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Trends by definition should be techniques, motifs, colors, and supplies that grow in popularity over time versus a fad, which comes and goes in a blink of an eye. There are trends that are standing the test of time and should be taken into consideration when you are ordering, scheduling classes or demos, and planning your merchandise displays.

American lifestyles began changing as we entered the new millennium. Americans wanted more time to spend at home with family and friends. The tragedy of 9/11 and war brought this change in lifestyle to a new level. This change explains the popularity of many of our current motif or style trends. More often than not, these trends and themes represent a journey or visit back home or to childhood. Places where the consumer can relax and unwind.

• Garden & Nature
• Western, Lodge & Country
• Simple Lines & Patterns
• Collectibles like teddy bears and dolls
• Quiet Blues, Greens & Browns
• Roses, Bees, Butterflies & Dragonflies
• Water Fountains
• Sea and Sea Life
• Family & Friends
• Photography
• Digital & Cyber Communication

Help In Finding The Trends

Lifestyles make up our trends, but lifestyles always change is subtle ways. How do you keep up with the changes? Here’s a basic list of ways to keep up to date. These basic tips are helpful to all of us in the creative industry.

• Try to attend at least one trade and consumer show a year
• Read scrapbooking and craft consumer magazines, as well as Craftrends Magazine and its exclusive MemoryTrends section
• Watch the gift market
• Read home decor magazines
• Visit a local art and craft show for inspiration
• Observe the displays in furniture and home accessory shops
• Keep color, fabric, ribbon, lace, yarn, and other swatches handy
• Keep a notebook and pen handy for quick notes
• Keep a file system organized by themes like Americana, Garden, Victorian, and also by craft like paper, painting, jewelry, or dolls
• Find the common themes and threads of what appeals to you … these are the trends

Exercise In Trend Spotting

Here is an activity you might try quarterly or yearly. Involve your entire staff and maybe a few of your regular customers.

• Look through all types of magazines and catalogs. Cut out pictures and colors that catch your eye. Collect any photos available to you.
• Divide a poster board vertically in half. On one side glue or tape down pictures and photos. On the other side, write: Colors, Textures, Objects/Themes, and Techniques, leaving space for you to fill-in with responses from observing the pictures and photos.
• For example: You cut out a bright quilt, a family at a picnic, and an ad for Christmas toys. Colors: Bright, Bold, Red, Blue, and Pink. Textures: Soft, Warm, Flat, and Smooth. Objects/Themes: Home, Family, Outdoors, Fun, Pleasure. Techniques: Quilting, Sewing, Cooking, Woodworking, and Staining.
• Place finished Trend Board above your work area and keep adding to it as the year goes on. It can be a reference guide when deciding new lines and updating current product lines.

A Few More Tips

• Create an index box of ideas to develop … one idea per card.
• Sit in a mall or visit stores and watch the customers. Look for common bonds or common themes.
• Cut out appealing displays and designs from magazines and catalogs. Keep these clippings in a folder to review when you need inspiration.
• Take a minute to review all new books and current magazines.
• Talk with customers. What are the customers doing with the products they purchase? Did they find everything they were looking for?
• Visit model homes in your community. Most are decorated by top interior designers who stay on top of trends in color, motif, and textures.

You Are The Expert!

Don’t let trends and trending overwhelm you. As a member of the creative industry and of your own local community you probably know more than any “expert”. Trust your instincts when selecting new products and incorporating new trends. Trends are to be used as guides. Trends let you know what is happening in the big picture and you need to use the trends to help in your smaller part of that picture.

Does a day go by that we don’t hear about the latest trends in the gift, leisure or craft industry? Yet, to most of us the new and exciting trends are beginning to sound like a broken record. Is there really anything new out there in craft land? Depends on whom you ask! Trends by definition should be techniques, motifs, medium, colors, and supplies that grow in popularity over time versus a fad, which comes and goes in a blink of an eye. There are trends that are standing the test of time and should be taken into consideration when creating your crafts to sell and planning your merchandise displays.

The strongest trend to consider is general lifestyle. The lifestyle of the consumer or buyer is too hectic and fast paced for comfort. This has brought a need for the good old days and a slower beat from the drummer. Our customers want to relax while browsing. The consumer wants warm and friendly customer service. Nothing promotes sales better than a smile and an answered question. Bottom line is that the consumer wants to enjoy his or her shopping experience and feel like his or her money was well spent.

