19 Sep 5 Fall Craft Trends to Watch
With the holidays just around the corner, you may already be stocking your shelves with fresh new products in anticipation. While many of the tools and supplies your customers use most never go out of style, here are 5 of the hottest craft trends to keep on your radar, and some easy ways you can incorporate them into your business.
Paint Pouring
Paint pouring is the new adult coloring, but it’s so easy, even kids can do it! Just search the #paintpouring hashtag on Instagram and you’ll see thousands of hypnotic videos demonstrating the technique. There’s no limit to the range of items on which you can use this technique!
If you sell acrylic paint in your store, consider hosting a class or make & take for your customers featuring this technique. For fiber arts or fabric retailers, a display featuring an item you have paint-poured item arranged with some coordinating yarns or fabrics would be an eye-catching conversation starter.
Paint Pouring Project on the Redmond Ben Franklin Crafts & Frames Blog.
Enamel Pins
This must-have accessory shows no signs of slowing down! Crafters of all persuasions love adding unique “pin flair” to project bags, lapels, or even bulletin boards to show their allegiance to their craft, favorite pop culture phenomenons, or perhaps even your shop! Creating custom enamel pins for your brand is a relatively cost-effective way to take advantage of this trend. Don’t forget to have some fun with your imagery! Bijou Basin Ranch engaged in some playful branding with their custom yak knitting and baby got yak enamel pins to reinforce their position as the “yak yarn people;” A Good Yarn Sarasota created a series of pins to reflect the many crafts supported at the shop (knitting, spinning, and weaving) along with their iconic yarnbombed palm tree and logos, and Kelbourne Woolens created a series of enamel pins styled to look like badges one might earn from scouting that cleverly align with their well-established branding.
Adorable Animals
Last year, unicorns and rainbows were the imagery of choice – even Starbucks made a Unicorn-themed drink! In fall 2018, llamas have replaced unicorns as the “trendy” animal to feature in just about any project you can imagine! Other cute critters such as sloths, birds, dogs, and cats are also in vogue – can you ever go wrong with something that makes you say “awwww” the second you look at it?!
Llama display in the Crate Paper booth at Creativation 2018.
Wall Hangings
DIY wall hangings are another continuing trend, but with a twist: latch hooking, macrame and other creative approaches for creating decorative pieces are now gaining popularity. Don’t know how to weave, knit or crochet? Don’t worry – there are plenty of DIY tutorials dedicated to simple projects even a non-crafter can do, all you have to do is type “DIY Wall hanging” into Pinterest to get thousands of inspiring ideas. Wall hanging projects are a great entry into the world of craft for many folks who have never sewn a stitch in their life….we all know how satisfying it is to create something beautiful with our own two hands!
Consider holding a class in your shop or at a local event in your community to engage potential new crafters. Another way to add this trend to your shop is to package all of the supplies into a kit which you can sell either online or in-store, which is especially great for capturing those new to the craft since they don’t have to track down all of the tools needed. If you’ll be attending a show or have a brick and mortar location, an eye-catching wall hanging can become a conversation piece for browsing customers.
Eye-Catching Embellishments
Pom poms, fringe, tassels or a bit of sparkle – these finishing touches make a project seem extra special, and can be used to decorate virtually any item. For yarn craft, fringe and tassels have migrated from the runways and can be found in a variety of trending garment and accessory patterns, but they can also be used in other creative ways such as the pillow project from Make & Do Studio featured below or check out more great ideas collected here on Pinterest – just grab some yarn and a set of pom pom makers such as these colorful options from Knitter’s Pride and you’re all set!
Glitter is also everywhere this season, from sparkly slime to specialty paint, paper, vinyl, yarn, fabrics….and even edible glitter! Depending on your clientele, you may not wish to invest heavily in glittery inventory that runs the risk of falling out of vogue quickly, but you can bring in a few key products and strategically place them in your shop to highlight this trend to your customers.
Sterling Silver & Silk from Kraemer Yarns features a subtle sparkle effect.
Still not sure which trends your customers want to see more of? Click here to contact Leanne to set up 1-on-1 Consulting to zero in on the most important trends for your business.
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