Episode Details

Today we’ll dig into the early days of Etsy, with special attention on the very crafty, very political, very community-driven primordial soup that birthed Etsy.  This will be a majorly nostalgic moment for some of you, especially if you’ve ever subscribed to Bust or attended a Stitch 'n Bitch night.  We are going to spend most of this episode in 2005, but we'll take a brief trip back to 1998 to learn about Jean Railla and her website, Get Crafty, which brought together a new generation of crafters. 

Also: let's give a special, super grateful shout to our friend (and a previous guest), Christine of Lady Hogg Vintage for doing a bunch of research and sending us a ton of info! Thank you so much, Christine! She’s been selling on Etsy for a long time so she had a lot of experience and memories to share that really guided the process of writing this story!

Additional Reading/Listening:

The Department talks about DIY/hipsters in the aughts
Get Crafty : Hip Home Ec by Jean Railla
"What Would Jesus Sell?" by Jean Railla
"Handmade 2.0" by Rob Walker, The New York Times
"A Decade of Portland Fashion Flashbacks," by Eden Dawn, Portland Monthly.

Check out Holly Stalder's beautiful clothing here.
Incredible accessories by Yokoo.

Share your Etsy stories for this series!  

• Call the The Clotheshorse Hotline! The phone number is 717.925.7417.
• Send an email: amanda@clotheshorse.world
• Record a voice memo on your phone/computer and email it.
• Or DM via instagram @clotheshorsepodcast

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Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable brands:

No Flight Back Vintage:  bringing fun, new life to old things.  Always using recycled and secondhand materials to make dope ass shit for dope ass people.  See more on instagram @noflightbackvintage

Late to the Party, creating one of a kind statement clothing from vintage, salvaged and thrifted textiles. They hope to tap into the dreamy memories we all hold: floral curtains, a childhood dress, the wallpaper in your best friend’s rec room, all while creating modern sustainable garments that you'll love wearing and have for years to come. Late to the Party is passionate about celebrating and preserving textiles, the memories they