We’re always on the lookout for ways we can make the total experience of Etsy better — out in the world, on your computer, and in your pocket. Today we’re taking another step forward, by welcoming the creators of Mixel to our staff. These talented designers and developers built a mobile app that helps you make and share fun, beautiful photo collages. Now they are going to help us do even more with Etsy’s mobile platform. It’s going to be awesome.

You might ask yourself, “Hang on. Etsy acquired Mixel. Is Etsy getting into the photo sharing business?” The answer is no. We and the Mixel team are committed to doing right by their community though, so Mixel users will still be able to download past collages, make new ones and share them on Facebook, Twitter and other beloved social networks.

The Mixel team — CEO Khoi Vinh, his co-founder Scott Ostler, and colleagues Akiva Leffert and Roy Stanfield — will turn their focus to Etsy’s mobile future. As you may remember, in 2012 we launched apps for iPad and Android, and translated our iPhone app into three new languages with added seller tools. Whew! Mobile visits on Etsy grew 244% in the past year, and right now they represent a steady 25% of visits year round. That’s not too shabby, but something quite astounding happened this past holiday season: almost one in three visits came from shoppers on their mobile devices. We expect that trend to accelerate, so doing more with mobile is one of our top priorities in 2013.

Mixel and Etsy are both about empowering creative people through the products and communities we’ve built — it’s a natural fit! Please join me in giving warm hugs and high-fives to Khoi, Scott, Akiva and Roy as the newest members of our team.