Etsy has had quite a growth spurt in the past year, and we have the awkward pictures to prove it. We are posting a series of About Us pieces to help you get to know the Etsy admin (and since many of us work remotely, for the admin to get to know each other!). Some of the Etsy admin are new hires, and some have been working at Etsy from the start, or they're somewhere in between. You've seen the admin badge, and maybe you're a bit curious about the person behind it! For more on Etsy's mission and about the company, please see our About page (the link is in the little blue footer of every Etsy page).

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Alex aka alexandersomma…Where to start?  Alex is one of the most unique people I’ve ever met.  I look at these photos and think to myself, “Wow, baby Alex with box on head: that is soooo Alex.”  He’s type of geek who has a t-shirt that lights up when it sniffs out wifi signals. And he’s a gentleman who always treats people with a conscientiousness unparalleled.

The thing I love about Alex is the way he can go from being chatty and talking about a million things at a million miles a minute (like how he was able to get on wifi for his entire train trip from Montreal to NYC) and then — all of sudden when something important comes up — he is in problem-solver mode in this super-intense way.  It’s like he has superhero  powers.  I think this is why he’s lovely to work with and good at what he does, which is QA (Quality Assurance with Annette. Find out what Quality Assurance is here). Alex has been working at Etsy since December 2006.

Anda recounts the evening that the last people to leave the Labs had no key to lock the door behind them.  Alex was the one who invented the way to lock the door from the outside with a mere piece of hot pink string, a Toonie, and some Canadian ingenuity. He totally saved the day, but Anda still wonders whether the Toonie was really necessary.

Here's another example of why Alex is great: we were on the subway in NYC and he had his $100 laptop out and randomly struck up the loveliest conversation with a complete stranger, wherein Alex convinced her to buy one for her young child. He is so patient and loves to teach and encourage people!

Alex fun facts:
Has a lovely Canadian accent.
His father is a goldsmith.
He loooooooves Linux.
He always travels to Etsy Labs with at least one female companion.
Alex has a new gadget to play with everytime he visits the Etsy Labs.
He always gets injured and has to go to the emergency room whenever he visits.
See, he does love cookies. He loved 'em in high school.

Check out the background of this picture. Now imagine how hard  Alex would play for hours on end. Now imagine Alex today — exactly the same.


See all posts in this About Us series. Read some of Alex's articles. And here are some of Alex's favorites below...