
FlanneryCrane says:
Thanks for sharing...interesting read. Like the photos too.
3 years ago
mythunderstood says:
This is really wonderful, bravo!
3 years ago
beadartjewelrysupply says:
I enjoy following th UK Street Team's forum posts, so it's nice to put a face or two to a team that's so far away...Thanks for sharing!
3 years ago
PaperLeaf says:
Can't wait for the Europe shipping option, that will make a huge difference! Thanks for taking the time to visit us in Cambridge :)
3 years ago
adoreneko says:
Great to see the Etsy international communities!
3 years ago
thestapeliacompany says:
Love it.
3 years ago
snapdragonbeads says:
Was great to meet and chat with you Liz!
3 years ago
tortillagirl says:
Glad to see you two made it back safely! I really enjoyed getting to know everyone at the meeting. Thanks for coming over and taking the time to see us. [If you ever decide to head back, please let me know!] If anyone is interested in seeing additional "spontaneous" shots that I took during the Paris meetup, I published some on my blog: http://www.tortillagirl.com/2009/04/spontaneous_shots_at_etsy_pari.php
3 years ago
pengpengs says:
sounds like that trip was a blast! thanks for sharing it.
3 years ago
andrewsreclaimed says:
Merci, Etsy!
3 years ago
dogties says:
Looks like fun! Amazing items... Rock on Europe!
3 years ago
EpicBones says:
what a fabulous trip. so jealous! i wanna fly out and meet etsy people!!
3 years ago
AliBaliJewellery says:
ooooh, UK peeps are famous!! Looks brilliant, wish i could have come along...
3 years ago
TheChownJewels says:
:( <--- Very sad face, I was planning to come to the meeting in London, but had to cancel! *sniff* But glad it was a good trip :D
3 years ago
SleepDreamPlay says:
It was a great evening, and a pleasure to meet everyone! Really helped me out a lot.
3 years ago
malam says:
It was really nice to meet you all :-)) (my eyes look so weird on this pic, they really are not looking in the same direction, are they?? LOL)
3 years ago
Waterrose says:
Great to hear from other parts of the world!
3 years ago
muka says:
Thanks for posting the other photos TortillaGirl!
3 years ago
twinklyspangle says:
Can I just say aswell, that the adorable Becci from Momentsbymartha (who makes fabulous jewellery) was a really important part of the organisation of the Cambridge handm@de fair, and we are running fairs in Winchester in July and Oxford again near Christmas :)
3 years ago
lazygiraffe says:
Thanks for the lovely write up! It was great to meet you and I think the Handm@de Cambridge sellers were really pleased that you took the time to see everyones stall and ask them what their work was about. Hope you have a good time in Canada!
3 years ago
michon says:
tough job huh? having to travel to all those cool places and meet people in the handmade business....I don't know how you can stand it ;)
3 years ago
kittykent says:
Oxford handmade perfect for christmas shopping I reckon!
3 years ago
twinklyspangle says:
kittykent - oh yes! Anyone wishing to attend a Handm@de event can check out the details here: http://www.handmadecraftfairs.co.uk/
3 years ago
moonstr says:
so cool!
3 years ago
PoorRobin says:
Thanks so much for the mention of Handm@de! It was great that you had time to come and see all of the hard work of the organizers and crafters for yourself! :)
3 years ago
Mattamorphis says:
How lovely;)
3 years ago
rubywren29 says:
Oh I so wish I could have gone!! Looks great! Yay for UK Etsy :)
3 years ago
GreenPost says:
Wonderful post! I am so happy to be a part of an international community and I hope I get to meet them all someday too!
3 years ago
amyrwyatt says:
Im absolutly kicking myself that I dont live in london, the train fair is ridiculously high. Handm@de is a fantastic idea Im glad the etsy people saw it.
3 years ago
LittleCritters00 says:
oh, these items are so great. I wish I could have been there.
3 years ago
EJPcreations says:
SOUNDS LIKE A WONDERFUL TRIP AND VERY PRODUCTIVE!!! GOOOOO ETSY!!!!
3 years ago
creamrose says:
Fabulous!!
3 years ago
MomentsByMartha says:
It was lovely to meet you Liz, and I'm glad your European tour went well. Several of the Handm@de stallholders mentioned that they were pleased that you took the time to chat to everyone. Thanks so much for the mention. If anyone is interested in other Handm@de fairs they can go to the main site: http://www.handmadecraftfairs.co.uk for links to upcoming fairs.
3 years ago
themagicalbean says:
Great!
3 years ago
lovelygifts says:
Sounds like it was a nice trip!
3 years ago
BlueTerracotta says:
So glad it went well! I wish I could have come up to Paris to meet everyone that day, but maybe next time!!
3 years ago
acageybee says:
Signing up for the Canadian mailing notification now! I'm guessing you'll probably hit Toronto, since it's just a hop & a skip over the border, but there are a ton of Etsy sellers out west in Vancouver that would love to see you visit. :)
3 years ago
fricdementol says:
I'm jealous! :) It's so nice to see everyone together :)) (many thanks for featuring my gocco screen print)
3 years ago
kathiroussel says:
so great to hear about the trip--how nice for all to meet up together-- and in paris no less!! it would be fantastic if we could ALL meet up someday!
