Get crafting — Here's a look at what's new in the world of crafts

ANAHEIM — Crafting is a $31.5 billion industry. Some 56.8 percent of American households — about 63 million — participated in crafts last year. Some 75 percent of households have participated in crafts at some time.

Those figures come from the Craft & Hobby Association, whose recent trade show in Anaheim was billed as the biggest and best ever.

The event drew hundreds and hundreds of exhibitors, craft-store owners, manufacturers, buyers, designers, authors, crafters and more from all over the world. They were all there to see the newest, latest, brightest, most-innovative products, as well as to appreciate the tried-and-true. They were also there to learn about the latest trends and to look at what's happening in the wild and wonderful world of crafts.

Even over the course of four days, it was impossible to see it all. But here are some of the things that were generating a lot of buzz:

Trends

1. Paper crafts are still huge. The scrapbook and paper section of the convention covered a huge area and included something like 50 Utah companies, many of which are a driving force in the industry.

Some industry watchers think scrapbooking has reached a plateau. But as Craftrends magazine points out, "If it has hit a bit of a plateau, at least it is resting on a fairly high plain. Nearly three-quarters of all crafters surveyed exiting general /craft stores had purchased at least one scrapbooking or papercrafting product within the last year. Both men and women are buying."

Craftrends sees it as still largely dominated by people younger than 45, which the magazine points out offers potential growth among older crafters, who still have shoeboxes full of photos at their disposal. The idea, the magazine suggests, is to start small: pick one topic such as "school days" or "childhood memories" and go to work.

2. The rise of "indie crafts." What are indie crafts? Natalie Zee Drieu, senior editor of Craft: Transforming Traditional Crafts magazine uses words such as "renegade," "urban," "DIY," "crafty" and "kitschy" to describe them. "This is free-form creativity that appeals largely to the 18-35 group. They are forging their own way, finding things to do. They show up at craft and street fairs. They share knowledge via blogs. Perfection is not the goal, and they often don't start with any model or pattern."

Recycling and reusing is huge, Drieu says. They might make raincoats from plastic bags, jellyfish from water bottles, tote bags out of old shirts. They are into vintage styles: old lace; old clothes that they make new again; old crafts, such as wet-felting, which they use to make modern styles.

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