Data Scarves
Knitwear designs graph the success of Etsy’s online marketplace
In an homage to the online retailer Etsy, Natalie Rachel has produced a pair of handmade scarves that use the company’s data as inspiration for the patterns. As the basis for her Data Scarves, Rachel collected figures related new members, items sold and the apportionment of vintage, handmade and supply goods. She later graphed the resulting data and—with a bit of ingenuity and an eye for fashion—put together a selection of wearables that plot the company’s profile.
In the world of online retailers, Etsy is synonymous with handmade goods. Constantly inspired by the creativity of sellers, Rachel used her talents for design and craft to create a final project for her Data Representation class at NYU’s ITP. Each design is one-of-a-kind, though we’re hoping to see more knit visualizations from her before the seasons change.
In addition to selling the two scarves, Rachel has included prints of her elegant graphs. One is a pie graph detailing the types of items listed and corresponding to the infinite scarf, the other a comparative study of the growth of new members and the number of items sold over time. Both the graphs and the scarves are available through Rachel’s Etsy shop.
