Etsy filed $100 million for its initial public offering Wednesday evening. For the Brooklyn-based e-commerce craft marketplace poised to go public, it’s an appropriate time for soul-searching.
Etsy had its small beginnings 10 years ago in a Brooklyn apartment. Three NYU students founded the company after one of them, Robert Kalin, couldn’t find a market to sell a wood-encased computer he had created.
Last year, the company reported $195.6 million in sales, up 56.4 percent from 2013. Some of the eye-catching items on the website include a hand-embroidered chiffon halter F. Scott Fitzgerald-inspired dress in soft pink for $139, shipped from Toronto, Canada; and a hanging lampshade made in Slovakia with porcelain white geometric shapes that protrude in every direction for $144.
But even as Etsy evolves from its indie origins, some sellers have left the company, fearing the homogenization of crafts, following company policy changes.
In the fall of 2013, the company known for its do-it-yourself flair began allowing mass manufacturing operations, so that an item mass produced in China could be side by side on the site with a custom-made bracelet crafted by a college student. The new policies “allow you to partner with manufacturers to produce your designs,” according to Etsy’s website.
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