Etsy's CEO, Maria Thomas

As a member of Boston Handmade, I had the chance to meet Etsy's CEO, Maria Thomas this past Friday.

For those who do not know what Etsy is, who Maria Thomas is, or why you should care...the shortest version of an explanation is that Etsy is an online site that basically revolutionized the sale of handmade goods by individual artists and crafters. After three years of explosive growth, and many, many highs and lows, Etsy got it's first post-founder CEO, Maria Thomas.

This was a HUGE deal...imagine if the CEO of pretty much anything you rely on for a portion of your living came to visit YOU and ask YOU what you think of their service? Such an opportunity!

And such an opportunity it was. Maria really took it like a champ...we Boston Handmade gals have many thing we love about Etsy but we had a lot of concerns too and a lot of questions. Maria really did take the time to try to answer as many of our questions as possible, and she seemed to welcome our criticism as a learning opportunity.

It was a long, intensive meeting and I really came away with a lot to think about. With muchacha K handmade in a time of many changes (for the better, I believe) it was a good time to really get my own mind thinking about how I sell, what I sell, what my own focus is as a business...and how Etsy might fit into the future of muchacha K.

(pics courtesy of Kerry Hawkins and Jessica Burko)