I agree with everything you said (call me Ms. Me Too!) and I want to add one more thing... it's very likely that the thing that will spell the end of the current crafting boom will be an improved economy. More people working leaves less time for crafts and more money to buy finished products... and a lot of the people who got into beading while un- (or under-) employed will still have the increased awareness and desire for beads, but suddenly will have money instead of free time... and they'll be even more likely to buy from the core of people still left doing it.
Look at lampworking... I can't imagine ever lighting a torch and then just deciding not to do it anymore, but for many people who try it, and even really enjoy it, it becomes impractical for one reason or another. Maybe they have kids and don't have time, or find their dream job, move to a condo where it's not allowed, learn more about safety issues and decide they don't have the wherewithal to truly do it safely... whatever the reason, the result is a person with a highly honed sense of appreciation for the art. A customer, and furthermore, someone who can tell their friends exactly why those darn beads ae so expensive. That is an asset to the whole community!
I agree with those who have said it's probably because it's summer now, and people are out doing things. I know that I buy (and make) more in winter, because I'm stuck indoors all day, the weather is depressing, and my joints are giving me all kinds of hell because it's cold. So I buy a lot of beading supplies as doing beadwork cheers me up, and doesn't require doing something like moving from my nice warm room.
There is also the fact that the economy isn't that great right now. I know the job market where I live is horrible, and a lot of people just don't have the spare cash for anything that isn't strictly necessary.
They are just that trends! The market is always shifting and changing. With the warmer months coming (or already here) it might be a change for the better. You can just tell by observing people that there is a lot of variety in the jewelery/beadwork that they are wearing. It helps especially if you have some kind of niche related to your specific beads. And there may be markets out there that you haven't even considered yet plus add that to offline marketing and promotion as well - it shouldn't be a dry spell for long.
I really appreciate all of the thoughtful comments on this topic. It's given me a lot to think about. I'm probably going to quit auctioning for a hile - I want to be outside too! :) But my website is staying up...
Anybody got any ideas for promoting a website? I periodically submit to search engines... but there's a lot of competition there too.
Hubby and I have talked about finding a retail outlet for our finished pieces (other than online). Now we just gotta put legs to our thoughts! I guess we're both kinda shy about promoting ourselves also.
Thanks again for all your comments! It has given me some hope after all.
On Sat, 15 May 2004 23:22:08 -0400, Paula C. Hunter wrote (in message ):
Thank you. Can you tell I did analysis of customer and website trends as part of my job? (when I had one)
I've been thinking about this for a long time, though. My biggest concern is the people in the third world who are currently enjoying an employment boom because of the international interest in beading. When the boom busts, their foreign employers and customers will be the first to go, and the economies in those places aren't exactly fighting for workers.
In the US, most of us can get a job that isn't making beads for a fraction of a cent apiece. That's not true everywhere, and if the bead job goes away, what will take its place?
I hope that it's going to be a soft landing for all those skilled artisans. I think that their only hope is to expand beyond traditional silversmithing to adapt to creating beads that aren't immediately recognizable as "Bali" or "Karen Tribe." Some of the specialness of the tradtional designs might get lost, but the main portion would be saved, and the people would still have jobs and learn skills so the tradition doesn't die out.
Now, if I could only learn to knit. :-) My mother is about the fastest knitter out there. She can make Aran knit sweaters in a weekend, and not one stitch is out of place. I think it took me two years to make a potholder. :-( That's one tradition that isn't being passed along, because none of the grandaughters have the least interest in learning to knit.
I could (and have been) able to tell you work/worked in a professional capacity of some sort! Don't worry overmuch about employment for the displace bead workers though - I can almost guarantee they will soon be employed in the next "fad" what ever that might be. And as for the true artisans possibly the true "core" of bead people can still support the market for their wares?? I hope so anyway.
Knitting - how I WISH I could. I can do almost all fiber arts with varying degrees of skill with the exception of knitting! Tried and tried and never got the "knack" of it!
What do you predict as the next craze in the art and craft world? I have been thinking quilting had a huge comeback, now beading, maybe ceramics is next?
On Sun, 16 May 2004 10:26:24 -0400, Paula C. Hunter wrote (in message ):
Fiber arts - knitting, crocheting and weaving with various off-the-wall fibers. I've seen the selection in the yarn area at the craft stores and the discounts stores growing with a variety of material we never would have recognized as yarn a couple of years ago. I'd bet a large portion of those fibers will be made of recycled materials, as there is a push to "close the loop." People have been collecting recyclables for a long time, and making items from this collected materials is bound to happen.
I'm also seeing devices like a knitting jenny spool on a much larger scale, which enables people with no knitting ability to make items that look quite nice. My daughter has a couple of these looms and is making socks, mittens and scarves, as well as hats for herself, her friends and the dog.
The scrapbooking insanity is coming to a peak, and will burn itself out soon. I've seen way too many scrapbooking doo-dads in clearance bins lately. Fine with me - I never understood the appeal of gluing things to paper once I was out of kindergarten.
