HIA builds up kids crafts, home decor - Hobby Industry Association show

Discount Store News, Jan 16, 1995 by Dawn Wilensky

ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- A return to home and hearth will be reflected at this year's Hobby Industry Association show, which promises to have plenty to offer in children's crafts and home decor items.

The show, scheduled for Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 at the Anaheim Hilton Hotel, will feature five days of workshops and seminars and plenty of make-it/take-its for showgoers. For celebrity-watchers, game show letter-turner Vanna White will be at the Lion Brand Yarn booth showing some of her home-made afghans made exclusively from Lion Brand yarns.

Attendance is expected to reach about 16,000 with slightly more exhibitors than buyers, according to Susan Brandt, assistant executive director of the HIA.

"Mass merchants, crafts chain and mail order buyers will be walking the show," said Brandt. "The unique thing about the crafts industry is that our manufacturers can push items like a bow maker, for instance, that can be placed in departments other than crafts and generate business for a variety of retail outlets."

Retailers hope that kids' crafts will be able to deliver the kind of sales and margins they expect and many are on the lookout for unique items to spur consumer interest.

"We're looking for what's new in many categories, especially in the kids area, like kits and educational activities," said Judy Lombardo, vp, merchandising for Rag Shops, Hawthorne, N.J.

The movement toward providing an educational outlet for children has grown out of recent economic cutbacks in school art programs and an overall desire to get these consumers hooked on crafts early on.

"We're trying to target future crafters at an early age but it's also proving successful because it's educational, fun and a more traditional thing for families to do together," said Steve Lord, vp, marketing, The Beadery, a division of Greene Plastics Corp.

At this year's HIA show, The Beadery will be debuting Pet Parade and Minimobiles, beads for younger children in the shapes of animals and vehicles complete with larger holes to make handling easier.

Other products for kids will include Wildlife sand art kits by Wheeling, Ill.-based Crescent Cardboard Co. and Creative Learning Fun Packs featuring three skus including Activity Fun Packs, String and Bead Fun Packs and Sand Art Fun Packs by Westlake, Ohio-based Manco, maker of a variety of consumer products.

These products are right on target, according to The 1994 Nationwide Consumer Study conducted by Market Facts for HIA. The study revealed that art & drawing and paper cutting/paper crafts, beading, jewelry-making and leather crafts are the projects of choice of those under 18. Craft superstores and discount stores have targeted the group with in-store classes, easy-to-make projects and sections devoted exclusively to kids.

At Irving, Texas-based Michaels Stores, 400,000 children are members of the chain's Kids Club, which meets every Saturday morning to make a different project. As part of the membership, kids are given a membership card, name badge, vendor supplied goodie bag and a bimonthly newsletter.

An expanded kids section is planned for Rag Shops, according to Lombardo. Rag Shops also conducts children's workshops every Saturday morning.

And while not historically strong in the kids' area, Howe, Texas-based Old America Stores, tested children's crafts in several stores last year, and plans to make a stronger commitment to the category in '95, said Rick Tredinnick, president and ceo.

Even though discounters' programs aren't as extensive, retailers like Wal-Mart and Ames do conduct some instore classes. At Wal-Mart, kids can participate in classes held around holidays like Valentine's Day, Easter and Christmas, while in Aimes' Crafts & More departments adults, rather than kids, are the focus with activities like wreath and bow making.

Regardless of the efforts to get kids more involved in crafting, adults still dominate the market. In fact, 90% of U.S. households have at least one family member engaged in crafts/hobbies, a 9.8% increase since 1992 and a 41% increase since 1988, according to the HIA survey.

Of these consumers, 79% use their projects as gifts, 67% are for personal use, 64% are used for home decorating and 16% are items to be sold.

Given these results, it is not surprising that home decor has emerged as another hot ticket at this year's show.