How The Crafting Industry Has Revolutionized Small Businesses
, by Tammy Harris, 3 min reading time
What Is The Crafting Revolution?
“Do-it-yourself” or DIY culture was always something treading just below the surface of popular culture. Zines, self-published music, and hacker projects were seen as punk rock. This culture was a reaction to mass production that lacked authenticity. The more traditional stuff, like knitting and sewing, was always seen as necessary until cheap manufacturing took over in the late 20th Century. Now, thanks to a backlash against cheaply made goods, and larger culture united by the internet, handcrafted goods like knitting and crocheting, needlework, and sewing are all in high demand from people who want the goods they buy to be authentic. This means that the idea of “crafts” has become much more than just cutting and pasting. The demand for new things has increased as internet access has. The crafting industry has adeptly responded to the demands of creative people. People have turned their hobbies into serious side hustles because of the DIY movement, and often these have been turned into small business success. There are so many avenues to take, too. There’s still paper crafts like scrapbooking and card making, but while these are easy and cost-effective hobbies to take up, they take a lot of dedication to perfect. Beads and custom trinkets can be used to make all kinds of jewelry. There are the floral crafts and edible arts like cake decorating and candy making. Wood burning kits and laser cutting technology has also made creative home décor easy!What Made Crafting Perfect For Small Businesses?
Authenticity is one of the reasons crafting became more than just a hobby. The demand for handmade goods to make both personally and for gifting reasons have increased the sales of crafting materials. As more and more creative people demanded new crafting tools and supplies, the ability to make more fine crafts became more accessible to average people.
New people are also discovering these hobbies and learning new skills through YouTube and online classes like CreativeLive. There has never been more information available at our fingertips, and this means there are so many more people to learn from. These advancements also mean it's become easier to sell more high-quality work, too. The advent of online marketplaces only for handicrafts - and the ability to make an exclusive online store for one’s own stuff - made reaching out to new customers incredibly easy.
Crafting Is For Everyone
One of the main reasons the crafting industry is growing is because a new generation has taken up hobbies and trying to turn it into a profit. Thanks to online inspiration and being able to “show off” their stuff, many millennials are taking their creativity and making it a side hustle. The DIY movement is big among this generation, and they make the largest percentage of crafters (41% in the United States). It has been shown that as millennials have children, they’re passing this passion along, too.
More men are getting into crafting, too! The DIY culture that used to be about doing things around the house has grow to include men, and the stigma of picking up a pair of sewing needles has almost passed. Now, anyone can do what they love and try to make it into a small business.
It has been an great leap, too. In the United States, crafting sales jumped by almost $15 billion from 2011 to 2016, and it’s only getting more popular. We’re seeing more and more people take their careers into their own hands, and crafts are making that happen!