Lifestyle changes explain the popularity of many of our current motif or style trends. The garden look. Western. Lodge and country. Simple folk creations. It can also explain the popularity of collectibles. Items like teddy bears, pigs, dolls, rubber-stamps, and hearts. These are all places and objects near and dear to your customer’s heart. More often than not, these things represent a journey or visit back home or to childhood. Places where they relax and unwind. No phones. No blaring TV or stereo. Just peace and comfort. There is no deep thought behind it nor any psychoanalysis needed. Memories of happy, carefree times are a large part of crafting and leisure activities.

A need for comfort also explains the high demand for home decor items. At one time this need to decorate the home was called nesting. The public was tired of going out and dealing with the grand scale rush to be entertained. The consumer who we all know is a crafter at heart wanted to stay home and be king or queen of the domain. The home is now viewed as an expression of self. A personal vision of the world at large. A house is just a house until it becomes a home. It becomes a home when the family decorated the walls, tables, and bookshelves. Personal and personalized.

Yet, if you are like me the question of exactly how to define home decor is an endless search in the dictionary. As a matter of fact, home decor isn’t in any of my dictionaries! Narrowing home decor down is a difficult task, but view it as anything that helps customize an abode. Wall hangings, floral pieces, pillows, lamps, towels, storage containers, quilts, desk arrangements, table enhancers, rugs, flowerpots, bookends, and more. In other words, just about any craft that pops into your head. The difference is in presentation. You have to show the consumer the setting. Show your customer how to decorate the home with crafts. Create a small round table complete with table covering and a floral centerpiece. A bathroom vanity with matching accessories from tissue holder to guest towel. Don’t forget a handmade candle or homemade soap. Give your consumer ideas.

Lifestyle makes up our trends, but lifestyle is always changing is subtle ways. How do you as a busy professional crafter keep up with the changes? Mind reading the consumer isn’t part of your talents? Paulette Jarvey of Hot off the Press presented a wonderful list of ways to help chart trends at a Society of Craft Designers Educational Seminar. These basic tips are helpful to all of us in the craft industry. Simple and easy to fit into the regular workday, you may find the ideas helpful in your plans for meeting the needs of your consumer:

• Attend trade and consumer shows
• Read the craft consumer and trade journals
• Watch the gift market
• Read Home Decor magazines
• Visit art and craft shows
• Observe the displays in furniture and home accessory shops
• Keep color, fabric, ribbon, lace, yarn and other swatches handy
• Keep a notebook and pen on your person for quick notes
• Keep a file system organized by themes like Americana, Garden, Victorian and also by craft like paper, painting, jewelry, or dolls
• Find the common themes and threads of what appeals to you…these are the trends.

Sharon Tittle of Creative Delights in Fresno, CA contributed a great idea that she uses to chart trends and colors. Sharon is a professional craft designer and Wearables Artist who designs and sells fashions from denim jackets to formal wear. Sharon’s hints to trending:

• Look through all types of magazines and catalogs. Cut out pictures and colors that catch your eye. Collect any photos available to you.
• Divide a poster board vertically in half. On one side glue or tape down pictures and photos. On the other side, write: Colors, Textures, Objects/Themes and Techniques, leaving space for you to fill-in with responses from observing the pictures and photos.
• For example: You cut out a bright quilt, a family at a picnic, and an ad for Christmas toys. Colors: Bright, Bold, Red, Blue, Pink. Textures: Soft, Warm, Flat, Smooth. Objects/Themes: Home, Family, Outdoors, Fun, Pleasure. Techniques: Quilting, Sewing, Cooking, Woodworking, and Staining.
• Place finished Trend Board above your work area and keep adding to it as the year goes on. It can be a reference guide when deciding new lines and up-dating current product line.

