Fashion and Decor Trends Influence Your Craft Business
What’s in, what’s hot, what’s not. The best-dressed
list, the worst dressed… all that stuff can be overwhelming. It
is really all about the latest trends in the gift, leisure or craft
industry? Is there really anything new? Trends by definition should
be techniques, motifs, medium, colors, and supplies that grow in popularity
over time versus a fad, which comes and goes in a blink of an eye. There
are trends that stand the test of time and those that last from a few
months to a year.
Trend and Style categories.
- Garden & Nature
- Western, and Southwestern
- Country
- Classic, clean and geometric
- Sweet and sentimental
- Whimsical and arty
- Bees, Butterflies & Dragonflies
- Animal lovers’ (cats, dogs, birds…)
- Sea and Sea Life
- High Tech and urban
- Bright and fun
- Minimalist
Lifestyle changes explain the popularity of many of our current
motif or style trends. The garden look. Western. Lodge and
country. Simple folk creations. It can also explain the popularity
of collectibles. Items like teddy bears, pigs, dolls, rubber-stamps,
and hearts. These are all places and objects near and dear
to the heart. A need for comfort also explains the high demand
for hand made home decor. Personal and personalized are the
keywords. And now, companies can use
your digital images to create anything from handbags to doormats and even
large full color photo blankets
that are unique!
Watch what the teens, tweens and kids are up to. They are the ones
most likely to be trend setters these days. Take a look at colorful and fun Stickers - FREE Shipping
Don't let trends and trending overwhelm you. Trust your instincts
when selecting new products and incorporating new trends.
Southwestern style doesn’t sell well in Georgia. Beach
motifs are not common in the midwest. Trends are to be used
as guides. There is no one, sure-fire trend in the craft business.
It is the combination of all the techniques, motifs, media,
and fashions that sell product. Frosted,
Etched & Stained Glass Designs for decorating glass panels,
mirrors and table tops come in a wide variety of motifs
for creating a custom look..
Doing your own trend watching:
- Attend trade and consumer shows
- Read the craft consumer and trade journals
- Visit gift shops of all kinds
- Read decorating magazines and watch the shows on cable TV
- Visit cutting edge craft shows
- Observe the displays in furniture and home accessory shops
- Find the common themes and threads in books and movies around you.
- People watch in malls
- Cut out appealing displays and designs from magazines and catalogs.
- Review your junk mail and catalogs
- Join local craft groups
- Note what is being worn and displayed on and around TV and movie
personalities.
Trending Jargon
Classic: a trend that has survived over a long period of time;
examples are “that little black dress” or the teddy bear
Color: a phenomenon of light or visual perception that enables
one to differentiate identical items
Color Value: lightness or darkness of a color.
Consistency: the thinness or thickness of a medium
Contrast: the sharp difference between two colors
Fad: interest followed for a brief time with exaggerated zeal
or craze
Hue: the name of a pure color or interchanged with the word
color
In: current trend; for example, nostalgia is in
Intensity: color’s purity or strength
Lifestyle: broad view of an individual or society’s beliefs,
habits, living, career, and home
Medium: material or surface being used; examples include wood,
fabric, paper, clay, or plastic
Motif: another term for theme
Out: no longer a trend or fad;
Primary colors: red, blue, yellow
Secondary colors: mixing of primary colors; green, orange, purple
Shade: a color plus black
Technique: Skill being used; examples include weaving,
cropping, photography, rubber stamping
Theme: subject, topic, or motif; examples include nature, family,
or friends
Tint: a color plus white
Tone: a color plus gray
Trend: a general direction taken, a current style or preference,
vogue; usually builds over a period of time as opposed to a fad.
Trending: trying to predict or examine large-scale popularity
of a theme, motif, or item
|