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Post by myboysnme on Feb 28, 2021 23:30:46 GMT
I find that people generally under 40 do not print their photos. They put them online. They are not going to scrapbook because if they had an interest it would be digital scrapping. They put together those shutterfly type books.
They also rarely mail anything. Most people under 40 haven't written an actual letter since a middle school English assignment. 30 and under have always had PC's and email. If they print any photos it is to send to Grandma or for a kid's school project, or to get a passport. I honestly don't think my adult sons have any idea how to get photos printed unless they use their own printer.
I find younger people don't collect things like fabric, paper, that sort of stuff. That is why there is a demise of fabric stores, yarn shops, although knitting and crochet does still hold the interest of younger women making hats and scarves.
Then there is the fact that they are inheriting from baby boomer parents who collected things. Shows like Antiques Roadshow made people afraid to get rid of grandma's stuff. Well the under 40 generation doesn't want it. They can't afford big houses to store it all.
Yes, I am generalizing. But that is my hypothesis for why stamping and scrapbooking is dying and has been since digital photography.
I still go to crops. The youngest people there, unless it is someone's young adolescent granddaughter, is women with children in at least high school. They are scrapping their school books for their graduations, or their baby albums. The rest have kids who are grown for the most part, and many of them are scrapping their own photos of trips, vacations, and that sort of stuff.
It is an old person hobby now. I think it got popular because women with young children when scrapbooking came out in the '90's were among the first generations to have a lot of their own photos and photos of their kids. Most did one album or a few layouts, and decided it wasn't for them.
Only die hard photo lovers who enjoy paper crafting are left scrapping. You can buy the same type of cards people make at any card store. Even Dollar Tree has cards with 3D elements. So those of us remaining do it because we enjoy it. And we are aging out.
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ckeene
Junior Member
Posts: 68
Feb 16, 2020 13:09:37 GMT
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Post by ckeene on Feb 28, 2021 23:32:49 GMT
A lot of popular bullet journalers are starting a scrapbooking/memory keeping style with actual scraps of paper. They are really getting into stamping too. Same hobby, different name.
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Post by cupcakepeddler on Mar 1, 2021 3:25:50 GMT
Stamping it is a craft that seems to have an older following on the surface, all of the people that I follow that stamp are generally under 50 and I don't know of many under say 30 but I am also not looking for crafters of that age to follow. When I was a young scrapbooker I was drawn to people of my own age like Elsie Larson (nee, flannigan), I am sure that there are lots of them out there but maybe they are also stamping for crafts that hold no interest for me such as planners and junk journals.
Another thing that I think is a BIG factor is that we don't all want what the big manufactures are selling us. I love cartoony images, I have a giant potty mouth, I am super sarcastic and salty and I love anything pop culture referenced, you do not get things with swear words or sass or that are nerdy TV show related from your big box house brands or from brands like Hero Arts. I like a lot of what you can get at big box stores and the big brands but I also like what I can get from a small independent business too. We all have some kind of Valentines day stamps and Christmas stamps and Birthday stamps or cupcake stamps but you can only keep repurchasing the same kind of image a few times. There are a lot of smaller companies out there doing really cool things but I bet they have never been stocked in a big box store.
