Paper crafting industry slump age related?

There are at least a few YouTubers who are under 60 who stamp. Jennifer McGuire comes to mind.

I’m in the over 60 group of stampers, but I’ve been collecting them since I was introduced to stamping. I was in my 30’s. Stamping was popular when I started, fell out of favor, made a comeback, and is falling out of favor again. Back in the 90’s, I was shown how to make shaker cards, which were always stamped. Then they kind of faded away. A few years ago, I saw a company at the papercraft conventions that specialized in shaker cards. The company is Queen & Co., and they seem to have surged in popularity during the last several months of “stay at home” activity due to the virus. I remember when scrapbookers complained about how many stamp companies were showing up at scrapbook conventions. Fewer people scrapbook now than in its heyday, and stamps helped fill a void. I am not surprised that interest in stamping is waning.

I remember when there was concern over needle crafts (cross stitch, quilting, crosheting, knitting, etc.) dying out, but they have made a comeback, and not just among the older generation. My DD, who is in her 30’s, enjoys crocheting. Quilting seems to have made a comeback, too.

Crafts and hobbies have cycles of popularity. Stamping and scrapbooking may be on the wane, but I doubt either will completely go away. People get tired of the same old, same old. They like to change things up. Traditional stamps may be replaced by digital images, especially among the younger crafters. Digital stamps don’t require space to store. I have to admit, I have started “converting” some of my stamped, colored images to digital, because it’s less work in the long run. It saves me time on future projects using those stamped images. I can make multiples of my cards more easily.

People change, and so do trends. Even if stamping dwindles, it will probably make a comeback at some future date. Every craft does.

I stamp, although it's not the primary part of my hobby. But yes, all the scrapbookers and stampers I know are 45+.
15 years ago, when I gathered with a group of peas in Toronto for crops, we were all in 25-35 with young families. We've aged up.
I'm thinking you are right, this may be cyclical.
My DD is 17. She plays in my scrap space, makes cards, makes dividers for school, makes pretty things. My copics are her go-to. She does NOT think of it as her hobby but it's just available.
However, once she's away from home, she will suddenly discover her priviledge in having all my supplies at her fingertips I think, and if she has kids I have no doubt the scrappy bug would bite her. And so will the cycle start over?

In some ways, I think companies have somewhat priced themselves out of the younger market. Most of the youtubers have TONS of supplies and tools and so many of the videos seem to be sales pitches with a tiny bit of tutorial thrown in. If I were just starting out, I'd take a look at what those videos seem to tell me I need to have, start adding up the cost and thinking about where the heck am I going to put all this!, and go off to do something else. Seriously, there's a whole branch of the industry dedicated to storage and organizing the stuff. Whereas, knitting and crocheting, you just need a couple of hooks or a few sets of needles and some inexpensive yarn and you can start. It's not enough to do the really beautiful projects you see, but it's enough to start.

It's one of the reasons I love Natasha Foote's youtubes. She uses some of the same sets over and over and shows lots of ways to use a limited number of supplies. She makes the craft seem much more accessible to everyone.

I also think that so many small companies with online shops are part of the reason for the papercrafting aisles shrinking. The big box stores are going to bring in items that they feel appeal to the largest percentage of their customer base, but those are things the hardcore crafters have already seen, and they probably have a couple of online shops that really match up to their aesthetic.

It's also a much more portable craft than any kind of papercrafting. And when you're done with whatever you're making, the end result is more useful.

Scrapbooking (and most crafts) have always had a perception that it was for older people. Yes there have been times where it becomes "cool" for the younguns but crafts in general are still perceived as something mostly for "old people" even if that isn't the reality. That hasn't changed.

What has changed is more online shopping vs big box store, challenges getting supplies due to shipping, ebb and flow of the industry, digital scrapping, planner trend, less printing of photos, etc.

The age thing is the least of our "problems". I've been scrapping since HS and am in my early 40s.

Honestly, I’m not sure age is a big factor.  I’m 50 and I buy A LOT. 😁 There are a variety of other reasons.
  
I would lean more towards crafting being cyclical, in the early 2000s CKU was all the rage and scrapbook stores on every corner with limited clear stamp companies, now it’s flip flopped.

I think the cost & variety of product is a reason.  Big box stores just can’t sustain that with monthly releases.  People can get a wider variety of products directly from the online companies.

