Celebrate the Cultural Fabric of Ireland At Etsy’s Dublin Office

For a global marketplace focused on keeping commerce human, it’s fitting that Etsy’s Dublin office, which serves as an EU hub, is anchored by the rich cultural and geographic fabric of the Republic of Ireland. “We rooted the concept in the country’s natural terrain,” says senior associate and design director Megan Dobstaff, who works out of Gensler London, which oversaw the project. “Then we passed it to the hands of makers.”

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The 12,700-square-foot workplace features materials and spatial zones representing coastal edgescapes, wetland landscapes, and forest woodlands. Millwork, particularly the ceilingscape, is a species of oak native to Ireland. Greenery, contained in planters of the same wood, is live. Flooring is polished concrete. Layered on this is an array of handmade craft, much by Irelanders. In reception, Open Mosaic Belfast’s brilliant blue ceramic wall tiles back a Jan Hendzel Studio desk in olive ash. In a meeting room, a stained-glass installation by Etsy-ite Hay Ditte draws inspiration from the Burren on Ireland’s west coast. Enclosing lounges throughout are cream woven-wool screens by born-and-bred Dubliner Pearl Reddington that nod to the Aran Islands, famous for its knitted fisherman sweaters.

“It was important for Etsy to feature people making things,” Dobstaff adds. As was flexibility: While there are around 50 workstations, the office can host numerous visitors from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Plug-and-play power in alternative work points and multipurpose spaces supports collaboration and celebrations of all sizes.

MEGAN DOBSTAFF; ANDREW STERN; ARIELLE LEVY; VERONICA PANTIN; DORI LERNER; TAYLOR LIM; NAOMI SAKOMOTO.