Everywhere I look lately it seems there are beautiful new products that I am inspired to experiment with and see where they take me creatively. Industry trade shows are packed with new companies and with new product introductions from existing companies: new papers, new embellishments and new tools. There are old products from other areas of the craft industry being marketed for new use to scrapbookers. While not every new item I see raises my interest, it seems there is always a wealth of new inspiration waiting to be explored.
Unfortunately, as exciting as it all is, there has also emerged a downside to this constant new product. The scrapbook industry has become subject to trends and fashion changes nearly as seasonal as the runways of New York and Paris. While it is certainly exciting to see new things, the pace has become extremely difficult to keep up with. As a submissions scrapper it is imperative that I keep up with the latest products and trends in my submissions work. The recent frantic pace of trends and new product introductions have meant I haven’t had time to experiment with all the new things that interest me before I feel pressured to move on to the new “latest and greatest” thing.
This is a bad trend for both designers and manufacturers. For designers like myself, it means we have to pick and choose which of the trends and new products we actually want to try out. It means that we can’t buy everything. And that is why it is bad for manufacturers as well. It means that companies lose our business for products that interest us simply because we can’t possibly try everything before the next trend makes it obsolete. In addition it gives companies a very short time to reap a profit from the investment they make in product development and production set-up, often resulting in the need for higher per-unit pricing and also resulting in more products that are unprofitable to the manufacturer.
Kristina White, owner of the Two Peas in a Bucket online store as well as a talented designer, brought up recently in her blog how this rapid cycle of trends is adversely affecting retailers as well. Stores have to struggle to turn over inventory fast enough to avoid losing money on stale product that doesn’t sell as trends shift, and to quickly generate cash to order the next round of fresh inventory to keep up with the latest product releases.
So if the frantic pace of change isn’t good for anyone, what can be done about it? Unfortunately I’m not sure I know the answer to that. I do know that out of financial necessity some companies may soon have to scale back their offerings at trade shows as the economy and consumer’s disposable income suffers. Consumers, if they speak loudly enough, may get their voices heard that they aren’t ready to move from one trend to the next so quickly.
Whatever the solution, I hope we find it quickly. I’d really like some time to see the sights at this design destination before traveling to the next one.
About Nancy Nally
Nancy this is part of the reason a lot of LSS are clossing. I don’t have the answers either but I know the consumer buying bug for new products is not helping people find a style or a niche in their work. They are to busy trying to but the latest and greatest. Hugs Wanda
Although I agree with most of this, I don’t necessarily believe that in order to submit we always have to use the latest and greatest. If we can figure out an inventive way or a new way or just a good wya to use old product it will be accepted. I think the design speaks more about the LO than what paper you happened to use.
(not trying to start a fight though, I did enjoy reading this)
Didn’t KI Memories do something a little different this past CHA… like re-introduce older lines? (can’t remember exactly, but I do remember a good response). Anyway, I’d love to see manufacturers re-introduce older lines and maybe add a few new embellishments. Aren’t we often saying how we need to use up our stash? Or manufacturers could introduce a line a little at a time… for example, a few papers and embellishments, then later add more coordinating papers and embellishments. That way, we won’t have to put our “old” papers aside.
Just some rambling thoughts.
P.S. Hi Nancy!
I’ve been thinking about this topic so much lately. I feel like I have to buy it as soon as it comes out because if I don’t, I may loose out. Some retailers do “one-time” buys. They don’t keep it in stock for long and if the product is hot, it won’t stay on the shelves. That said, I don’t always use the products right away. If the mfgs didn’t put out lines so quickly, I wouldn’t have to rush out and buy new stuff all the time. Then again, because the consumers DO rush out and buy up the new stuff, the mfgs have incentive to create new products. And if mfgs don’t create new things and get them out quickly, they may loose market share because their competitors can.
I agee that the retail businesses loose out in this scencario. Eventually, I will use that product – it can stay in my stash for two years. A retail store has to cycle their stock frequently. The ones who hold on to the old stuff and never mark it down are not going to survive. You have to make room for the new and buy the new otherwise your customer will find another retailer who can fulfill their needs for the latest and greatest.
I’m not sure where the answer lies. Is it the consumer? The mfg? The retailer? Very thought provoking. . . . .
Amen Nancy! You said it so well.
It has really been scary to me lately how fast it is moving.
Thanks for taking time to post this and your other expertise knowledge about DT position work. : ) You really said what I’ve been thinking and wondering about lately.
Deanna
(Mamato2PeasInAPod)
i agree with all of this… it is hard and such a vicious cycle… what to do??
maggie
definately agree with this and that is why lots of retailers are scaling down with what they carry
I definitely agree this is a problem, and if the economy goes where I think it’s going, it will be more of a problem.
Several of the craft magazines I submit to specifically request that we use product that will be available six to eight months down the line when the issue is published. With the rapid turnover of products, this necessitates buying new supplies for almost every submission period. Meanwhile, the average crafter still has stuff from two years ago that she never figured out what to do with.
I’m also seeing this from the retail point of view at the LSS where I work–rapid turnover of products is absolutely essential. Unfortunately, this often means taking a loss on something that didn’t sell as well as hoped, in order to make room for the next batch of stuff from the next trade show. It’s quite a juggling act. The store where I work is having a very hard time with it.
Nancy,
This post really hit home with me. I’ve only been scrapping for a little over 2 1/2 years, but in that time, I’ve accumulated a LOT of stuff! I purge through it every so often & give some of it to my sister & nieces since I got them involved in scrapbooking, but I just feel like I can’t keep up with all the ‘latest & greatest’ products anymore. I honestly think that the manufacturers are coming out with too much stuff too fast!
Great post
Nancy
You nailed it. I can’t afford to buy all the latest and greatest. So I often feel like I just can’t compete.
It’s a delimma.
Amen, Amen, & Amen.
And as a scrapper that goes through dry spells, those breaks from the trends feel almost detrimental to something that really should be a hobby first and foremost.
I truly do hope the pace slows down a bit and we all remember what we’re doing this for and stop being motivated by the almighty dollar.
For every veteran scrapper there are probably 10 or more new ones like me…so they are feeding into the madness. New and old companies continually need to reinvent themselves to exist.
What I hate about this is the feeling that the manufacturers are making money by feeding off the shopping and massive consumer debt addictions of so many women. Women who feel empty for whatever reason and try to fill up that emptiness however they can. Not with what will last — not even with finished albums! let alone a spiritual practice, family time, or development of themselves as whole and (w)holy people — but with constantly shoving all this STUFF down that gaping maw that never shuts and is never satisfied.
*sigh*
Let’s all go on strike, shall we?!?!!?