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. With Indie crafting and the mainstream (cont’d)
Posted Under: DIYism
As a follow up to this past weekend’s Consumed about Crafty Chica:
The sort of sub-theme of that column was that the mainstream/traditional craft industry seems to be making more of an effort to work with or reach out to (or just sell to) the Handmade 2.0 world. I noted in the column that Kathy Cano-Murillo and Jenny Hart were featured speakers at the most recent Craft & Hobby Association convention — and I also mentioned that some of the material at that trade show describing the indie-craft scene was met with exasperation by at least some actual members of that scene.
In light of all that it’s worth pointing out to those of you who are interested in the crafty movement — which I obviously think is a pretty big deal and pretty interesting, which is why I write about it all the time — might want to check out some follow-up thoughts that post-date my deadline on that column.
Specifically, the most recent episode of CraftyPod deals directly with the issue. Sister Diane interviews Mike Hartnett of Creative Leisure News, a longtime observer of the craft-retail business. If you’re an indie crafter yourself, you might be interested in hearing his observations about how that business has changed and evolved over time — he knows his stuff. (Among other things it’s pretty surprising to hear how relatively recently scrapbooking was sort of marginalized, given how central to the mainstream-retail craft idea it is today.)
That said, I remain more than a little surprised at how belatedly the mainstream craft industry seems to be taking an interest in the indie scene. That comes through in the interview. But it’s to Sister Diane’s credit (and actually this is typical of why I like the crafty crowd) that she did this interview, and then even contributed a piece to Hartnett’s publication.
And it’s to Hartnett’s credit that he asks directly for feedback from Sister Diane’s audience. I’m thinking about emailing myself — maybe let him know about an article and a book and a few posts and columns that I guess he missed.
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Reader Comments
Hello, Rob –
First, thank you for the excellent column on Kathy and the indie movement. And many thanks for your coverage of my blog here.
I think this yet-to-be navigated landscape between indie crafters and the craft industry is fascinating. We speak such different languages, and yet there’s incredible possibilities for fruitful collaboration. It’s going to take some sustained effort on our part to get the industry to understand this. They’re simply focused on who will buy what, and as of yet, they can’t identify us as strong consumers of anything in particular.
But, as Mike so astutely pointed out in the interview, the traditional consumers this industry has been marketing to for so long are aging. The industry will have to awaken to the indie philosophy sooner or later, because let’s face it, we’re the source of future sales.
Yeah I’ve been sort of all Craftypod all the time lately. It’s getting embarrassing! But you’ve been right on top of stuff I’ve been interested in lately — and by that I mean you’ve been ahead of me.
Anyway, I agree with all your points here. But I do think both groups seem to be making an effort to understand the other’s point of view. So, that’s something.
Rob, I really am looking for input on indies that I can pass along to manufacturers, designers, and retailers. You and your readers are more than welcome to bombard me with ideas, complaints, suggestions, etc.
Mike Hartnett — mike@clnonline.com