Olivia Rodrigo handpicked Etsy founders for festival merch. Their sales soared more than 2,000%

In early May, Emma Mannino received a direct message on Etsy from someone she didn’t know. The woman, who said she worked for the platform, explained that Mannino had an opportunity through Etsy’s creator co-design program to work with an unspecified “talent” on some designs. The offer was so vague that Mannino, an artist and entrepreneur, thought to herself, “Oh, this is spam.” Mannino needed a gut check, so she called her mom, who is also an artist on Etsy. Mannino asked her, “Did you get t...