femkes_follies (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
femkes_follies) wrote2009-01-28 03:06 pm
femkes_follies) wrote2009-01-28 03:06 pm
Entry tags:
Craft Couture - or the Fad Dash....
My attempt at finding the fabric I want locally has, so far, been a total wash. *sigh* The quilting stores in the area have been dwindling, and those still around are rather small. Nor have any of them expressed the slightest interest in what I'm looking for when I ask. "Nope. Don't have it. Never heard of it." Wish I'd had the magazine with me yesterday that I found a full page ad in. Grrrr.
Which led me to maunder on the topic of hip handiwork. Crafts tend to run in cycles. Anybody remember macrame? Around 15 years ago, Quilting was BIG. The quilting book section at Barnes and Noble covered 5 or 6 shelves. There was a quilting shop on every corner. PBS had umpteen shows. But it's star is fading. Which isn't to say that nobody quilts anymore. Just that it's contracted back to it's core audience. Mostly, ladies of a Certain Age. It's no longer in.
What is? Ah, knitting! Go to your bookstore. How many new books are there since the last time you looked? And cute, cozy knitting stores are all the rage. Wood floors, tables to sit at, "sit and knit" nights scheduled. There are at least 2 knitting TV shows that I know of. I suspect THIS trend is reaching it's zenith. The book market is nearly saturated. And, after all, how many people will continue to indulge, once it's not "hip" anymore? Though it's ascendency seems to be helped by the addition of crochet and felting - combining all three techniques to keep something hundreds ofyears old "fresh and new!"
What's next? It would seem to be sewing. With some very simple embroidery thrown in. Anything easy to master and "cute" or "kitshcy" or "vintage."
Now, understand that I have no problem with trendy crafts. (All right, I don't quite understand the mega-success of scrapbooking. Mostly because I SO do not have that kind of time.) And there is a whole generation of women out there whose mothers didn't teach them this stuff. Granted, most of them will learn the bare basics, if that. But it's better than nothing. And they buzz happily from one trend to the next. It just frustrates me that the materials come and go. It also aggravates me to hear "buy from your local store, not online, or we'll go out of business!" from stores that can't be bothered to put in an iota of customer service. Nor express any interest in what their customers want. I'd think that if someone walked into your store looking for something specific, you'd make a note of it. And if you got another person looking for the same thing, you'd think "Aha! This may be a trend!" With sufficient interest, consider stocking it. But I guess it's easier to page through the catalogs your sales reps bring and pick out what YOU like. Then whine that everybody just buys online and that's why you went out of business.
Granted, I'm a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, myself. However, I think there is a quantitative difference between the Hippity-Hoppity craft addict and someone who's proficient at many things because they use them. I can bake. And more than just a Semi-homemade add to a cake mix sort of baking ability. I can knit - lace, entrelac, socks, cables, fair isle. Embroidery? Gotch covered. Quilting - yep. Though I'm pretty much too lazy to actually handquilt something. Mostly because I need that quilt on a bed or in a crib somewhere. I can sew - have been able to since I was around 8.
I just wish I had a way sometimes to steer the trends around to things I like - just so I can find the materials more easily. ;-) However, I have yet to determine how to manipulate the moddish mob. *sigh*
Which led me to maunder on the topic of hip handiwork. Crafts tend to run in cycles. Anybody remember macrame? Around 15 years ago, Quilting was BIG. The quilting book section at Barnes and Noble covered 5 or 6 shelves. There was a quilting shop on every corner. PBS had umpteen shows. But it's star is fading. Which isn't to say that nobody quilts anymore. Just that it's contracted back to it's core audience. Mostly, ladies of a Certain Age. It's no longer in.
What is? Ah, knitting! Go to your bookstore. How many new books are there since the last time you looked? And cute, cozy knitting stores are all the rage. Wood floors, tables to sit at, "sit and knit" nights scheduled. There are at least 2 knitting TV shows that I know of. I suspect THIS trend is reaching it's zenith. The book market is nearly saturated. And, after all, how many people will continue to indulge, once it's not "hip" anymore? Though it's ascendency seems to be helped by the addition of crochet and felting - combining all three techniques to keep something hundreds ofyears old "fresh and new!"
What's next? It would seem to be sewing. With some very simple embroidery thrown in. Anything easy to master and "cute" or "kitshcy" or "vintage."
Now, understand that I have no problem with trendy crafts. (All right, I don't quite understand the mega-success of scrapbooking. Mostly because I SO do not have that kind of time.) And there is a whole generation of women out there whose mothers didn't teach them this stuff. Granted, most of them will learn the bare basics, if that. But it's better than nothing. And they buzz happily from one trend to the next. It just frustrates me that the materials come and go. It also aggravates me to hear "buy from your local store, not online, or we'll go out of business!" from stores that can't be bothered to put in an iota of customer service. Nor express any interest in what their customers want. I'd think that if someone walked into your store looking for something specific, you'd make a note of it. And if you got another person looking for the same thing, you'd think "Aha! This may be a trend!" With sufficient interest, consider stocking it. But I guess it's easier to page through the catalogs your sales reps bring and pick out what YOU like. Then whine that everybody just buys online and that's why you went out of business.
Granted, I'm a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, myself. However, I think there is a quantitative difference between the Hippity-Hoppity craft addict and someone who's proficient at many things because they use them. I can bake. And more than just a Semi-homemade add to a cake mix sort of baking ability. I can knit - lace, entrelac, socks, cables, fair isle. Embroidery? Gotch covered. Quilting - yep. Though I'm pretty much too lazy to actually handquilt something. Mostly because I need that quilt on a bed or in a crib somewhere. I can sew - have been able to since I was around 8.
I just wish I had a way sometimes to steer the trends around to things I like - just so I can find the materials more easily. ;-) However, I have yet to determine how to manipulate the moddish mob. *sigh*