CHA Summer Trade Show

This show was definitely smaller than in the past, but fewer vendors meant more time to network and, of course, less competition. What was important is that there were lots of buyers to go around and I heard that, in some cases, orders were larger.

All the exhibitors were in the main hall. I remember a time when the show filled all the halls on the main level plus the hall at the top of the escalator off the main lobby entrance. Things have definitely changed over the years - companies have consolidated, etc, but crafting is alive and well. Most of the exhibitors were offering paper craft oriented products, but with mixed media being so popular, they are including a variety of different materials. Scrapbookers are becoming crafters, whether they realize it yet or not. I took lots of photos on the show floor for both of my blogs. Most of the photos I have here are to give you an idea of what was being offered, recurring themes and how products were being displayed, but there are lots more photos on my "public" blog, "Life in the Craft Lane" that you may find interesting. They are mostly inspirational type photos of pages, projects and new tools, plus a post dedicated to the Super Show.

I don't have a crystal ball, so I'm not going to even try and predict what will be hot over the next year, or so, but here are my observations in no particular order:

a. Halloween. We all know that Halloween is the second biggest buying/crafting season, but I saw more product offerings for halloween this year than in the past. Even Anna Griffin had a selection. Very classy designs in her signature style.

b. Flowers. They are everywhere - growing like weeds in paper, silk, fabric, canvas, felt, metal, rubber stamps, die cuts and more. Not just for products, flowers (and garlands/banners) were used as decorative accents for booth displays.

Nature inspired products are also making their way into the offerings. This line from 7 Gypsies was featured at the Product Performers booth together with vintage themed stationery.

c. Garlands/Banners. Lots of banners. Not just as projects, but also for booth decorations to feature products and, as you can see in Tim Holtz's booth, a format to feature pages.

d. Mannequins/Dress Forms/Shapes. If you were at the Winter show, you probably saw the dress made from paper. (There's a photo on my other blog in the CHA Winter post if you missed it.) I'm sure this was inspired by the reality show, Project Runway, which has a huge following. It caught a lot of attention, so there were a number of mannequin type displays at this show.

e. Vintage/Victorian. Diane Schultz, Graphic 45, does such an awesome job with her booth. This summer was no exception. It's like walking into an antique store.

Crafty Secrets and Melissa Francis also have the vintage/shabby chic look in a totally different way with their products and they've been coming to CHA shows for a long, long, time, so hopefully it's a "look" that will always be around. For those of you who liked the old "tinsel" look for Christmas, there was a whole line of tinsel product just for you. Tim Holtz, known for his vintage style has developed a whole line of vintage shapes for Sizzix dies which were featured at the winter show. Now he has a "Vintage Style" die cutting machine to complete "the look".

and here's a display from Pink Paislee.

f. Home Dec. With so many viewers tuned into HGTV and DIY Home Dec shows, it's becoming increasing popular to make something for the home, whether it's for your own, or a gift for a friend. Renovating a bathroom, or kitchen is definitely not on most people's "Top Ten Things I Want To Do" list, but I'm a dab hand at creating accent pieces. I noticed that many of the displays feature sample projects in a "home" type setting - get the subtle hint......

g. New Products. There are always new papers and embellishments - way too many to feature here, but there are some new tools coming soon. Provo Craft was the first to greet us as we walked thru the main door into the hall.

Now we can print and cut with the same machine. Sizzix is offering a similar product for the Eclips. Imaginisce has a jewel setting tool, the "iRock" that does not need an electrical cord; a very cool tool, or maybe I should say "hot", and We R Memory Keepers introduced a third tool to follow the Crop-A-Dile and Big Bite. This tool chomps down on metal corners and more and there are also some small dies to use with it. They also have a new tool to use for stitching.

Spellbinders introduced the "Grand Calibur", a die cutting machine that can be used for larger dies. The "Presto Punch" was introduced at the winter show, so now they have all sizes covered for their cutting and embossing dies affording a wide variety of design opportunities for their customers.

h. Fabric. Adding embellishments to clothing, decorating T-Shirts and using fabric as an accent seems to be rising in popularity again. Quilting has always been popular and mixed media artists are finding more and more ways to add some "craftiness" to quilts and other fabric items and vice versa. There seems to be no definitive line between the different types of designers any more - it's a crossover generation. Burlap and canvas are also popular for mixed projects as both surfaces and embellishments. You can't have fabric without buttons. Blumenthal Lansing has an outstanding button program and their booth MITI was always full at both shows with folks wanting to make a button ring. We no longer need to wonder "who's got the button". Sassafras also had a great offering of embellishments featuring buttons and felt.

For additional reviews, check out Scrapbook Update for Nancy Nally's report on the show and follow up articles. Enjoy!

Yours truly,
Julie