The quaint economy just went public - and Goldman Sachs is leading the way

Etsy just filed paperwork with the SEC clearing the way to file an IPO, and it's underwriter is Goldman Sachs (and Morgan Stanley and Allen & Company).

Etsy is the quaint economy (TQE) in action.

What is TQE? Let me remind you:

The quaint economy is a derivative of a derivative of The Way We Live Now. It's about the way that upscale brands perceive the aspirations of their target audience, filter it through their corporate marketing department, and reflect it back at us, revealing a nostalgia for a stylized past that never actually existed.

Many people think of as a place to buy and sell cute, artisanal clothing, crafts, and artwork. But sometime in 2012, it started accepting products by businesses with more than one employee. The decision was controversial, and some on the site claim that the mass-produced shops are killing small shops.

But it's been successful for the company.

On Twitter, Bloomberg's Matt Levine pointed out this gem of a TQE slide from the filing:

We hope they toast their forthcoming IPO with a hearty mug of bone broth.