Also, buying cheaper Chinese knockoffs from Amazon and AliExpress make an impact. I know that is taboo for some but when you can buy $300 worth of product for $25, that’s very enticing.

I think stamping is doing well, judging by what I see online.

My 29-year-old niece just bought a whole brunch of SU stuff from me (I'm a demo just for myself) because all of her friends' babies are having first and second birthdays and she wants to make cards for them. It was really sweet because she was so excited she kept texting me all day when she got her supplies and started playing with them.

So, she then asked me if I would do a SU party for her and her friends because she said she talked to them about card making and they were all "fired up", lol. It was really sweet. I haven't done a demo in 15 years but I said for her, of course! I have no interest in making it a business but my niece is so sweet and her friends are nice, I figure it will just be a fun way to talk stamping with others because I don't have any crafty friends.

My niece owns her own aesthetician business so she is creative-minded, so stamping seems like a good fit.

I got into scrapbooking and card making when I was about 31, so I think that may just be the age in the lifecycle where crafts like these start to become more interesting to people.

Michael's was never great for supplies, so I'm not surprised if their stamping and scrapbooking sections are shrinking. I just felt like they never did a great job with those areas in the first place. I bet most people buy online because they see stuff on Instagram, so it's just easy.

A lot of the scrappers and card makers I follow on Instagram & Youtube are under 40. There are some that are my age and older (I'm 50) but most are younger. I think it's just the nature of the business, it ebbs & flows. That being said, I've read some articles about how with the pandemic so many people are getting into arts & crafts that craft stores are having a hard time keeping things in stock (look at the paint section of any Michaels for example) and Blick is having a hard time keeping stuff in stock as well.

So back in the day we printed all our pictures because of film and then something needed to be done with them. For me the most logical thing was albums which then evolved into scrapbooking for me in HS as popularity began to rise. As pictures became more digital and the need for printing has stopped, I think many also stopped documenting them. It’s easier to share on FB or a blog and have a service print a book for you.

As for stamping I can’t specifically answer as I only use mine as a part of scrapbooking, but I do wonder the price of stamps themselves and in a way they become obsolete fairly quickly- at least that’s why I never got into it. I can only make so many cards or pages with the same image before I get tired of it. So I personally buy digital stamps for much less or stamps with more versatility. I do know a handful of people under 60 (late 30s to mid 40s) who are big scrapbookers and stampers. I also taught a class for kids which was quite full and they were excited over it.

I have been scrapbooking about 24 years. I am mid 50's.

I know a few people of various ages, that do coffee table style photo books. One or two chronological for each year. As well as one for an special stuff like.... vacation, graduation, wedding, etc...
Very similar to the old style of having photo albums.

Interesting topics. I'm over 60 and I don't even know many paper crafters anymore. All of the LSS have dried up. I rarely go to M, Joanne or HL anymore, hardly any selection there. Ordering more online. I would think that since everyone has been on lockdown for covid that there would be more interest in scrapbooking/paper crafting. Will agree that it runs in cycles.

I disagree with the idea that young people can't afford to scrapbook. Me and my 20-30 something friends have plenty of disposable income. It's just what we choose to spend it on differs.

We're all college/university educated and have careers. A lot of us own property and/or have got married. Quite a few of us have no interest in having children. That can mean a nice chunk of disposable income to spend on whatever you please.

If the industry is 'dying' (not sure I even agree with this to be honest) and failing to attract new, young people, I think it's because it's not seen as a cool thing to do. It's not instagrammable. It doesn't really subscribe to the 'less is more' aesthetic that is popular amongst young people.

I don't really think it's age related. I'm way under 60 yrs old, and I stamp while scrapping. And have since my early twenties when I started scrapping.

I think part of it is that there are so many places to buy scrap stuff, that the turn over in big box stores is slow.

I also think that a lot of scrappers who were scrapping in the early 2000's remember when quality paper and supplies were abundant, and so were LSS. It's hard to be excited for some store brand, thin, looks like everything else Recollections paper sheets or crappy stamps, when we know what quality looks & feels like.

I definitely use my scrapbook papers and electronic cutter for making home decor, so it’s not just the young people interested.

However, I think you make a really good point that the virus has had an impact which will change some things forever.


So true.