ARTS 'N CASH NEEDLING AWAY PAYCHECKS.Byline: BARBARA CORREA Staff Writer Scrapbooking homemakers. Men's knitting groups. Budding Van Goghs swapping cute, tiny paintings like trading cards. Arts and crafts arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. hobbies are having their biggest revival since the 1970s, when Americans willingly gave up tens of millions of hours of free time to craft macrame plant holders, granny squares and sand candles. The craze isn't just for crafty wives: Artsy art·sy adj. art·si·er, art·si·est Informal Arty. hobbies have been taken up by creative hubbies -- though many prefer to do their knitting and crocheting in front of the TV and in between first downs. Drawing interest from Wall Street, Hollywood Serious investment dollars are being pumped into retailers like Michaels, where arts and crafts supplies are flying off the shelves. Julia Roberts, herself a knitting fan, stars in ``The Friday Night Knitting Club,'' an upcoming movie about a group of women who knit together at a little shop in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . Scrapbooking -- where photo album assemblage meets collage -- has become the Tupperware party n. 1. a social gathering at which the host (or more typically hostess) entertains the guests, and provides them with an opportunity to order Tupperware. This was used as an effective sales strategy by the Tupperware manufacturer, and provided income to the host(ess) from of the new millennium, bringing out the inner artist in moms from all walks of life. The exchange of artist trading cards Artist Trading Cards are individual art miniatures which pass hand to hand. Their current popularity among artists and hobbyists was sparked by M. Vänçi Stirnemann, who began trading sessions in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1997, and popularized ATCs via the internet. -- original, miniature works of collage and graphic art -- has evolved into a subculture within collectibles on par with sports trading cards. Craft fans spend a lot of their money on their hobby. Kelly Kilmer, an artist in North Hollywood who teaches people how to decorate their personal journals with paper, paint and stamped designs, said she has spent about $23,000 on supplies. Sherin Miller, a scrapbooker in Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, , spent a couple of hundred dollars on new lighting in her home, where she teaches classes. ``I bought my own six foot tables and standing lamps to make it brighter.'' She also dropped $1,200 in November on a Nikon digital camera for pictures to be used in her scrapbooking pages. Such spending habits have forced craft to be taken seriously by investors with very deep pockets. In October, two private equity firms, Bain Capital Bain Capital LLC is a Boston, Massachusetts-based private equity firm founded in 1984 by Mitt Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts, and two other partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company: T. Coleman Andrews III and Eric Kriss. and Blackstone Group Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) is a prominent private equity and investment management firm founded in 1985 by Peter G. Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman. The company is based in New York City, in River House on Park Avenue at Fifty-first Street, with offices in Atlanta, , paid $6 billion for Michaels Stores, the nation's largest arts and crafts retail chain. ``I get a lot of calls from investment analysts,'' said Sandra Ghezzi, vice president of marketing, member services and education for the Craft & Hobby Association. ``We've been getting more interest than in the past. (The craft industry) has been very stable and has shown growth. Seventy-five percent of households have someone involved in crafts.'' For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2006, craft industry sales totaled $30.1 billion, up from $27.4 billion in 2002, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Craft & Hobby Association (data from the interim years was not collected.) Scrapbooking, the top category, accounts for about $2.5 billion of that, and home d(hrt)cor painting adds up to another $2.4 billion. Other top categories include other painting and finishing ($1.6 billion), crocheting ($1.2 billion) and fashion sewing ($1 billion). The Martha factor Tamara Tolken, owner of Zinnia zinnia, any species of the genus Zinnia of the family Asteraceae (aster family), native chiefly to Mexico, though some range as far north as Colorado and as far south as Guatemala. The common zinnia of gardens (Z. , an arts and crafts supply store in South Pasadena South Pasadena (păs'ədē`nə), city (1990 pop. 23,936), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1888. Medical supplies, clothing, and transportation and electronic equipment are manufactured. , credits Martha Stewart for fueling some of the craft craze. ``I don't preach her, but she taught everybody that how you set the table can be art,'' said Tolken. Stewart will be the keynote speaker at the Craft & Hobby Association Convention & Trade Show, the industry's largest, in Anaheim later this month. ``People think, `I didn't know I was being creative, I thought it was being a housewife.' Once you discover something and it gives you a reward when you make something ... you want to keep doing it, and you're an artist. That's how it grew.'' National Scrapbooking Association co-founder Veronica Hugger attributes the increasing appeal of craft, especially scrapbooking, to the events of 9-11, which she said inspired people to focus on preserving memories in a more visually creative way. Kelly Kilmer said she also has noticed more people wanting to find hobbies to do at home. ``Especially after 9-11, they wanted to take the class, buy the supplies and do it in the comfort of their own home.'' Another factor in craft becoming cool is the new interest from the ``millenials'' -- 12 to 27-year-olds. ``They are such multitaskers,'' said Sandra Ghezzi, the Craft and Hobby Association executive. ``They can do knitting while they are watching TV or listening to their iPod. ... You walk through LAX and you see a teenager sitting on the floor knitting.'' While scrapbooking appeals to more of the mothers-with-kids set, knitting has taken off with an edgier, more male demographic. A group of knitters