The trends I noticed at CHA…

I did finish up my CHA spotlights (aka favorites!) and such, but I wanted to type up one more piece sharing the trends I noticed at the show. I always think it is interesting to see what’s happening and what seems to be hot at the moment. Oh, I don’t necessarily follow the trends, but I do admit that in my own crafting I do have things that pop up a lot now – and won’t six months from now. I think it’s just all part of the creative process. Anyhow – here’s what I noticed:

Designer lines
I believe we’ll see is the continued rise of the “designer” lines. Oh yes I know that this isn’t technically something new and that often we know the face behind the product design (Tim Holtz, Claudine Hellmuth, and Heidi Swapp come immediately to mind) – however I feel like more companies are reaching out to well known crafters and doing signature lines within their brand. Yes, companies we already know and love are teaming up with amazingly talented (and well known) crafters to produce signature lines. With Crate Paper’s Maggie Holmes line, and Webster’s Pages teaming up with Allison Kreft (two of the most talked about lines of the show) I would not be surprised if we see even more special partnerships and designer names on lines at future shows. Finnabair for Prima, Dear Lizzy and Amy Tangerine for American Crafts – there were more than ever before at this show – and more importantly they were many of my top picks as well!

Dies
Are dies easy to manufacture? I’m asking because stamp companies, paper companies – heck it seemed like many companies are coming out with their own dies now. The majority of these are the super thin dies that will work in a Sizzix Big Shot (or other similar die cutting manual machine). I’m wondering if they are the new clear stamp. Remember when EVERYONE made clear stamps to go with their lines?

Feathers
Putting birds on things has been around a while, and feathers aren’t brand new, but I do see them taking many more forms and being very popular at this show. Will they work great for spring? Be lovely on Easter pages? we shall see!

Insta/phone/polaroid love
Cameras have always been a common theme that we see, but one big trend at this show was polaroid-like paper frames, camera images, and even (Crate Paper) overlays for your pictures that will give instagram-like filters to your photos. More items are being made suitable for square and/or smaller photos and it seems like manufacturers are trying to make sure printed square pics from apps like hipstsamatic or instagram have a nice pretty place to rest in our scrapbooks. I was happy to see cameras in the form of stamps, papers, and even as booth decorations!

One big happy family
Are you exclusively a card maker? Do you only do a very specific look and type of project? Well, that’s fine. But don’t expect to have your crafty world remain an exclusive bubble. The days of separation are over – there is no longer a “card maker” or “scrapbooker” or “stamper” industry. It is most definitely a paper crafting world. I overheard a woman making a barbed comment about “ugh, scrapbookers” and I just bit my tongue! Because I don’t think she realizes- embracing all forms of crafting is the way of the future. Don’t judge! Just do your thing and have fun lady.

In order to survive companies products appeal to a broad range of types of crafters. Oh, styles (such as whimsical, grungy, shabby chic…) still apply, but there isn’t the “we are a scrapbooking company” or “we make products for card makers” type separation that used to be so very strong. I feel like this is what will really help companies that are still in business – and this year the show floor had NO separation of types of booths it was all mixed together. Which just reinforces that we are all in the wonderful hobby of crafting together.

Party Time:
I think this one is partly because using paper craft supplies to make DIY home decor and party decorations and favors has long been a thing that we crafters do. But I also believe it is also influenced by the pinterest effect. What do I mean? So many party and DIY and creative goodness can be found all over pinterest – and I think that it has inspired companies to show off how their products can be used that way (Brenda Walton for Sizzix and the Pebbles Inc booth both did incredible with this!) and also the success of Martha Stewart Crafts items I believe has sparked some manufacturers into creating products that can be used for parties as well.

Pie
As in charts. Yeah, I noticed pie charts springing up in die cut, stencil, and I think even paper form. I came home with a cute little pie chart die, I’ll be using that and sharing more soon. I kind of like it – reminds me of the sunburst trend in a way and cound certainly be used that way. We shall see.

Rub-ons making a come back?
Jenni Bowlin and Tim Holtz both offered rub-ons this show – as did American Crafts (Dear Lizzy line) and many others. Are the once favorite product coming back? I felt like they went away because of their definite shelf life and because if not made well they can be a disaster. Will they stick this time around?

Silhouette inspired cuts:
In 2012 I saw so many amazing cuts from the Silhouette Cameo that I am seriously considering buying myself one. Now I wonder – do I need to? I saw TONS of die cut pre-made products that reminded me of things I’d seen cut from a electronic machine. Dear Lizzy’s line for American Crafts had some notable ones, as did Allison Kreft (Webster’s Pages), Basic Grey, and other companies too.

Washi mania:
Whether it’s actual washi, tissue tape, masking-like tape or whatever – tape is EVERYWHERE and by everyone. Seriously more companies had some tape than not.

My friend Melissa noticed an emerging hot trend (which I will not mention here as she’s not blogged about it yet!) that I’m excited about – more on that some other time!  Those are the trends I noticed this show – what have you noticed?