Etsy and West Elm: Artists in Your Own Backyard

On the path to Etsy Wholesale, we’re collaborating with West Elm as they open their new locations throughout the rest of 2012. Each new West Elm store displays a grouping of items from local Etsy sellers, called out as “Etsy for West Elm” collections. West Elm curated the items with a helping hand from Etsy; West Elm and the individual sellers — or as they say in wholesale industry parlance, “vendors” — sealed their own wholesale deals.

Shane Brogan, West Elm’s VP of Merchandising, brought together the groupings. He underscores the natural evolution of the partnership, saying: “We’ve been highlighting Etsy sellers in our catalog and through special events for a few years. Adding wholesale collections in our new stores is an amazing way to connect our customers with artists in their own backyard, and make each of our stores a true reflection of their local community.”

West Elm Vancouver

We wanted to share some of the photos from the collections and encourage you to visit in person. Check out Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Costa Mesa, Palo Alto, and Indianapolis.

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West Elm Salt Lake City

Moving into 2013, we’ll be working with them on their store in Sydney, Australia. Also, keep an eye out for the West Elm catalog, which goes out to millions of households.

West Elm Palo Alto

West Elm Palo Alto

At the end of the day, West Elm is the perfect retail partner for Etsy — they appreciate handmade and share the stories behind the objects. Each item from Etsy includes a co-branded hangtag with the name of the Etsy shop. It’s an elegant way for West Elm to bring in a unique mix to their shoppers and to support handmade — and we like to think it’s a smart way for us to reach shoppers who may not (yet) be online.