Making it... on Etsy

In recent months it has been interesting to listen to various figures, and resolutely anti-figures, postulate on the role of Etsy in a struggling craft climate. I liken these assessments of Etsy to the increasingly grim reports of the credit crisis that I hear on NPR. Let me explain.

The credit crisis started off with a sub-prime housing bubble that was unsustainable. Just 10-15 minutes browsing the bargain basement prices in some Etsy virtual shops is enough to realize that many Etsy sellers are undervaluing their work (their labor, materials, etc.). This type of practice is indeed unsustainable. Irresponsible lending and bad investments led to the great market collapse of 2008, which has had sweeping repercussions around the globe. With an imminent federal bailout, this grave crisis may be contained and remembered simply as a stumbling block, and perhaps a lesson to us all about corporate greed.

Recently, I had a conversation with long time Craft Show veteran Biba Schutz about the Etsy market model. Biba made clear that work selling at such low prices severely undermined the practical model that she and other full time craft artists employ in order to make a living doing what they love, making. How can someone who sells their products at a price to support themselves compete with someone who sells their products at a price too low to make a living. In short, they can't. In this scenario we assume that craft fair veterans like Biba are actually competing for the same consumer dollars (which I find to be a suspect claim). Out of almost a quarter million Etsy sellers, only 50 or so actually make a living from their shop according to Rob Kalin, founder of Etsy, at a panel discussion this past Spring. I would guess that many of those who do make a living are actually small manufactories, producing a significant quantity of work in order to drive the prices down, and make money over more pieces, rather than on a few one of a kind works. 

As strange as this sounds this was actually Biba's advice as well. She challenged me to name any jeweler or metalsmith who makes their living solely from one-of-a-kind work (as distinguished from production). Now I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about who's who in the field, but I must confess I failed Biba's challenge. I encourage you all to post in the comments anyone who may do this. Her point is well taken, there must be a certain amount of production work or multiples for a maker to succeed in relying only on their studio practice. So many of the people actually making it on Etsy do so because of their business model.

However, some people on Etsy aren't making it, financially speaking. They aren't running a full time business. I would include almost every maker I know who is on Etsy in this category. We all have another means of subsistence. Therefore the Etsy system is in our favor. To think of Etsy as "Your Place To Buy & Sell All Things Handmade" is only partially accurate. As Eileen Boris documents in Art and Labor (Tempe University Press, 1986), most makers even in the American Arts & Crafts Movement didn't make enough money to support themselves, only the organizers and proprietors who took advantage of the skilled labor did well. Etsy is just such a proprietor.  

Yes, Etsy is a marketplace, but it is also a community, a community of people making it, literally. It is a community of people who make things. The purpose of Etsy is to make money, lets have no illusions about that, but the service that they provide primarily is that of maker community lubricant. Etsy encourages people to make things. On Etsy you don't have to make a living, you can just post your stuff and hope someone thinks its cool enough to buy. For tens of thousands of Etsy sellers it would be impossible to disseminate their work without such a mechanism. The gallery is not the place for all handmade work, nor is the craft fair. Etsy is the place for ALL things handmade. Etsy represents the common man, the every man (or woman). The selectiveness and stuffiness of the gallery is dispensed with on Etsy and the ability to be validated as a maker through patronage is open to all makers.

Maybe being a self-sustaining maker is not as important as just being a maker. Recently the NEA released a 15 year study estimating the current number of artists in America at just under 2 million (this includes actors, musicians, designers, etc.). Etsy sellers (who surely weren't counted) represent a group as large as 1/8 of all artists in America. This is indeed promising news. Maybe craft isn't so dead Jon. 

The question that must now be answered is: What is more important, craft as a field, or the continued existence of financially self-sustaining craft artists. To me this is no real question at all. The vitality of the field is certainly more important than any single person. A larger field is certainly preferable to a smaller and wealthier one. The terms of being a maker in the 21st century are changing. Being a maker alone may not be a sound career choice, but like so many other artists we must diversify our portfolios. Sub-prime mortgages are not a good investment, and neither is an exclusively full-time studio practice. A combination of making, writing (which we are in need of), grant writing, teaching, and other creative projects is surely a more salient plan.

I visited the American Craft Council this past Friday and Director Andrew Glasgow was kind enough to elaborate on the current goings on of the organization. It is clear that the mission of the ACC is shifting towards advocacy for the field, rather than for the makers. His message from March, "We must all partner to go further," seems more in the fore than ever. All makers can benefit from the handmade being advertised, while only a few can benefit from focused promotion. If the ACC is to continue as a necessary and vital organization then Andrew Glasgow is onto something. Craft is a lifestyle choice, not a luxury good, and not necessarily a livelihood.

Etsy is a business. Some have called it a pyramid scheme. Rob Kalin, its founder, can certainly be characterized  as a left wing reactionary. Etsy may even undermine legitimate attempts to create a financially sustainable market for craft artists. But, for all its flaws Etsy is a place where craft is alive and well. Etsy is a vision of Morrisian Utopia, people are making things to improve their quality of life and to share those things with others. Etsy is a place where anyone can be a maker. In a time of economic crisis, in a time of corporatism, in a time of globalism, in a time of mass production, and in a time of declining craft market sales Etsy is a beacon of hope. The true value of Etsy is not as a market for craft. The true value is as a model for craft.

Comments Welcome,

Until next time,

-Gabriel