Pursuits
Etsy's Funky Brooklyn Headquarters
A trip through Etsy's Brooklyn headquarters
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As the purveyor of 11 million handmade and vintage items, Etsy has become the Web’s biggest marketplace for arts and crafts. Inside the warehouse, young workers toil in clusters, some offering technical support, some tending to the company’s website, others dealing with customers directly. The company’s light-filled office—which showcases its wares and its playful sensibility—is essentially a nursery school for grown-ups.
The place is more funky than tasteful. In the middle of one wall-mounted art installation hangs the Etsy mantra: “STAY HANDMADE.” (Etsy’s name is derived from pseudo-Latin and pseudo-Italian: “et si.” It’s all rather hazy.)