Field Trip to Etsy Labs in Brooklyn

Back in March, my Mista in Creative Crime, Little Evey, and I printed ourselves out a Map Quest to the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn, fueled up at Duncan Donuts, and took an official and inspiring tour of the newly launched Etsy Labs, a physical extension of the Etsy shops at Etsy.com!


It's $20 a month to be a member, which is just fabulous because there are all sorts of neat things for you to use in the labs. Donating is encouraged, like if you have fabric you're not going to use anymore, so as a result, there are many very fun donated items. Learn more about an Etsy Lab membership here. Plus all of the classes they offer. Like a Kite Making Party.

Behind the Scenes at Etsy

This is inside of the elevator. We are trying to give you the full picture, from start to finish.


The doors! We made it! We were a little unsure at first of exactly where we were, but these grand doors called Executive Offices were it.


Mary Andrews, pictured here in her office at the very end of a very long hall, opposite the very grand executive doors, was our official Etsy tour and inspiration guide. Mary loves Etsy, and got the job of her dreams when she approached Etsy, offering her services while being a jewelry maker for her own Etsy shop, which is appropriately named Contrary. Notice the sewing machine table that is part of her desk !?!


This is Erin, in Etsy's customer service. She is an actual person answering actual question from actual Esty users. She is not a robot, and she is not based in India. In fact, here is her etsy shop. She sells paintings, and actually this painting is behind her here.


This is another Etsy office. Can't remember who works in it. Mary is sitting to show where an actual person would sit.


This is the very important Brainstorming Board. I'm not sure if that's really what they call it at Etsy, but it's what I called it in my notes, and what I would call it if was in my office.


This is the conference room, where Etsy's many full time programmers come in and combine brains. It is a very important room with a view. Actually, it should be noted that all of the rooms in Etsy's suite have views.


The kitchen. It does have a window, in that it is in the open area of the main Etsy Lab room that has a wall of windows, as you'll soon see...

Making Things at Etsy Labs

This here is the grand Etsy Labs shop room for making things. There are lots of neat things in here, including the area you see behind Mary which merges a skateboarding ramp and a cutting board area, craft supply shelves, button and sticker makers, looms, shelves of fabric, and more and more.


This is an "On Air" sign. I don't know what it does, but I do like it. It hangs on the edge of the grand Etsy Labs shop room.


The jewelry making room. I'm not a jewelry maker, but there were lots of tools that real jewelry makers would know how to use.


The screen printing room. A very popular request. It was still under a bit of construction at the time of this picture. You can sign up for lessons by contacting Etsy Labs, which would really pay off.


My favorite: the button maker! I vowed to get one with my tax return money, and part of that vow was getting this post up. So now I can get one and join everyone else who is making cute buttons. I think I will try for fabric buttons. Here's a cheap button maker from Amazon, but I really have no idea if it's good or not. But it is cute looking. :)


My other favorite: the sticker maker! Those are my hands trying to crank through a yellowed page of a book onto the sticky paper, but I broke it. The we discovered that I didn't break it, it just ran out of sticky paper. But once you have something stuck onto the sticky paper, you have a sticker that you can then cut out and customize. Look what I made from the book page and put in my Etsy shop. This sticker maker is the Xyron 900, which you can buy at Amazon.


Etsy Labs scissors. Not only do the handles have different colors, but their blades cut in several different shapes. Large zig-zag, small zig-zag, swirlls, etc.


Etsy Labs wall of supplies. Very fun for a person to go exploring in.


Etsy Labs displays some things that Etsy Labs members come and make. These are some of those designs.

Tip from Etsy Labs

Part of the fun of becoming an Etsy Labs member is that they help you to get your designs ready for your Etsy shop. Taking pictures is a very important part of selling your product. No good picture, most likely no sale. Etsy made a picture area out of a cardboard box lined with white paper. I placed a little charm into the center of it and took this picture. The lighting on this little charm is all natural light coming from windows behind the box. If you shined a light into this box, and maybe two lights - one on each side - you could have a very clean and smooth white out area for a great product picture.



If you're in New York, and need a camp like activity to sign up for to keep your mind healthy, sign up for Etsy Labs! I have signed up for a pottery class, unrelated to Etsy Labs, and am loving it. Very refreshing.