Our Own Tips to Trending:

• Create an index box of ideas to develop…one idea per card
• Sit in a mall or visit other retailers stores and watch the customers
• Cut out appealing displays and designs from magazines and catalogs.
• Take a minute to review all new books and design packets
• Ask your sales clerks to talk with the customers at check-out…what are the customers doing with the products they purchase
• Listen to your class teachers and ask for their input
• Visit model homes in your community for home decor ideas
• Have a home decor contest in your store…select a room and have your customers decorate it!
• Join local craft groups like chapters of the Society of Decorative Painters or a church group
• Get involved and participate in a craft class at your shop or other facility

Don’t let trends and trending overwhelm you. As a member of the crafting industry and of your own local community you know more than any of us “experts” do. Trust your instincts when selecting new products and incorporating new trends. The trend of Southwestern never flies in the state of Florida. Seashell motifs are rare to find in Iowa. Trends are to be used as guides. Trends let you know what is happening in the big picture and you need to use the trends to help in your part of that picture. The experts are good. The manufacturers, distributors, designers, professional crafters, gift industry buyers, and others who earn a living by presenting to you and the consumer the best and latest spend time and effort on the task. There is no one, sure-fire trend in our industry. It is the combination of all the techniques, motifs, media, and home decor fashions that sell product.

Cross-stitch is the classic and getting plenty of attention with new and modern designs and patterns. Look for more embellishing in finished pieces especially buttons and charms. Needle punch (or is that Punch Needle?) continues to grow in popularity. This very old needleart has been modernized with cotton and silk threads/flosses in very trendy colors. Most designs have a country, pop art, or family flair, but if you branch out into books you’ll find just about any theme you could dream of. The needle punch needle has been updated and you can customize your needs for 1, 2, 3, 4, and more threads.

Rugs are back! Look for handmade, hooked, and punched rugs in magazines and movies. Everyone loves the warm feeling that these crafted floor coverings offer to our homes. But don’t stop at the floor! Many projects call for rugs to be hung for wall art. Embroidery rounds out this category. Motifs for embroidery have a wide spectrum from bright and sassy for teenagers to classic country for homes. Kits are a great way to introduce and learn about stitching techniques so you can go out on your own for clothing, jewelry, pillows, and more.

Paper is the foundation of this craft category and variety is the high note. More than ever you can find any color, texture, or pattern. From handmade favorites to vintage patterns, paper artists and crafters couldn’t be happier. Vintage is still the color category of choice with 20-30 somethings, but look for dreamy watercolors and sparkling primaries too.

Card making is a strong grouping in the paper arts and crafts. The variety of embellishments has made this a fast growing craft for all skill levels. Designs are simple and streamlined with a complete focus on a key embellishment. Words are being kept simple too. Rub-ons, transfers, word stamps, and stick on letters are the most popular form of adding words to a card.

And speaking of rubber-stamping! Lots of sparkle in inks and embossing powders, plus a little sprinkle of glitter can’t hurt. Most designs are showing some kind of glimmer and what my mom used to call, fancy pants finishing. Most stamp designs are bold (influence of scrapbooking); the only fine lines are in word stamps. Plenty of foam stamps in the mix, but clear, un-mounted sets seem the most popular.

Punches seem to have expanded out of scrapbooking, but the new punches here on CreateForLess.com are perfect for all kinds of paper art and craft from card making to collage. Punches are coordinating and easy to build design by using small, medium, and large. Die cutting machines are introducing great shapes and forms making it easy to invest your time and money.

Can you say embellishments? Chipboard and ribbon are getting the headlines in scrapbooking. Scrapbookers are discovering and enjoying using all kinds of craft techniques on their pages. Antiquing and aging are still very popular with simpler overall design that focuses back onto the photo(s). Embellishments in metal, wood, fabric, ribbon, and paper lead the way. Don’t forget with the heavier embellishments it is important to use strong adhesives so your bond is solid. Even embellishments that come with adhesive can always use a little help with a dot of glue or line of tape.

Doodling and abstract drawing on scrapbooking pages is seeing some focus. But no worries for those of us without artistic talent because templates will help make this trend an easy one to include. With this trend, you’ll see more journaling shown. For a time, journaling on pages seemed out, but it’s so important to the overall goal of the scrapbooker so designers and experts are reinforcing the message that you need to write your story on your pages too. Check out the great pens and acid free markers here at CreateForLess.com.

Mini and single focus scrapbooks are still a hit. Scrapbookers love making mini and small scrapbooks to give as gifts or keepsakes for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and celebrations. One of my favorites is to make a scrapbook using a greeting card by just adding some folded pages at center. Create photo layouts on the blank pages and poof! You have a scrapbook to give as a gift! I prefer using blank cards like those found on CreateForLess.com so I can get creative with the cover too.