Introducing Our New Captain of Social Media: Dave Brown

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Story by Dave Brown

Published on Sept 02, 2010 in Etsy News

Photo by John Maeda

In the movie Rushmore, Bill Murray’s character asks Max Fischer what the secret to life is. His response was something I’ll never forget. He said, “The secret, hmm…I think you just need to find something you love and do it for the rest of your life.”  

Images by Marc Johns and Anthony Burrill

 

For the past twelve years I’ve been doing just that. In 1998, I sold my drum kit for gas money and convinced my college roommate to drive me from New York to San Diego. I was 22, broke and didn’t know a single person, yet open to all possibilities. I had been publishing an underground fanzine since high school, and through that I met a lot of ridiculously talented artists, musicians and entrepreneurs. I’ve always been obsessed with the DIY aesthetic, so I decided to start my own company to support my creative friends. Even though my background was in Sociology, I was determined to learn the biz and connect with anyone who was interested in making this world more awesome. Thus, Holiday Matinee was born and with it, a blog for creative inspiration. From touring with Death Cab For Cutie, dancing with Bjork in Iceland, writing a book and creating a web-series on my pal Kumar, it’s been an amazing ride that let me pair three of my favorite things: good design, promoting creativity and being a decent person. I made a ton of mistakes, but I’ve learned it’s not about making mistakes, it’s how you bounce back and push forward.

And push forward I did. Last week I donated much of the contents of my closet, sold my car, and packed up everything in my apartment. I bought a one-way ticket back to my birthplace, New York. It was quite liberating. And while I’ve never met Jay-Z, I’m definitely feeling the “empire state of mind.” Riding the subway with Hall & Oates cranked up in your headphones has been nothing short of epic. Speaking of epic, I’ve taken a full-time job with a company in Brooklyn that enables people to make a living making things. Yup, Etsy rocks harder than Stevie Wonder at Bonnaroo, and I’m beyond thrilled to be part of a community (and company) that supports people that like to make, create, share, buy, sell, and spread one-of-a-kind love. The handmade revolution is in full effect, and I’ll be taking over as Etsy’s captain of social media. That’s right, Internets: I’m now the guy behind those 140-character tweets, Facebook updates, and introducing new projects like our monthly twitter wallpaper artist series (peep it here). So set your status to awesome, throw on some Tribe and let’s kick it.

Peas out,
Dave

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