Etsy, Revisited

We have talked about Etsy before, but the New York Times recently ran a new article that brought up the issue all over again.  At least New York Times writer Alex Williams does a better job of attributing agency to the crafters involved, unlike the Slate Double X article which blasted Etsy for suckering people in with a pack of lies.

The New York Times article is an excellent look at the life of a full time crafter.  I've been there, well about halfway there, and I can tell you that everything they say is true.  The first Etsy seller Williams interviews earned more than $140,000 this year from her knitting, but she also has to knit 13 hours a day, plus fulfilling orders and emailing customers on top of that.  

"This is the hardest job I've ever had," truer words were never spoken.  But I think that is true of any type of self-employment, from writing (hi!) to bookkeeping.  I have a friend who is self-employed as a finish carpenter, and let me assure you, that man works his tail off all day every day, and does side projects as personal favors on the weekends.

I think what the New York Times is illustrating is the delta between "It would be so nice to do what I love for a living" and "I am a one woman sweatshop."  This is less a feminist issue, and more an issue of reality.  Artisans have run into this delta for as long as art has existed.  I bet even Michelangelo had days where he thought, "Man, I am such a sucker, I should have gotten a real job."

If Etsy peddles the fantasy that you can make a living at your hobby, then don't other industries, as well?  I read an article somewhere (I can't find it now) about how difficult it is to be a baker, as told from the perspective of a man who enjoyed making cakes and cupcakes, and decided to open his own bakery.  

More interestingly, the two or three women interviewed for the New York Times article are all making fabulous amounts of money.  This makes me feel like I should start accusing the Times for offering wacky fantasies of third wave feminism.  Where are the billions of other women who tried to make money on Etsy and failed?  Their stories are lost in the shuffle, perhaps as being too boring, or insufficiently fabulous.

In the last year, the number of Etsy sellers has "more than doubled to 3.75 million."  2009's combination of recession (with concomitant layoffs, and "Hm, maybe I'll try selling my hobby" desperation moves) and Chinese ingredient scandals (lead in everything) were certainly the prime drivers of this.  

One thing that Etsy has over other business methods is that it removes many of the barriers of entry for women.  Women are drastically less likely to found traditional small businesses compared to men, for a whole host of reasons that probably deserve their own article.  However, Etsy has always positioned itself as being woman-friendly, and clearly women are more likely to start businesses online than in bricks-and-mortar (witness eBay, where women sellers are the majority).