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…

I’ve never tooted for any DT’s that I landed. Why? Because they aren’t that big of a deal (well the 1st one was, but subsequent ones are just gigs). Should I throw in here that I am rarely ever on more than 1 DT at a time, so please don’t misconstrue my last sentence. I’ve shared with my 2 online sisters and maybe a few others through pm, but never in a thread.

If I were ever to get published I might toot simply because it’s a milestone, after that, nope.

I’m sorry, but I’d rather have people pm me to congratulate me (if they want) after they see my work, I don’t feel the need to say “look at me! I’ve gotten a little bit of the spotlight!”… and that’s exactly how I would see it if I were to toot for every published gig.

Maybe I was just dropped on my head as a youth, I just see all of the tooting as Me-ism that is eminating from a spoiled ID as my psychology professor would’ve said. Validation is a wonderful thing, it’s empowering and warm and sickly sweet, but it’s all the more sweeter if it comes unbidden.

I do want to offer my 2 pennies about the structure of comments on this blog. This is, from my understanding, a platform for honest discussion of scrap-related topics. Where as personal attacks and irrelevent comments bent on only hurting others should have no place here, I don’t think that it is fair to lump any and every statement that doesn’t elicit a warm fuzzy to be as such. The “look at me! I’m a wEEEEEEEEEEEEEener!!!” comment didn’t fall into the category of the uncalled for. It was actually pretty funny, and nobody was hurt (unless you’ve actually posted look at me I’m a wheener in your toot posts). I applaud the blogger for establishing some ground rules (i.e., no personal attacks) and I also applaud her for acknowledging that just because it SOUNDS like the shoe may fit your foot, it doesn’t mean that anyone was talking bad about you. If you are guilty of the actions that are mentioned in an otherwise generalized comment, then that’s a battle that you need to fight with your inner demons. To chastise someone because you feel that you resemble their statement is a dog that won’t hunt.

I think that we are fully capable of keeping this blog acceptable without tearing people down AND without asking people to sugar coat their opinions. If I wanted to hear nicely coined comments, I’d go elsewhere.

On the flip side…I was DT Co for a site and had to choose the DT when we had a call. I always asked how many DT’s someone was on as well but not because I wanted to see if they were ‘popular’ but I did it because I didn’t want someone who WAS on 10 other teams and couldn’t devote the time for our site. So I LOVED to get the unpubbed girls…no name girls if you will because they were EXCITED and they brought so much more to the table….just simply because they were excited. Oh and one of those girls is now a Junkitz girl…how excited for her am I?? SUPER!! I can say…I knew her when….

It’s just gotten so nasty out there…and it’s a shame. It’s sposed to be a fun added bonus to doing what you love to do.

Please understand – this is not sour grapes, because I have never submitted anything to a DT call or contest – it’s the fact that as a subscriber and reader of several magazines, the same styles and predicted embellishments are being shown over and over again. Too much becomes just that – TOO much!

As much as I love Elsie and her style, it’s been saturated into every nook and cranny of the market available to scrappers to the point that it is almost overwhelming. And, if you love that particular style (just as #9 said above), it’s been done. I would think anything submitted to a manufacturer’s or other DT call/contest would be viewed as an Elsie knockoff – nothing original or innovative.

Again, I would just love to see some diversity in the industry!!

Just my thoughts.
Thanks for the venue for airing some good and thoughtful conversation!

Please understand – this is not sour grapes, because I have never submitted anything to a DT call or contest – it’s the fact that as a subscriber and reader of several magazines, the same styles and predicted embellishments are being shown over and over again. Too much becomes just that – TOO much!

As much as I love Elsie and her style, it’s been saturated into every nook and cranny of the market available to scrappers to the point that it is almost overwhelming. And, if you love that particular style (just as #9 said above), it’s been done. I would think anything submitted to a manufacturer’s or other DT call/contest would be viewed as an Elsie knockoff – nothing original or innovative.

Just my thoughts.
Thanks for the venue for airing some good and thoughtful conversation!

As for the original question, I think many are done for publicity and marketing, in addition to needing designers to create fantastic samples. It is a brilliant marketing strategy, and one that has been proven to work effectively.