Thrifty Crafters Are Trendsetters!

I just got back from opening day at CHA {Craft and Hobby Association} Winter tradeshow. It is the largest tradeshow for the crafting industry. I can only describe it as fun, exciting, entertaining and enlightening.

I admit that I am a bit star-struck by the famous crafter/bloggers in the industry. The first favorite person I saw was Tim Holtz. He is so popular that I got just a quick hello and then he was off talking to the retailers.

I was lucky enough to get to spend more time and walk the floor with Karen Burniston. She is such a talented designer and such a beautiful person.

I also had the pleasure of spending some time with Eileen Hull. I attended a seminar on Industry Trends where she was one of the guest speakers.

So it turns out that the combination of thrifting, crafting and upcycling is the predicted hot trend right now. I really didn't expect to hear that something I thought was a fun hobby would turn out to be a trend. But as I walked the show floor I saw examples of this trend repeated on many booths. Many companies  used old "junk" as display props and even as a line of scrapbooking paper.

So enjoy the photos of some of the displays around CHA in lovely Anaheim, California.

The first batch of photos are from Tim Holtz's displays at the Ranger and Sizzix booths. Look at all of the wonderful vintage treasures.

These Putz houses are new from Melissa Frances. They will come as a kit where you would assemble the houses and then decorate them. They would also include the bottlebrush trees. I don't know when these will be available in stores but I so want these!

Below is an example of how October Afternoon displayed a vintage typewriter in their booth.

BoBunny had an entire line of product called Weekend Market. The printed scrapbooking paper has images of things you would find at garage sales or flea markets. See the scales, postage stamps and ruler papers? Again, I don't know when these will be in stores but they are very cool.

The seminar on Industry Trends also highlighted the fact that because of this down economy, people are returning to the idea of reusing what they already have. They used the term "Granny Chic" as in returning to the things we remember that our grandmothers had but repurposing them in a modern way. An example would be, maybe we remember grandma's tea cozy but we don't drink as much tea. How about an iPad cozy instead, using the same techniques and fabrics as what grandma had.

I walked away realizing that I am part of the Trendsetters. For the first time in my life, I am on the cutting edge even if it means I got there by way of a lot of old junk. So anyone who thrifts and/or crafts with thrifted items should realize that you are setting an industry trend!