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bestbrit
Shy Member
Posts: 30
Apr 22, 2020 12:31:18 GMT
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Post by bestbrit on Mar 1, 2021 16:19:38 GMT
I'm 34 and have been stamping for about a year. I make cards primarily just for fun but no one I knows(except my 74 year old mum) even sends cards, let alone makes them. 90% of the Christmas cards I receive are photo postcards. I've been sending cards to friends and family but I have to accept that no one is going to send them back. I've had a Cricut since 2015 and have been obsessing over a laser cutter for the past 2 years. Vinyl cutting is pretty huge right now and I'm seeing a lot of uptake in personal laser cutting. I think crafting is a very cyclical thing however there seems to be a pretty significant generational preference and even cultural. For example, my girlfriends all use Shutterfly and other companies to compile their photos into books, if they bother to print their photos at all. My family in the UK as opposed to my friends and family in the US seem to send a lot more cards that are larger and prefer designs that seem (to me at least) much more old-fashioned. My Senior English class had a senior scrapbook assignment and we had a local store in 2005 that I would buy all my supplies from. I don't think they bother with scrapbooks anymore and the store closed long ago. The local big box stores don't have half the selection I remember from my teenage years which is a shame since stamping and cardmaking is incredibly therapeutic for me and the retail aspect is so enjoyable sometimes. I discovered my love for stamping cards when I discovered videos by Jennifer Mcguire. Her cards are clean and modern, not frilly and futsy. Up until that point, I'd always thought of stamping as an older woman hobby with block stamps. I want to love designs by Anna Griffin or a lot of Crafter's Companion and SU! but it simply doesn't suit the aesthetic that I have. Personally, a lot of grungy stuff from Tim Holtz puts me off and I couldn't think of a single friend who would enjoy a card with that kind of mixed media look. That said, I know crafters are very diverse so I can appreciate that it really floats some people's boat. I am certainly not representative of an entire generation. Lastly, stamping and crafting can take up a massive amount of space and creates a lot of clutter if you're not careful. It doesn't bother me so much but I know that a lot of families my age Marie Kondo their entire lives and most of that kind of stuff wouldn't make it past the first purge.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Mar 1, 2021 16:43:30 GMT
I think part of it is age related. I'm going through a transition right now and I think I may be coming to the end of scrapbooking for me. Part of my issue is that my kids are aging. I am scrapbooking more and more stuff about myself and my pets and there just isn't a whole lot of paper support for scrapbooking about a childless lifestyle. I have subscribed to The Scraproom for a long time now and I just skipped this month's kit. Again. Too cutesy. Now maybe I will feel differently when I finally have some grandkids but I'm not seeing that happen for a while.
And two, I always feel like I need a whole day to drag out my scrapbook stuff. Whereas, I can pick up my crochet and do it for 20 minutes and then put it down and go cook dinner. Pick it back up after dinner for an hour. Or crochet for a half hour over my morning coffee.
I have decided that I'm scrapbooking my 2020 photos with paper and then I'm done with paper. Digital is more versatile (I did digital for 4 years and went back to paper) and more and more I've found like with my camping trip in the fall that I have a bunch of really great photos from one trip or event. And then I have a bunch of one-off photos taken here and there. It's far easier to take my multi-photo events and just slip them into a premade digital book ala Shutterfly. I still love my photos. And I love what they all mean to me. But I've lost interest in scrapbooking as much as I used to love it.
So I guess my interest in it ebbs and flows. And like I said, maybe when I finally have some grandchildren, I'll pick up additional steam. But I think I've lost some of my mojo.
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istamp247
Junior Member
Posts: 91
Jan 24, 2020 14:57:14 GMT
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Post by istamp247 on Mar 1, 2021 17:27:40 GMT
I'm 43 and I started out stamping in my mid 20s. Went to a Stampin' UP! event with my mother. We went to "club" meetings monthly for severak years. We normally made cards but occasionally the demonstrator would have a scrapbook page for us to make. A couple of my friends introduced me to scrapbooking. I don't have children of my own but I have scrapbooks going for each of my nieces and nephews, plus my own albums. I tried digital and it wasn't for me. I sit at a computer most of the work day and don't enjoy sitting at it for "my time." Plus the kiddos love looking at their pages when they visit me. Sometimes that is the first thing they do when they visit. My oldest niece graduated high school this year and her albums will be her gift (must finish hers at one of the upcoming crops I'll be attending). This was the plan when I started them roughly 18 years ago. Needless to say I have quite the "stash" now. I still buy solid card stock, pattern paper, glue/adhesives and the occasional stamp if it like it. I've also been reducing some of the stash. I have way more than I could ever possibly use and so many stamps that are just too similar. I also like to hand embroidery, quilt, and crochet but I always go back to paper crafting.
