|
Tooling Up
Listed under: Interviews
Published: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Lynn Martin, editor of Quick & Crafty!, believes a new-found professionalism among crafters could herald a hike in gadget sales
As editor of Quick & Crafty! magazine, Lynn Martin makes it her business to be one step ahead of the trends influencing UK crafters. Her latest observation may have an interesting impact on the popularity of high-ticket crafter gadgets. “Proper finishing on a craft project is becoming more and more important for crafters,” says Lynn. “I believe the consumer is very sophisticated now; I don't think she's happy sending out items that she perhaps wouldn't want to buy. Although she wants her projects to look different from something she could buy in the shop – and still wants to add her own creativity – she nonetheless wants to produce something that looks very slick. A proper finish is what sets modern cards, keepsakes and gifts apart from those that have a very handmade look and and hark back to the 80s. Careful finishing allows people to create a professional look that, although it has been produced at home, can compare to something brought from a shop.”
With 'handmade' items gracing high-street outlets as diverse as Clinton Cards, Accessorize and Habitat, it seems that crafters are increasingly keen to meet commercial standards with their own work. Such trends could prove the perfect sales hook for retailers. “The best route to achieve the professional finish is to use gadgets and tools, and read magazines to get hints and tips from designers,” says Lynn. “It can be the smallest thing; we might assume that people know how to cut a piece of paper square but that's actually quite a tricky thing to do unaided. If you have a cutting tool, guillotine of cutting gadget you are able to do it quite easily. It can be as simple as using the right adhesive and right cutting blades – and then progresses right up to using a die-cut machine to get perfect shapes. If you think about lettering, a few years ago crafters would have handwritten on the front of a card but now you have stick-ons, rub downs and peel-offs to create a more controlled effect. Taking it one step further and printing on the computer gives even more choice and an even more uniform finish.”
Lynn also believes that the time and care invested in getting things just right may impact on the approach crafters have to their finished items. “Crafters are becoming more discerning about what they want to make, the effect they want to create and who they want to send the item to,” she concludes. “They're less likely than ever to be happy churning out batches and batches of finished items that don't have a home.” Quality rather than quantity looks set to win the day.
With 'handmade' items gracing high-street outlets as diverse as Clinton Cards, Accessorize and Habitat, it seems that crafters are increasingly keen to meet commercial standards with their own work. Such trends could prove the perfect sales hook for retailers. “The best route to achieve the professional finish is to use gadgets and tools, and read magazines to get hints and tips from designers,” says Lynn. “It can be the smallest thing; we might assume that people know how to cut a piece of paper square but that's actually quite a tricky thing to do unaided. If you have a cutting tool, guillotine of cutting gadget you are able to do it quite easily. It can be as simple as using the right adhesive and right cutting blades – and then progresses right up to using a die-cut machine to get perfect shapes. If you think about lettering, a few years ago crafters would have handwritten on the front of a card but now you have stick-ons, rub downs and peel-offs to create a more controlled effect. Taking it one step further and printing on the computer gives even more choice and an even more uniform finish.”
Lynn also believes that the time and care invested in getting things just right may impact on the approach crafters have to their finished items. “Crafters are becoming more discerning about what they want to make, the effect they want to create and who they want to send the item to,” she concludes. “They're less likely than ever to be happy churning out batches and batches of finished items that don't have a home.” Quality rather than quantity looks set to win the day.
I totally agree with the comments, particularly quality over quantity. All our items are hand made to order with the emphasis on quality rather than quantity.
We have been operating in this way for 7 years and see more and more businesses going down this route. We can offer totally personalised gifts and use a wide variety of modern tools including computer aided design and printing.
It can be a difficult choice to make but we found it worth while in the end.
Just had to make a comment here!!
We card makers of the 80s (I actually started in the 70s!!!) weren’t quite so unsophisticated as you seem to suggest. Though craft shops were unheard of - apart from to buy ‘finished’ items & they were few and far between - one could buy a range of plastic alphabet stencils from all good stationers so ‘handwritten’ was never an issue, Pinking shears created decorative edges and a knife and ruler were at hand for squares. I also remember taping a Stanley knife blade to a pair of compass for circles & ovals. Oh, and back to those plastic stencils, background paper was created using bottle ink or acrylic paints, a sponge & any plastic stencils available - there were loads even in the 70s.
Yes, life is now much easier but don’t run away with the idea that the standard of the finished products was any lower in those ‘good old days’.................