It’s almost a riddle – what has the feel of a blog, the design of graphic art site and a slick interface that would make Apple proud? It’s called Etsy and it’s an extraordinary marketplace place to buy handmade items from around the world.

Browse by country, by category, by almost anything.

It enables individuals who handmake products to put up a very slick site and link into a global market to source unique products. My litmus test for the word ‘global’ is very simple – are there any New Zealand shops? In this case the the answer is yes.

The interface is almost game like, and with nods to Google Earth it begs you to go searching around the world for shops. Or, if you prefer, search by colour. Now here’s the interesting bit – what would the bricks and motar equivalent of an Etsy shop look like?