Etsy has been making changes and took on a new CEO last summer named Chad Dickerson after the former CEO Rob Kalin, one of the company founders, vacated the post. Dickerson has taken the company through several changes, including the addition of new tools to let sellers advertise shops and versions of the site for German and French shoppers. Etsy also has an iPhone app and Pinterest functionality now.

According to Dickerson, the $40 million in financing raised is not to cover operational costs. According to the CEO, the company has been profitable since 2009, it has 300 global employees. Dickerson notes that the money is to help Etsy expand, he says that the expansion will be particularly in other countries. The website has 875,000 sellers and 15 million users globally. The site receives about 40 million unique visitors each month and last year the site generated $525 million in sales. Etsy is much larger than I thought it was.

[via NYT]

The maker that made this sweater had no idea that the product would prove so popular when the product was listed. The maker notes that at his point there are so many orders for the sweaters that her time is filled up until December. She is still taking orders if you can wait. Each of the sweaters is knitted by hand and is a raglan-style.

The sweater is made to order based on your measurements. The yarn used is 100% smooth merino wool so they won’t be itchy. However, the maker can use other materials too if you prefer. The time to make the sweater and ship it is roughly 6-8 weeks. The only downside is you have to hand wash the sweater.

[via BoingBoing]

Apparently, in prison clear stuff isn’t for the cool look at the parts style that the 80′s offered, but for the you can’t hide shivs and dope practical reality of prison. Check out the cool TV that has turned up on Etsy for instance. Apparently, the little clear cased 13-inch set is from Juillet Prison in Illinois. RCA made the TV specifically for the prison industry so the guards could see that no contraband was being stashed inside.

It’s a 13-inch screen CRT set so no flat panel action. If you have an 80′s themed room in your home with one of those clear phones this is the thing you need. The model of the TV is S13801CL and it has an earphone jack in the front and cable or antenna hook up on the back. If you want the clear TV there is only one available for $95 and shipping to your location will cost you about $26 more.

[via Etsy]

In an interview with the blog Another Limited Rebellion, Valero said: “I love to improve 6” super-articulated action figures. I have an engineer’s mentality, so nothing is ever perfect enough. So I am big on tweaking and at time breaking and rebuilding toys. The use of found items is based on what is available to me out here. Slowly, I have amassed more resources like paint and hobby tools. Assemblage has really grown on me to the point I will continue to build from found items.” Continue after the cut to see more of his super-fantastic action figures.

Building the action figures has helped him to interact and connect with the local people, he says.

Valero’s work is for sale in his Etsy store, with most items around $10-$20. You can also see more photos of his work on his Flickr stream.

[via TreeHugger]

A new case has surfaced that may be a bit questionable on the good looks part, but the thing is certainly strong enough to protect the iPhone well. The case was made by Jon Eicher and is a hand built one off for right now that was offered on Etsy back over the weekend for about $99.

It reminds me a lot of the cool KarasKustoms case that I have for my iPhone, but the Military Grade is more robust looking with a solid back. The downside to this military Grade case is that it’s not as good looking as the KarasKustoms offerings to my eyes.

Via Geeky-Gadgets

The decal is cool in of itself, but it’s also designed to make sure that you get to install the vinyl decoration without any air bubbles popping up after you put it on. Thanks to the Avery vinyl blakemedia used, and the “air egress technology” used to create the decal, it should mean that you’re not plagued with little bumps in the vinyl. It may be simple enough, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome. Especially when you consider that the decal is only $6.99, and available right now.

[via NeatORama]

This is where the Icon notebook from Brigada Creative comes in. The notebook has one flat corner that looks like one of the icons you would find on your computer for the notepad or other app. The thing is interesting and much more fun that the plain old spiral notebooks that most folks use for tracking things.

The notepad is DIN A5 size and the pages measure 148x210mm. Each notebook has 80 pages. If you plan to do lots of writing, you can get the things in a three pack over on Etsy or as singles. A single notebook will set you back about $10 before shipping with a 3-pack going for about $23.

You can get cases based on the red super mushroom for the iPhone and iPad, the Goomba for the iPad and iPhone, or the green 1-up Mushroom for iPad and iPhone. The iPhone 3G/3GS case measures about 5.25″ x 3.125″ and is handmade when purchased. That means that you will have to wait while it is made.

The seller says that will take 1-3 business days before the things ship. The iPad has a case that measures 10.5″ x 8″ and is handmade. The iPad case is $39.95 and the iPhone cases are $19.95.

Over on Etsy you can pick up a sticker for the back of your iPhone that shows Homer getting smacked in the head with the Apple logo on your iPhone. The sticker is shown on the iPhone 3GS and shows up better on the black phone.

That said there is no reason this won’t fit on the original iPhone or the new iPhone 4 as well. This would be a great thing for your iPhone 4 if you use the bumper case to show it off. You can pick the sticker up for $9.90 and three are left. That does seem a bit expensive for a sticker.

Hopefully you have a thing for lace accenting your bags with a bit of polka dot fabric lining the inside of the bag. The bag is made from blue corduroy material, which means it’s likely to be a bit more durable.

The seller has been playing WoW for a little over two years now and suggests that the bag be used for strategy guides, game cards and other random WoW stuff you may own. The bag is being sold for $180.

[via gearfuse]

The creator of this bag not only creates this one, but an Umbrella Corp bag, a Boot Goomba bag and a Mario Kart one. If the blue one is a little too over the top for you, the Resident Evil Bag looks cool and is plain enough that only gamers will understand its meaning.

You also have to check out their Super Mario Mushroom Charm Set that is being sold for $8. The messenger bags are all being sold for $30 a piece.

[via geekygadgets]