Esty Captains' Summit & Etsy: Made in Canada

I just got back from the Etsy Captains' Summit in Toronto on earlier this week.  What an amazing time!  The summit was held in the MaRS building where you can find the Canadian Etsy headquaters. 

  Here I am at Etsy in Toronto!

I went to the summit representing Team Northern Ontario and chatted with other team captains from across Canada.  It was amazing to meet Etsy admin in person and they were all so helpful.  They clearly put a lot of work into this event.  They even went out of their way to make sure all my meals were allergen free and delicious. I really appreciated their attention to detail and willingness to help us feel comfortable and also answer every Etsy question we could think of.

  I'm super thrilled that I finally got to meet Iveth from The Angry Weather and she is such a wonderful person.  I was kicking myself that I did not ask her to bring her Bubble Ring so I could have saved on shipping.  I have been eying that ring for a while now.  We chatted and even got to go see Bookhou's beautiful shop and studio space on Dundas Street where I bought this beautiful bag but with grey triangles instead of black.

 Iveth and I at the Summit

At the summit we also chatted a lot about the Etsy: Made in Canada market.  This one day market will be held across Canada in various communities and I can't wait to share more details as the planning unfolds!  Sept. 27th, 2014 is going to be an awesome day for Etsy! I am so excited.

I'm so thankful to have also met Chad Dickerson, CEO of Etsy, who flew out from Brooklyn just to be there.  I was thrilled to find out that he was a really unassuming and kind person that seems to genuinely care for Etsy and their sellers.  He often talked about Etsy as a world wide movement trying to create a more fulfilling system of commerce and I really appreciated hearing those details from him in person.  I think one of the best things I heard him say was in response to certain online company's desire to use drones to deliver items in the future as a answer to possible fuel shortages.  I echo Mr. Dickerson's feelings when he said he thinks Etsy would deliver on bikes, with real people, with smiling faces before ever thinking of doing anything like that. 

 Chad Dickerson, Iveth and I

My flight home from Toronto was beautiful.  The sun was setting and casting a beautiful glow through the window.  The clouds were perfect.  At 25,000 feet I occupied myself by taking these photos and reminiscing over the the events of the past few days. 

 Etsy pin in hand

Somewhere between Toronto and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

It was a lovely experience and I woke up the next day pinching myself to make sure it wasn't all a dream...a wonderful Etsy dream.  Planning has already begun for Etsy: Made in Canada here in Sault Ste Marie and I am so pleased at the possibilities here for my beloved Northern Ontario communities.

photo source: most of these photos were taken with Iveth's iphone (thank you!!!) and the group shot by an Etsy photographer