Craft marketplace Etsy is running an 'artisanal' IPO process

Etsy's IPO roadshow is, like many of the products sold by the company, artisanal and handcrafted, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal's Telis Demos.

Demos reported on Thursday that the company is courting small investors as it seeks to find a shareholder base that shares the company's commitment to "socially responsible business practices."

The company is also targeting brokers with clients that buy or sell products on Etsy.

Speaking to Demos about the process, Rett Wallace at Triton Research said that while the IPO process won't impact Etsy's share price in the long run, it will "make some people scream in the short term."

Now, this doesn't mean that Etsy is going to come to market with a radically different shareholder base than most companies, as Etsy is still planning to sell 85% of its float to institutional investors and plans to price shares for a sizable "pop" when it begins trading, Demos reports.

But of the remaining 15% set to be offered, 5% will be sold online via Morgan Stanley and 10% is being personal pitched to small investors and Etsy vendors by CEO Chad Dickerson in cities including Cleveland and Rockford, Illinois.

This is how the quaint economy goes public.

Head over to WSJ.com for the full story »