Why I Left Etsy

You read it right: I've shuttered my Etsy store.

From now on, every item from Smuggled Sparks is available directly through the Smuggled Sparks Store on Byrne Alive, with prices that are, on average, 35% lower than what I had to charge on Etsy.

Here’s why I made the switch:

1. The Algorithm Game Requires Capital I Don’t Have Yet

🔥 Gear Up to Light the Fire. Smuggled Sparks is made for thinkers, questioners, teachers, learners, and the joyfully rebellious. From bold tees to spark-carrying journals, every piece speaks truth in a world that rewards silence. Shop the full collection at byrnealive.com/smuggledsparks

Etsy is set up to reward sellers who can pour money into ads, SEO consultants, and high-volume inventory. As a single mom building a business from my kitchen table, I can’t play that game - and honestly, I don’t want to.

I choose instead to spend my platform-time teaching independent, critical thinking and lighting fires under institutional bullies rather than chasing visibility in someone else's machine.

2. I’d Rather Give the Discount to You

By selling through my own site, I skip the Etsy fees and commissions, and that means I can pass the savings directly to you. Every order placed through my site helps Smuggled Sparks grow stronger while keeping prices fair and accessible.

I envision my store as a spicy, low-boil rebellion for anyone who’s tired of pretending to fit. It’s about shared values and real value.

3. I Won't Be Part of the Alligator Alcatraz Economy

The final straw? Pages and pages of cutesy merch celebrating a place where human beings are detained under brutal, dehumanizing conditions. Independent assessments call Alligator Alcatraz what it is: a concentration camp. I’m not going to sugarcoat that.

The fact that this inhumanity has been turned into a punchline plastered on mugs and bumper stickers is a moral failure. People are buying T-shirts like it’s an inside joke.

This week, I sat at my workspace with Alligator Alcatraz on screen in the headlines and on Etsy. I looked up at a photo of my kids from years ago. They are, and always will be, my compass.

It’s not a joke.

It's not funny, and it’s a stain on who we are and who we claim to be.

When right-wing creators celebrate this kind of cruelty, it desensitizes the rest of us and normalizes systemic abuse. It tells our kids this is acceptable, and I’m not here for that. So I'm voting, no, thank you with my feet and my burgeoning business.

This Matters to All Americans

It’s not too late to reclaim our values.

Step one: Stop calling basic respect for human safety and dignity “politics.”

When we joke about cages, we forget there are still children trying to sleep in them. When we wear ironic merch about these places, we erase the people whose lives are being shattered behind the walls. When companies profit off that erasure, cruelty becomes normalized. And our kids learn that safety is conditional - based on birthplace, paperwork, or skin.

Silence is comfort for power-villains. And that’s not okay with me.

I can't abide active or complicit support of that repugnance. And while I know I can’t stop the depravity alone, I can make choices that align with my values. You can too.

Together, our small rebellions add up. Together, we can teach our kids and ourselves a better way to live.

Thanks for sticking with me as I build something better, something messy, handmade, stubbornly hopeful, and deeply human. Your support means the world.

❤️‍🔥 Meridith

Smuggled Sparks | Byrne Alive