If the economy rebounds, we'll see a drop in all sorts of all sorts of at home activities among working aged people, though I expect this will be cushioned from a free fall by all the retirees. (The baby boomers are beginning to retire) Ceramics might be in the offing, but I tend to doubt it. The baby boomer retirees are much healthier and more active as a group, and will prefer more active pursuits. They also seem far less likely to want an activity they need to attend on a regular basis, and most people can't/don't/wont make the investment in a kiln. Even more importantly, they won't want the mess associated with clay. I have been unable to think of a viable business model where people can glaze pre-molded ceramics, because of the unlikelihood of a regular repeat clientele, and the huge start up costs of a commercial ceramics shop.
Gardening is huge and will only continue to grow, since people will have more at home time. Anything that accents a garden should sell well (fused glass wind chimes?). In the more northerly climates, I expect that gardening and outdoor entertaining will be very important during the warmer months, and knitting/crocheting/fiber arts will dominate the winter and gift giving seasons.
Another strong possibility is the sewing of clothing, which hasn't been popular for quite a while. An older population, with time on their hands, and the ability to sew (these are people who had home ec in school, and their parents lived through the depression era) might reject the shoddy quality/high price of mass market goods and start making their own clothes that fit. Electronic sewing machines make that easier than ever, and if the economy rebounds, there will be plenty of money to invest in such machnes and load of fabric. Making fancy duds for the grandchildren and clothes for slouching around the house clothes will likely be the first things to take off, although I could be off there - it might be sewing home decor that takes off first, since things like curtains are relatively easy to make and way overpriced in stores.
All this presents an opportunity to dedicated beaders and glassworkers. The baby boomer retirees have money, and don't want to see themselves coming and going. They entertain and go out a lot, so they do need adornment. I think that showy, higher-end items will sell well (followed by cheaper copies of the same thing) to those in their 50's and 60's. Nice, heirloom quality jewelry for children should also do well, as the Boomers lavish gifts on their grandchildren.
My crystal ball is getting cloudy now, and I'm starting to hurt, so I'll sign off now. It will be interesting to see how my predictions pan out over the next couple of years.
I felt like the bead market was starting to overheat a couple of years ago when I noticed the number of entries in the yellow pages under "beads" jumped from 2 to 6 (and Michaels and Hobby lobby were not listed). It reminded me of the baseball card fad about a decade ago. I think there will always be a market for fine hand crafted anything (whether it is ceramics, beads, quilts or whatever) even if the market in general slows down. However, as the pie shrinks the number of people who get a big enough slice will shrink as well. Jewelry will never go away. Now that men are wearing it more, the market can only increase. And most necklaces and bracelets are based on beads of one sort or another. So if you are in it for the bucks, start looking for the next thing. If you are truly interested in beads as a medium (whether woven, strung, lampworked or whatever), and your work shows it, there should still be some kind of market out there for you. As far as what is happening short term, seasonal variations explain a lot of it.
I broke down and watched an HGTV special with Carol Duvall at the big crafts trade show. (Forgive me, it seems like Carol Duvall singlehandedly manages to "dumb down" everything she promotes). She showed a variety of items but the majority of them seemed to be geared towards scrapbooking and its variants. I think paper crafts in general are the Big Thing and may be for quite a while to come. Makes sense, it's inexpensive and accessible, and allows people who are semi-creative access to a wide range of designs, etc. I don't mean to sound snobby, I can't draw to save my life. If I were inclined to dress up pictures and save things that way, I'd be all over the stuff. I think the paints, stamp color blocks and all the other nifty things to go along with the basics are way cool. But not as seductive as glass is for me.
I'm hoping the bead furor will die down just a little bit. Just like it saddened me seeing so many crappy synthetic yarns flood the fiber market, I don't especially care for all the marginal beads. It takes the "shine" away. But I remember how it rose and fell in the before (70's for beads, 80's for fiber), and they're both back.
I absolutely agree with this. Quality art is always in demand.
But I do think that eBay might not be a consistent outlet for beads. I think eBay encourages people to sell, no matter what they have to sell. So people sell junk because there is this place that allows non-professionals to sell whatever they want. eBay is basically an electronic flea-market. Many people sell high quality things in a professional manner. But the medium (eBay) has some very odd dynamics.
Summer plays havoc with fabric sales, and according to the owners of the store where I work, this is a regular occurance. Sales have picked up now the weather is turning cold (in the southern hemisphere) - more people stay indoors and craft/sew/whatever their chosen hobby may be.
Trust me, the exact same conversation is taking place on the knitting lists. And if you think you can't make a decent amount of money from beads, don't even think about knitting.... $200 worth of yarn and 200 hours of work into a sweater that someone will offer $50 for...
Karin (who knits too, but would never ever consider trying to sell it - NO one could afford it. :-)
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