in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of called Knitta goes around ``tagging'' objects such as utility poles and car antennas with knitted works of art. Crafts for teens, moms... construction workers David Orozco, a former construction worker in Highland Park, started the Los Angeles Mens' Knitting Group last March. He also owns That Yarn Store in Eagle Rock. ``When I was eight years old, my grandmother said, don't just sit there Don't Just Sit There was a television show on Nickelodeon that first aired in 1988 and lasted for three seasons. The show was a talk show mixed with a comedy. Out of Order was the house band on the series, they would later get to sing on the show as well as participate in watching TV, do something,'' Orozco said. He knits and crochets, and says the men in the group don't gab as much as women, but they tend to be more experimental in what they make. He said the strangest thing he's seen a man knit was a Scottish codpiece cod·piece n. A pouch at the crotch of the tight-fitting breeches worn by men in the 15th and 16th centuries. [Middle English codpece : cod, bag, scrotum (from Old English , and that he's currently crocheting three-dimensional models of geometric processes. In addition to young people and men, craft supply companies are making a big effort to market to Latinos. The Craft & Hobby Association has hired Cultural Access Group, a marketing company based in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , to lead a multiyear campaign focusing on how to drive craft sales to Latinos. The campaign will kick off at the CHA convention with seminars on the Latino market such as training employees how to connect with Latinos, the importance of Spanish speakers on the retail floor and a greater knowledge of Latino crafts related to religious holidays, quinceanera parties and Mothers Day, said Ghezzi. As marketers and suppliers work to introduce crafts to these groups, they also have to shore up enthusiasm among longtime customers. For instance, some in the industry say scrapbookers are suffering from a case of burnout Burnout Depletion of a tax shelter's benefits. In the context of mortgage backed securities it refers to the percentage of the pool that has prepaid their mortgage. . How to treat scrapbooker burnout? ``It's like any craft. It's popular for awhile and then it's kind of, `OK I'm getting sick of this,' said Mike Harbridge, editor of a trade magazine called the Crafts Report. In addition, he said that since big box retailers like Walmart and Target have begun selling scrapbooking supplies, that has put some mom-and-pop stores out of business. ``It has definitely leveled off,'' said Veronica Hugger of the National Scrapbooking Association. ``They've got all this product. How many products can a consumer handle?'' Expenses related to scrapbooking can be eye-popping. Aside from basic paper, scissors scissors Cutting instrument or tool consisting of a pair of opposed metal blades that meet and cut when the handles at their ends are brought together. Modern scissors are of two types: the more usual pivoted blades have a rivet or screw connection between the cutting ends , and glue, there is ribbon, die-cut designs, photo developing, and a tote bag to carry it around in (up to $150). The industry is trying to steer new growth of the business to digital scrapbooking products, such as printed images that can be used in scrapbooking and software packages that make digital scrapbooking easy. This new direction won't replace traditional scrapbooking, but the hope is that they will keep it alive, but some are skeptical. Hugger said the scrapbooking software has created ``laptop scrapbookers'' who gather for digital sewing circle events. So far, traditional scissors-and-glue stick scrapbookers aren't sold on computer-generated creativity. ``I sit at a computer all day. The last thing I want to do is do that to scrapbook A Macintosh disk file that holds frequently used text and graphics objects, such as a company letterhead. Contrast with "clipboard," which is reserved memory that holds data only for the current session. ,'' said Steve Salotto, an avid scrapbooker who works in post production and also co-owns Scrappers' Corner, a scrapbooking supply store at the Northridge mall. ``I don't think I've ever talked to someone whose done digital who thinks they're going to switch to digital. I never get requests for digital products.'' Like most scrapbookers, he prefers the traditional method of sitting with other scrappers (called a crop) and spending hours creating, comparing notes and showing off his handiwork. ``As far as addictions,'' he said, ``It's a good one.'' barbara.correa(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3662 retailers Zinnia: Craft supplies; 1040 Mission St., South Pasadena Web site: www.zinnia.biz/ Scrappers' Corner: Scrap booking supplies; 9301 Tampa Ave., #241, Northridge Web site: www.scrappers-corner.com/ That Yarn Store: Knitting and crocheting supplies; 1578 #4 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock Web site: www.thatyarnstore.com/ Needle in a Haystack For the epidode of the TV series House, see . A needle in a haystack is an English idiom that refers to an object (or a person) that is difficult to find because it is lost, mixed in, or buried within a much larger space, mass, crowd, or group of some other objects. : Knitting and crochet; needlepoint needlepoint: see lace. needlepoint Type of embroidery in which the stitches are counted and worked with a needle over the threads, or mesh, of a canvas foundation. It was known as canvas work until the early 19th century. and cross stitch supplies; 2262 Honolulu Ave., Montrose Web site: www.needhay.com/ The Fabric Patch: quilt shop; 5436D Arrow Highway, Montclair Web site: www.thefabricpatch.com/ Sierra Meadows Bears: showroom for artistic teddy bear designing and quilting quilting, form of needlework, almost always created by women, most of them anonymous, in which two layers of fabric on either side of an interlining (batting) are sewn together, usually with a pattern of back or running (quilting) stitches that hold the layers supplies; 2675 Junipero Ave., Suite 400, Signal Hill Web site: www.bears+books.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) no caption (craft, money) Box: retailers (see text) |
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