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Post by papersilly on Mar 1, 2021 22:22:41 GMT
i can understand that theory. papercrafting can be an expensive hobby and most young people don't have that kind of disposable income. the cost of the tools, paper, stamps, etc can break a person. for me, it's virtually impossible to own just the bare minimum. you can only do so much with a few things.
also, crafting is tougher when your don't have other people who can be the subject or inspiration for your crafts or the recipient. young people are mostly single.
finally, younger people grew up in the digital age. phone, computers, games. they can create art on their devices. we had the physical paper, scissors, glues. etc. they just need a computer and printer.
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Post by joblackford on Mar 2, 2021 3:41:01 GMT
I don’t know many young people (or any people TBH) but based on what I see on social media I would disagree that younger people (Millenials) aren’t spending money on crafty things. I think they’re just spending money in different places and on different things. For example, the TN journaling and memory planning stuff is a big trend with a segment of younger people from all over the world. They’re buying “stuff” and they’re buying tools to use with that stuff - tons of stickers, fountain pens and inks, mini photo printers, washi tape, ephemera packs, markers and mildliners, journals and planners... It’s not the same stuff or quite the same hobby as classic scrapbooking, but in other ways it is just the same.
I’d say They’re not shopping at big box stores for the most part though. They’re much more likely to buy from “makers” and online stores, or from specialty retailers. They’re not necessarily middle American suburban 20-somethings who shop at Michaels and Walmart. A lot are not American at all, although they may (or may not) be buying American brands (and many Americans may be buying from overseas stores).
Younger people are getting back into a lot of other hands-on/practical crafty things like others have mentioned. But they’re probably buying their cross stitch patterns from someone on IG or Etsy, not at Joann. I don’t know if the market for “middle American” big box crafts is shrinking or shifting. It’s hard to tell right now anyway, given the impact of the pandemic on all things brick and mortar, especially in the parts of the country that are still acting like there’s a pandemic. But personally I suspect it’s more of an ebb and flow thing, and retailers may not be focused on the same markets they were before. Michaels has been running hip “maker” ads on YT that have much more of an Etsy vibe, but the reality of their stores was not matching that image last time I went in.
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Post by Embri on Mar 3, 2021 2:56:34 GMT
Most craft store offerings of the scrapbooky nature do not appeal to the younger demographics. They simply aren't in-line with what's important to them thematically. They don't even do a good job of serving the varied lifestyles and backgrounds of the target age range!
Realize that anyone younger than me - and I'm a fair bit younger than the average scrapper - has never lived in a world without the internet in their pocket. They already document their lives, often to an unhealthy degree. Scrapbooks and cards are about as needed for most of them as a boombox or phonograph.
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Post by kiera on Mar 3, 2021 3:08:23 GMT
I'm 29 and I am very active in the penpal community on Instagram. There are tons of people in my age group who are buying stamps, papers, washi, stickers, all sorts of things. Most of us just don't shop much at Michaels because for the most part, their stuff isn't that nice. They don't carry name brands, or interesting things. Some of it is appealing, like their planner stickers are nice and the "hot buy" paper pads are pretty, but I know for certain that a lot of the snail mailers are buying their stamps from Etsy, small businesses that are elsewhere online, or local stationery shops. I also don't have a Joann near me unless I go 40+ minutes away into the next state, and Hobby Lobby is even further than that, though I refuse to give them money for ethical reasons anyway.
So I'm not sure if it's an age thing in particular. We're just shopping elsewhere, especially since so many of us millennials are on tight budgets and need to carefully choose what our money goes to.
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Post by hop2 on Mar 3, 2021 14:22:18 GMT
I think part of it is age related. I'm going through a transition right now and I think I may be coming to the end of scrapbooking for me. Part of my issue is that my kids are aging. I am scrapbooking more and more stuff about myself and my pets and there just isn't a whole lot of paper support for scrapbooking about a childless lifestyle. I think this is why memory planning has been so good for me. Me, my daily routine, & my dog fit just fine in a weekly memory planner ‘spread’ Then I picked up pocket scrapping for the weekend trips to see my family or the bigger events, but the pandemic put the stop to a lot of that. I’ll see if I pick that back up again, not sure but if I do it probably won’t be even monthly. I don’t know. Just the ‘extra’ events in a book as they come maybe. After 2 years of monthly PL style scrapping I’ve hit a wall and it’s seems a chore now to find stuff for the ‘month’ perhaps that will ease when the pandemic eases as vaccinations go out or perhaps I’m at the end of my road with that. Who knows. I know 2021 won’t be monthly much less weekly. It will be random things I wanted to print that aren’t in my planner. Everything ebbs & flows even in our own lives. I hope you find some crafty satisfaction that makes you happy & fulfilled no matter what it is.
