Tapping into scrapping: the scrapbooking craze presents a new niche market for the framing industry

Art Business News, April, 2004 by Beth Bingham

According to several studies compiled by the New Jersey-based Hobby Industry Association (HIA), about eight of 10 households have at least one family member who participates in a craft- or hobby-related activity.

Moreover, a reported 20 percent of hobbyists labor in the creation of scrapbook pages or other memory crafts.

Increasingly, scrapbook pages are coming out of crafter's books and are being given as personalized gifts, creating a unique niche market for the flaming industry.

"Scrapbooking is kind of addictive," said Nancy Leedy of Villa Hills, Ky. This mother of two has been scrapbooking for three years and is currently working on scrapbooks that are filled with combinations of photos, memorabilia and stories for each of her children.

Several years ago, Leedy was invited to a "crop party," the craft industry's term for gatherings in which scrapbookers meet to work together, sharing ideas and scrapbooking materials.

"At first I thought, 'I don't think I can do this,'" Leedy recalled. But when her daughter needed photos for her high-school graduation party, Leedy realized that she couldn't find anything. "There were pictures here, pictures there ...", she said.

For her, a love of scrapbooking arose out of a need to organize her memories for herself and her children. Leedy has flamed several pages in store-purchased, ready-made flames, and--as she toils over her lovingly constructed pieces--she is always considering which pages will come out of her books to be flamed and displayed.

Cracking the Market

Several companies already retail ready-made, 12- by-12-inch frame kits for easy flaming of standard-sized scrapbook pages. The first company to premiere a scrapbooking face paper in a 12- by 12-inch frame was Cincinnati-based FrameUSA, which introduced it at the Associated Crafts and Creative Industries (ACCI) show in 2002, according to National Sales Manager Tom Crookham.

The industry is hoping this framing option will prove popular with scrapbookers as it complements the do-it-yourself spirit of their personal projects and is a cheaper alternative to custom flaming.

The kits are widely available for sale on the Internet and in hobby or scrapbooking stores. According to Crookham, camera shops are also going after these customers by retailing this type of flame.

Martin's Frame Factory in Baton Rouge, La., which is located next to craft retailer Scrapbook Hardware, has attracted crafting customers by encouraging crossover business.

Owner Pam Martin has developed several specialized services geared toward scrapbooking customers, the most popular being the fabrication of lettering, cut out of matboard, for crafters to affix to their scrapbook pages.

The shop also makes custom 12- by 12-inch flames that allow customers to easily remove and change the page within the frame. These flames are built with trap-backs and turn-buttons or with a side slide added to one side of the flame. Martin said that this function is especially useful for seasonal or holiday-themed page displays.

"Scrapbooking is a hot trend right now ... particularly for special-occasion gifts like weddings and showers," said Maria Zaren of The Great Frame Up in Naperville, Ill. To reach these customers, her flame shop is offering special packages on custom framing to crafters with simple and standardized materials to cut labor costs and keep the final price low.

She emphasized that scrapbookers have some unique needs, and custom framing offers endless creative choices and services. Often, different flaming options are required, in particular, deeper flames or thick spacers are frequently utilized.

"So much out there has varying depth," Zaren said, as many crafters add dimension with personal flourishes. This scrapbooking technique, known as "embellishing," often includes the addition of small objects or mementos such as buttons, coins or fabric to the work.

Zaren also noted that scrapbookers have come in looking for frames that complement the theme of their designed pages. "If they have a fun piece, they want a fun frame," she said. Another attractive service accessible to crafters who choose the custom-flaming option is the available expertise of the shop staff for assistance in layout and design alternatives.

Not everyone is feeling the impact of the scrapbook-page framing trend. Sherry Gray of the Yester day and Today Frameshop in Hillsborough, N.C., said she has not seen an increase in scrapbook-page framing, despite posting a "Framing Focus" newsletter relating to scrapbooking and memory crafts on her Web site. She expressed that the do-it-yourself attitude that drives much of this crafting trend poses a challenge for custom framers in marketing the services they provide. "I just don't see this happening with crafters," she said. "They think they can do it better and cheaper."

Side Effects

While Gray is not seeing greater numbers of craft-related framing jobs, she and other custom framers have definitely noticed that customers are showing an increased awareness of and interest in acid-free matting.