Etsy announced today it is closing Etsy Studio and Etsy Manufacturing later this year. Significantly, it made no mention of any plans to close Pattern, its store-hosting service for sellers.
The announcement comes as Etsy’s new CEO Josh Silverman continues to streamline the business after he was put in place last May to deal with an activist investor that had begun pressuring the company to make big changes.
Etsy launched Studio in April 2017 as a separate site aimed at the end-user who might wish to buy crafts supplies for their own projects, complete with tutorials and how-to content.
Etsy stocked Studio’s shelves with the same listings pulled from the Supplies category on Etsy.com – sellers did nothing (listings for craft supplies were automatically listed on Etsy Studio) – and sellers paid the same fees whether sales were generated on Etsy or Etsy Studio.
Etsy Manufacturing launched in 2015 as a “new marketplace that helps sellers find and connect directly with manufacturers to form responsible partnerships.”
In its announcement to sellers on Wednesday, Etsy explained the decision to close the two sites:
“This year, we’re focusing our efforts on giving you what you need and making Etsy the best platform for running your creative business. As part of that process, we’ve made the tough decisions to close Etsy Studio, our standalone craft supplies market, and Etsy Manufacturing, which helps sellers find production partners, as we concentrate our focus on Etsy.com.
“After a year of running Etsy Studio, we realized it was better for our sellers to sell craft supplies in the same marketplace as handmade and vintage goods. This way buyers can shop for everything together and we can invest more in Etsy.com across all categories. Craft Supplies will continue to be a key category on Etsy—they’re a big part of what makes Etsy special.
“As part of our emphasis on giving you the tools you need, we looked across our products and services and decided that Etsy Manufacturing was taking focus away from features and services that would have a bigger impact for your business. We’ll continue to support you with tips and best practices for working with production partners if that’s something that makes sense for your business.
“We’re closing Etsy Studio and Etsy Manufacturing later this year, and we’ll send an update to sellers who might be affected by this change.”
You can read the full announcement on the Etsy Seller Handbook blog.
Well, this seemed inevitable. I hope they can seriously focus again on Etsy as a marketplace for small to mid sized entrepreneurs who love to be creative.