Topic #1 – How is scrapbooking to grow and are the current trends alienating would be scrappers?
August 20, 2006
The scrapbook industry in the US is on the decline, so say some influential figures in the industry.
Do you think magazines have played a large part of this (if so – which ones)? Or is the manufacturers and the products being released? What do you think could be the factors that may stablilize the hobby and bring more people in?
I personally think the decline is a combination of factors.
1 – People have less photos. Digital photography has allowed people to slack off a bit in their photography, or accumulation of photographs. People get only their best photos printed and then have less photos. Less photos means less photos to need to “deal with”. Thus the CM argument of getting your photos out of a shoebox is sort of obsolete for new moms and younger generations. They’re like “what shoeboxes?”
2 – Too much, too fast. I think there is just too much. New scrappers feel overwhelmed. Magazines are too technique driven regarding techniques that have nothing to do with preserving photographs and how to write/record memories. A new scrapper who sees a technique on dipping papers in ink puddles (a recent Tim Holtz technique in CK) are going to be like WTF? How is this going to help me scrapbook.
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1.
Betty Boop | August 20, 2006 at 6:46 pm
To be honest, I think it’s similar to any other craft that gains popularity, it surges and then declines.
I remember when tole painting was the craft of choice. Roberts Crafts (PC’s storefront) was all about wood and paint. People tired of it and moved on.
I don’t think you’ll see as sharp of a decline in scrapbooking, but you need to consider that many people purchase products and then decide it’s not for them…and don’t re-buy.
As far as the current trends being a factor, I don ‘t tend to think so. The trends change every year, yet Creative Memories is still in business with the same stuff that started the excitement. People are still cuting their pictures into kite shapes and framing them with mats trimmed with fancy scissors despite what you might see in CK. There IS a population who follow the trends, but I tend to think of them as a minorty.
That said, the constant surge of new products would be mostly an issue to those who do follow the trends. Being a minorty, they are most likely not the ones keeping the scrapbook industry afloat. Generally speaking, paints and other high maintainance techniques to not sell to the average scrapper.
SO, my question is–Is the proliferation of products geared towards the “advanced” scrapper partly responsible for the decline? Many of the papers out right now would probably intimidate the hobbyist, let alone “alcohol inks”, texture paint, etc. If companies retreated to more hobby friendly products, would they see better results? DO people who scrap without notice to trends buy trendy products?
2.
jessie | August 20, 2006 at 7:08 pm
Beginning scrappers are oftentimes helplessly looking for a way to BEGIN. They see the cool stuff – they want to do it – but they have no idea how to get started. I had a friend come over to my house the other day to scrap with me. She wanted to make some pages for a friend. Like 3 pages. As a gift. I suggested turning it into a mini album so it was more of a cohesive, complete gift, rather than three loose pages that may or may not go into what her friend currently has. She and I spent a few hours and came away with a completed gift that was adorable and functional. As a result, she had a newfound sense of purpose for her scrapping. She wants to do more things like that, which are less time-consuming and overwhelming than some fo the crazy full page techniques out there, but still get a good result in the end. The stuff we did was basic. Cardstock, a few small embellishments. Nothing groundbreaking or earth shattering. And it was lovely.
When I want to “scrapbook” – that is, preserve lots of memories and photos for posterity, I have begun creating digital pages. They are fast, efficient, and fun (I almost exclusively use premade stuff) – and I can print them out just like I would photos. When I want to “create” – that is, get my hands dirty, creatively express myself on a more emotional level, I will pull out my papers and paints and embeliishments. I don’t care how long the process takes. I don’t care the mess I make. It’s all part of the experience for me.
I do believe that most of the products out there are geared toward advanced scrappers – and those who want to spend a lot of time making pages because of how it makes them feel, as opposed to obligation.
3.
Penny | August 21, 2006 at 6:00 pm
For me, all these new products and techniques are what got me in to scrapping. I remember seeing the pages my friend’s Mom made when we were in High School, and all these years I thought that’s all scrapbooking was…cutting up photos with deco scissors and gluing them down. It’s just not ME.
I have, however, made my own cards for several years. About 8 months ago, I bought a scrapbooking magazine fro some inspiration, and was blown away by all the cool stuff you can get and by how artistic the pages were. I guess it just called to the artist in me…kind of a way to combine all my other hobbies an art forms.
That being said, I was already fairly well versed in alot of techniques from other crafts, so maybe that made it easier for me to start. I can definitely see how the sheer volume of product available could overwhelm a newcomer. It’s difficult shop in an LSS for this reason….I’m better at seeing something I want, then going online to get that. I know what I’m looking for.
4.
TracieClaiborne | August 22, 2006 at 2:16 am
I wonder if the SALES end of scrapbooking is on the decline or PARTICIPATION of the hobby in general? I think it might be the sales end. The reason is probably because scrappers have been inundated for so long with new product that they have gotten to the point where they simply do not buy like they used to. Once you have SO much stuff, it almost becomes a guilt trip to not just use it without buying more. We see a lot of that in the LSS where I work. Our sales are down as are other LSS who we talk with. But I have to think that people are still out there scrapbooking just as often, they just have so much stuff, they don’t need to buy as much. I’m including myself in that. I used to spend hundreds per month and now it’s about $50. I mean how much stuff can I get before I run out of room for it, KWIM?
5.
Flora | August 22, 2006 at 5:56 am
Honestly: the current trends are alienating ME, and I’ve been scrapping forever! The mags make the point become the techniques instead of the story & the pictures. I can’t imagine starting out now. Talk about overwhelming. I think it is the sheer amount of stuff available that is making it so intimidating for a person to start scrapbooking. Which means that few people DO start, eventually hurting the overall sales.
