Terri O., Kathy Cano-Murillo, Vickie Howell, Donna Dewberry, Carol Duvall
This powerhouse group of creative women comprised the celebrity panel at the CHA general session, “The Future of Crafts: Our Changing Face.” Host Terri O. posed questions to the panel about why people craft, how crafting has changed over the years, trend spotting, as well as how the internet impacts crafting.
I sat right up front and soaked it all in…it was really inspiring to hear them discuss how crafting has evolved from 58 years ago, when Carol Duvall started her career teaching baby boomers basic skills — to today with Vickie Howell and Kathy the Crafty Chica working online to bring out the crafty side of the Gen-Y and Z crowds. Meanwhile, Donna Dewberry is “bridging the gap” by teaching women all over the country how to paint AND blog.
And my heart literally skipped a beat when all five women implored retailers to create a crafting community in their stores; give people a friendly, comfy place to try new techniques and products so they can build their skills and confidence. That is exactly what C&T’s annual Stay-n-Play Café retailer workshop at Winter CHA is all about!
I also attended the morning Keynote Presentation featuring the CEO of Etsy, Maria Thomas. She spoke about Etsy’s awesome business growth, how to create stronger customer relationships online, and the power of the handmade movement…it was truly an honor to introduce myself and shake her hand!
Provo Craft booth
Provo Craft was right up front in an all white space-age booth, showing off their new Yudu screen-printer (which I can’t wait to try on our canvas books!) and the latest high-tech addition to their Cricut line, the Gypsy.
This summer show in Orlando is considerably smaller than it has been in Chicago — I heard that the show floor was 70,000 square feet, compared to the usual 120,000. But the upside of that is the quality time people are spending in each booth. I see people lingering longer and learning more about new products, which is a good thing! Everyone is all blended together at this show too, scrapbook supplies are next to quilting patterns, yarns are next to photo printers.
Shopping for paper punches or woodland scenery?
But that could be interesting for retailers…I actually found the crafter in me thinking of ways to combine artificial moss and paper-punched butterflies on a greeting card!
Click here to see who won all the CHA awards….and I’m off to check them out!
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