Trends to Watch

As I walked the floor of the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) mega show last week, I kept my eyes peeled. 

Not only did I want to see the new products that were being released but I also wanted to see where the industry was headed in terms of trends. And to see which trends from last year might be on their last legs. 

Of course it often seems like the pendulum always swings, so I never really count any trend as down for the count.

---------------------------------

In no particular order, this is what popped out to me at the show...

--Brights: Bright colors were everywhere, from scrapbook paper to planners. Vivid and bold colors in both pastel and jewel tones were in evidence.

--Letters: A very popular theme at the show was the use of text as a design element. Large bold letters were frequently seen not only in product but in booth design as well, where too many booths to count used marquee-style letters (with and without light bulbs) to spell out their company names.

--Watercolors: A number of companies highlighted a watercolor look in their papers and/or other products.

--Planners: The newest incarnation of the scrapbook are planner-style books, complete with dated pages and to-do lists but with the addition of art-filled pages as well.

--Metallics and Iridescents: One of my personal favorite trends from the show, metallic and iridescent could be found in paints, sprays, markers, paper and more.

--Stencils: The stencil trend from last year continues unabated, with more and more companies dipping into the stencil pool.

--Mixed Media: Mixed media was everywhere and it seems like more and more companies that have been traditionally based in the scrapbooking-arm of the market have fully embraced mixed media products including paint, texture mediums, and the like.

In terms of trends losing steam, I noticed the following...

--Vintage: The vintage style continues to dwindle, which seemed to me to be a very polarizing occurrence. While many people I asked about this cheered, an equal number mourned.

--Washi Tape: While still available, washi tape was not evident in abundance as it had recently been.

--Chalkboard: Last year it seemed like a majority of companies were embracing chalkboard products. At the 2015 show there was definitely less to be found.

--Rub-ons: Not sure that anybody would have said these were a trend last year, but they are a personal favorite of mine. I hunted and hunted for rub-ons, but in the end saw relatively few.

In terms of buzz...

--I asked many of my colleagues which product(s) stood out to them and seemed to generate the most buzz at the show. Unfortunately, person after person had a hard time with this question and noted that there seemed to be less innovation and excitement in the releases this year.

Am I missing something...

--If you were at the show or have noticed any trends in your local shops or online, please share them here in the comments. I am curious as to what others have seen.