6.
Rachael Giallongo | August 22, 2006 at 2:13 pm
I think that the increase in digital photos directly supports the rise in digital scrapbooking. Just because the photos are not printed doesn’t negate the need for journaling to tell the story. At a recent SDV event, I brought along a few printed digi pages and was quite surprised at how well they were received by CM style scrappers. I think when it comes to being photosafe, you can’t get much more safe than a layout printed on archival photo paper. I don’t think scrapbooking will ever go away, it will just evolve and change.
7.
TAFKA Jae' | October 16, 2006 at 2:28 pm
I couldn’t imagine starting this craft now!
When I started 2 years ago, I was almost in tears trying to figure out where to start. After my neighbor got me started with CM at a cropfest, I had a better idea and I ran with it… until I ran out of supplies. So I went to the LSS…
Bad idea! It was literal sensory overload! I didn’t know how to use half of the stuff their and who knew that they made more colors of cardstock than what CM provided in their inventory?
I left with nothing in my basket because I wanted to take my scrapping in this new, cool direction but had no idea what I needed. So what did I do? I turned to the online community…
Another bad idea… but it’s gotten better…
I was so overwhelmed with the creativity that was online! I learned about recognition and validation in scrapbooking and I wanted that for myself (you get very little of that as a mom now adays)… but again, I didn’t know where to start! I was so intimidated that I would actually get nauseaus when trying to concoct a page because I was afraid it would look stupid or it wouldn’t be “good enough”.
I survived my 4 month scrapblock with the help of 2 ladies that I met on that first site who stuck by me and encouraged me to do me instead of trying to do what I saw online (and we have been inseperable ever since!). I came back to scrapbooking doing what I wanted, with what I wanted…BUT I was still drawn into the trends and what was the latest and greatest.
I’m not bragging… I’m sprinkling truth… I have more cardstock and scrap junk than I will probably ever use because of trying to keep up with the trends. Now, I don’t shop for much unless I really need it. Now, I am always giving stuff away for contests and such. Now, trends mean nothing to me! I’ve imposed my own moratorium because I’d lost site of why I was doing this.
I think that that is what is happening to the industry. For too long the consumer has been bombarded with “ooh, here is the latest and greatest” and “oh, you just have to have this if you want to take your craft to the next level”. The problem is that there was a new “ooh” every few months! For some of the stores by the time the got the latest “ooh” in, the manufacturer’s were setting up new product for yet another trade show and the previously new “ooh” was on it’s way to being obsolete! I expect my car to depreciate when I drive it off the lot… I don’t expect my scrapsupplies to do the same thing! But that’s what happens when you flood the market constantly… that’s what happens when everyone wants to get a piece of that multi billion dollar industry.
I think that the industry is doing it to themselves by oversaturating the market and by having such a fast product turn around that the consumer can’t really garner any form of loyalty to them! Sometimes it takes months for the masses to hear/learn about a product/line (I mean, we have to see it being used don’t we?) but by the time that we do see it, it’s hard to find because many stores have stopped stocking it!
I’ve been having that problem with the Afternoon Tea line of Chloe’s closet and the CI Extreme Eyelets. I looked for months for the complete Afternoon Tea line earlier this year, and I still can’t find the CI Extreme Eyelets… they are considered “way old news”. Why? They are still great products, but the weren’t given a chance to EARN their popularity! I know quite a few scrappers who would like to get their hands on them, but can’t!
I think that the industry whodoos have lost sight of this time honored tradition. It’s been turned into the latest long running get rich quick scheme and they are now paying for it. Now it’s hurting them because we have run out of storage space for our stashes!
Another contributer to the decline is the competitiveness of the industry. It’s too emotionally draining now! I suffered a near breakdown earlier this year because I was scrapping for someone else and not myself. Now I scrap for myself and I feeel great! I don’t allow myself to try for publishing or DT’s.
The competitiveness of the industry is tied to the constant influx and obsoletion of product (nice and tidy isn’t it?). It is perceived that in order to be the best, you have to have the latest and greatest… and once a product is used by the popular scrappers, it’s time to move on to new product… it’s time for a new trend. What does this do? It does exactly what I pointed out in the previous paragraph. It forces rapid product turn around (which affects the majority (average) scrapper who can no longer get the items that we just saw used in the magazines because by the time the mag was published, the trend had moved on. It forces LSS’s to try to keep up and therefore deny the majority access to supplies that we can use.
One last thing that I think is contributing to the decline is the lack of accessible trends and techniques. I don’t have time to be dipping my papers in ink or waiting for plaster to dry. I want to get my pages done because memories are being made while I’m futting around with my supplies. The mags are so busy trying to get dibs on the next big trend that they have forgotten about the majority of us that don’t give a flip what the trend is. There is more advertising for products in the mags than there is techniques and the few mags that have focused on helping the scrapper moreso than the manufacturers have gone belly up (Scrapbook Answers being the latest… and they admit it was because of lack of support from the advertising sector). I know that that is the reason that I’ve stopped buying the mags. I don’t need to learn about the latest and greatest anything. I need inspiration without strings attached… so now I just go to galleries and check out the real scrappers.
The industry hurt itself… we didn’t hurt it. We’ve been doing what we’ve been doing and we are happy with that. If they’d cater to the masses instead of the minority that want to achieve celebrity status with wild and funky creations, they too could experience the long running success that CM has.
Somebody should be taking notes…