autumn fair @ home review


this they stock a range of beautiful velvet upholstery furniture, original hand painted art, home accents, curtains, bedding and throws.


The growth of arts & crafts Lockdown has seen the spread of mental wellbeing and self-care into the hobby world. As more people are interested in productive and creative hobbies, how can you capitalise on this gift market?


The need for activities that can be completed indoors and in isolation created a bit of a boom for the arts-and-crafts sector where other industry sectors, even within retail, were struggling. Most prominently, Hobbycraft reported a 200 per cent increase in online sales at the start of the pandemic back in March. Our panellists experienced similar growth; for Gibsons, sales and demand went through the roof when people moved to working from home, and the challenge was largely about meeting such increased demand. In fact, for Natasha Necati, owner of


CraftyArts.co.uk, the increase in demand combined with the necessity of furloughing the majority of her team meant that ArtyCrafts actually had to pause certain operations just to keep up with consumer demand. Lockdown meant we all had to find something to do,” she said.


This rings true and no more so than within urban populations and young professionals. For Coralie Sleap, Founder of Drink, Shop, Do, the lockdown opened up and accelerated the growth of this market which she has been watching for a while now. “As city-dwellers have adapted to a slowed


down, more interior version of their lives, an increased amount of time has given people the chance to try something they’ve always wanted to learn and really reap the positive benefits of a sense of achievement on completing a project,” she noted.


Trends


During the event, Simon Moriarty, head of Trends at Mintel, broke down some of the key drivers when it comes to trends in the industry. He broke it down into seven key trends:


Wellbeing Wellbeing can be broadly defined as consumers desire to seek physical and mental wellness within their lives.


Experiences


The concept of experience within a brand and consumer space is not a new one, and this driver looks to consumers seeking and discovering stimulation.


Technology The growth of technology is another driver that has been on the radar for a while. The difference is that this doesn’t apply just to the latest developments and innovation but also attitudes towards it; this driver is about consumers finding solutions in technology that span both the physical and digital worlds. This includes video conferencing, 5G and cashless payments.


Rights This is all about consumers’ desire to feel


respected, protected and supported, by their communities, their governments, and the brands they buy into.


Identity


Identity is about the ways in which consumers understand themselves and express themselves within the world around them.


Value Value for the next 10 years moves away from a solely financial or commercial definition and shifts into a driver that encapsulates emotion and lifestyle.


Surroundings Whilst environmentalism plays a part, the surroundings driver is not exclusively about eco-friendly practices. It is a question of how consumers engage with the world and how they feel connected to their external environment, whether that is in their towns, their homes or in natural spaces.


Spring Fair Although planned for 7-11 February at NEC Birmingham, the current Covid-19 situation means this is not yet confirmed. A statement from the event organisers said: “Following the UK government’s announcement today that ‘plans to have the public return to conference centres have been paused’ we are further reviewing our plans for February. “We remain hopeful of bringing the community back together safely, however with the new information from the government we are reassessing the possibility to do this in-person. “We will be sharing further news with our


customers and community in the coming days and weeks as the situation becomes clearer.”


September 2020 • HousewaresLive.net • twitter.com/Housewaresnews housewareslive.net | 31


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