3 years ago
LaCometaLab says:
Liz, thanks so much! I was really looking to hear your feedback . It's a perfect summary of the trip and of the great atmosphere allà around it!! To what I already on my blog post is that these meetings have left us - and I hope I can speak for all here- with and ever growing spirit of community here which I really hope we can continue to seed and stimulate until you are back in Europe (you know we are already looking into a Trip II ... ;) ). Thanks to you and Maria for being so cool and open... And thanks for the picks too!! Tortillagirl, yours are fantastic too!
3 years ago
limitz says:
Israel Artists Team (ISART) would loooove to have you visit us in Jerusalem too! :-)
3 years ago
pocketcarnival says:
Sounds GREAT! Can't wait to have the USD more prominent on all the prices, and am very happy that Etsy is starting to take international sellers into account. Hurrah!
3 years ago
zeropumpkin says:
aww i hope that 1 in asia :P
3 years ago
SchneiderGallery says:
Go, go Europe!!!! (esp central part ;))
3 years ago
sandali says:
LOVE the global interaction -- we are all basically the same creatures pointing at the same moon :) Happy Travels !!
3 years ago
irisschwarz says:
It looks like you had a great time here in Europe! The shipping option Europe would be really great. Oh, and thank you so much for being part of the related items!
3 years ago
meeabee says:
I loved this article! Looks like you had fun! Will you come to Japan one day? Look me up!
3 years ago
jodieflowers says:
GREAT shops!!
3 years ago
BayMoonDesign says:
I enjoyed the article and since I'm into all things connected with sea, ocean, coast, I enjoyed seeing the sea urchin creation. I also like visiting the shop in Greece. My daughter spent some time there and I would love to visit there.
3 years ago
RubyStudios says:
Travel fever!!!!
3 years ago
blinkonmynose says:
That's wonderful! The etsy love is being spread all around the world.
3 years ago
timesandchimes says:
We love all of our European friends! In fact, our 2nd sale when we first opened our shop was from across the sea! Thanks for the great article - and for showing off some of their awesome products!
3 years ago
breadandroses says:
Sounds like a fabulous time was had by all! Just reading this makes me feel like I've had a mini-vacation.
3 years ago
ArtMind says:
Thanks so much for posting this here! I was really curious how it all went & I'm delighted to learn that Europe as a shipping destination is going to be reality soon! Thank you!
3 years ago
allthosethrees says:
Was fab to meet you guys! Cheers! :)
3 years ago
leolucaescobar says:
Great to meet you two! It was a blast!
3 years ago
lucywallis says:
Thank you for coming to little olde England. It was GREAT to meet both of you. Lucy x
3 years ago
mariagotijoyas says:
Is wonderful that you could meet each other!!
3 years ago
iomiss says:
wonderful!! Always welcome in Europe!!!
3 years ago
elaa says:
love it!
3 years ago
sisply says:
amazing artists!
3 years ago
lesthings says:
Great to see some of our companions in europe and spain!!! I hope some improvements come from these meetings:))
3 years ago
anasousa says:
Liz and Maria thanks for being so kind! it was great to meet you.
3 years ago
Stemellina says:
WOW !!! I loved reading about this long trip to Europe! I wish you had come to Greece too :)
3 years ago
geteurofied says:
Yeah! It seems that your overall trip was great and I will chat with you soon! ;)
3 years ago
AgapeBridal says:
Wow! Fantastic write-out and thanks for featuring and sharing it! It gives me more hope and not to give up on my shops, but to press on and work on a new theme, image, idea and shop! : )
3 years ago
PALEOLOCHIC says:
Great article! Love to hear that the meeting was very productive and the Etsy community it's getting stronger and bigger! Thanks to all the people who put voice to Europe!
3 years ago
Pizpireta says:
Fabulous!!!!!
3 years ago
macraMe says:
Great meeting! It is so nice to see photos of our Etsy friends! Congrats european Etsyans!! :-) :-)
3 years ago
giusypatch says:
wonderful!! Please, consider Italy, maybe a meeting in Venice or Rome next time you visit Europe :))
3 years ago
kraplap says:
Thanks for this post. I was curious how it went and I'm very happy to hear that Europe will be a shipping destination soon!
3 years ago
kuartzo says:
The meeting must have been great, thank you for sharing! Can't wait to see "Europe" as a shipping destination :)
3 years ago
viltalakim says:
I would have loved to come to Paris, but I didn't have time. Nice to read you have had a great time. Thanks for adding Europe as a shipping destination! Next thing might be prices in Euro's as well???? Or a currency table? That would be such an extra service to our european buyers!
3 years ago
nightcloud2 says:
good to hear things are moving in and towards Europe-- currency table --Yes!
3 years ago
lolos says:
Wow... what a great meeting girls.. Thanks for sharing!! Go Europe!
3 years ago
cynthiadelgiudice says:
Great! When are you guys coming to Buenos Aires? We'd love to meet you too!
3 years ago
JaneBoFelt says:
The meeting must have been great, thank you for sharing!
3 years ago
kalicat says:
Dear Maria and Liz, I had a wonderful time meeting you both and want to say thank you again for coming to London meeting us all. It was really good being able to word our thoughts about etsy and the community :) Coming back soon? all the best, Catherine
3 years ago
LaBestia says:
Excellent Initiative, Hopefully we see the Etsy Crew in meetings around the US. Wonderful pics!
3 years ago
bigdeal168 says:
love love love
3 years ago
AmandaYuDesign says:
Great! amazing :)
3 years ago