How did you become involved in the craft sector?
A lifelong love of art, crafts and books led to my decision to join Search Press back in the 1980s. I have been involved in the sector ever since, at Search Press in Tunbridge Wells and then in London for several years. I am now happily part of the company's creative team.

How do you view the market at present?
Enduring, buoyant and fascinating. Trends come and go in terms of crafts, which as an industry will always have a strong, core market. We anticipate trends and respond quickly, while also developing a subject and technique specific list that caters for a broad audience.

How do you monitor trends and what is key for the coming months?
Trends are monitored by regularly reading specialist magazines, going to shows, exhibitions and galleries, by looking at our markets and listening to what manufacturers, retailers, our sales force and our readers say. There are always going to be crazes within subject areas. Currently, beads are hot, but there are many general beading books in the market, so we are focusing on trends within trends and being subject specific with a new ‘Twenty to Make’ series. Beaded embellishments and charms are seen on every high street and one of the first titles will be on charms. There are crazes within paper crafts with heightened mixed media interest, also textiles, and we will be publishing more titles to catch them early on.

What does your role at Search Press involve?
I research, source and commission authors for our expanding list of publications, while working closely with the editors and designers. The key to our success is finding the best crafts people for books that catch the trends, fill gaps in the market, or offer something exciting or different. Authors’ work must be technically accurate and inspirational and our books must reflect their expertise. This is all part of the commissioning challenge.

What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your job?
The most rewarding part is when books are delivered and successful sales follow, with our titles making an impact on the craft market as either market leaders, or highly regarded practical guides. The most challenging and enjoyable aspect is finding the right authors for our books.

What are the key strengths of Search Press within the craft market?
We provide accurate information in books packed with ideas, projects, clear instructions and easy-to-follow, step-by-step photographs. Also, the titles are good value and widely available. In addition, we distribute the best of other publishers’ craft titles, with the result that we can offer a huge range of subjects to the hobby, amateur and professional markets. We are an independent family-owned company and quick, efficient response to orders is important, as well as offering a friendly, responsive and consistent customer service.

What are the future plans for Search Press?
We plan to continue researching and publishing a wide range of affordable titles for our UK and international markets. The recent expansion of the warehouse and offices means we can now offer more books to our customers with even greater efficiency, while retaining the identity and integrity of a team of people who really care about the books they publish.