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Post by hop2 on Mar 3, 2021 14:26:13 GMT
This is why I think the paper crafting industry umbrella has to get bigger & more inclusive and not smaller as it has been. Break out of ‘scrapping’ ‘mold’ being 12x12 mostly white ladies documenting their kids. That’s a narrowing field.
Memory keeping - paper crafting industry needs to evolve to include all the forms of memory keeping out there. People seem to clamor for an app that works, is easy and will be supported ongoing but no one seems to have picked up the mantle that BH clearly dropped. The planner industry is doing well there’s plenty of ways to encompass that if companies want to open their eyes. Card making ebbs & flows in there too. The industry as a whole needs to address more of life for more people which is why we have been clamoring for more diversity. There is no way around it diversity is the only way forward for the industry long term.
Younger people want inclusive products, ecologically friendly & sustainable products, and to address more of life than having babies & raising kids. For example biodegrade-able glitter was super important to my DD & her peers, it hadn’t crossed my mind. They’ll pay extra for it too. Bamboo or other sustainable ‘paper’ is appealing to them. Less plastic, less wasteful packaging, more sustainable are all things that many younger people look for.
I don’t think the paper crafting industry is dying, but it sure as heck is going to change. Those companies who can’t change with it will fade way as their customers do.
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Post by jacquelinescraps on Mar 3, 2021 21:30:05 GMT
A lot of popular bullet journalers are starting a scrapbooking/memory keeping style with actual scraps of paper. They are really getting into stamping too. Same hobby, different name. I came here to say something similar- look up Traveler's notebooks on Ig. Lots of people incorporate stamps in their journaling, myself included. I am 35 and have been into paper arts for the past 15 years. I also use my rubberstamps when I make mail art. A lot of journallers also buy off Ali express and use lots of stickers, vintage style papers and rubberstamps.
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Post by scrapaddict702 on Mar 3, 2021 23:57:19 GMT
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. I think this is why kit clubs were so popular a few years ago, but even now they're losing their luster which means even the market that they'd appeal to (beyond the crafters like me who just want something different than what they usually buy from time to time) is shrinking. I'm sure the drama and the most popular name (Studio Calico) bringing with them such poor business practices including nasty customer service reps, policies that don't afford any leniency to even long standing customers if an error is made by them and at one point, difficulty in getting your hands on add-ons every month helped to reduce interest to new customers.
Scrapbooking is also something that doesn't afford itself much of a place outside of the page, whereas sewing, quilting, crocheting and knitting all have usable end products that can be shown off and sold/shared with others that has a tangible purpose. I'm sure at some point when the digital age results in photos lost to obsolete devices and companies like facebook dying out resulting in lost stories, scrapbooking will see another immense surge...until then, it'll probably be smaller ebbs and flows as we've been seeing in the last few years with the rise of plannering and traveler's notebooks.
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Post by don on Mar 4, 2021 0:43:20 GMT
I think there are several reasons for the slump. It is cyclic; it's trend is going or gone, but it will return some day. One can do some fantastic work on the computer, for a lot less money and time. There are so many ways now to spend ones time and money. Ecards, estamps, epaper, ealbums. At 80 years, I'm so old school Microsoft Paint is my only art software. I don't know if it is my age or the Covid has made me so lazy I don't spend much time in the studio as my mind wants to, but my body doesn't. It may also be all the duties I have had to take on to deal with The Queens on set Alzheimer's. I am doing all the things I was never trained to do, and not very well.
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Post by myboysnme on Mar 4, 2021 0:52:43 GMT
I just got an invite to a friend's 70th birthday party. Her daughter looked at her facebook friends, asked us for emails, and then sent us an evite. WE RSVP the same way. No paper at all.
Traditional opportunities for using paper just seem to have gone by the wayside.
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