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Crafting Remains Strong During The Recession

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Elmwood Park, NJ, USA; April 27, 2010 — The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) announced the results from its 2009 Attitude & Usage (A&U) Study, an annual custom quantitative research study commissioned to better understand consumer craft spending and behavior in the United States.

The CHA A&U Study reports data for the year ending 12/31/09 with 56% of U.S. households crafting at least one project during the past year, contributing to the $27.4 billion dollar craft and hobby industry. Household participation rates remained consistent at 56% over the past three years with dollar sales essentially flat compared to $27.3 billion in 2008 (+0.5%).

The A&U Study tracks trends in four broad categories comprised of General Crafts, Needle & Sewing Crafts, Painting & Finishing Crafts, and Floral Crafts. During 2009, the General Crafts category represented 44% of industry sales and was +18% over the prior year. Strong category performance was driven by growth in the Woodworking, Cake Decorating, and Jewelry Making segments.

Despite declining sales for the other three categories, certain individual craft segments such as Home Décor Painting/Accessorizing/Finishing, Knitting, and Wedding/Bridal crafts all grew in 2009.

The CHA A&U Study also ranked the top ten crafting segments based on consumer spending and household participation. The A&U also identified key motivating factors of why people craft.

Top Ten Craft Segments by Sales
  1. Scrapbooking/Memory Crafts: $2,355 million
  2. Home Décor Painting/Accessorizing/Finishing: $2,165 million
  3. Woodworking: $1,527 million
  4. Cake Decorating: $1,503 million
  5. Art & Drawing: $1,417 million
  6. Jewelry Making: $1,321 million
  7. Card Making: $1,187 million
  8. Floral Arranging: $1,169 million
  9. Quilting: $1,157 million
  10. Crocheting: $1,118 million
Key Motivating Factors for Crafting
  1. Sense of Accomplishment
  2. Relaxation
  3. Memory Keeping
  4. Health
  5. Economy/Value
  6. Recommended by Friends or Family
  7. Enables Spending Time with Others
  8. Interaction with Children
“Confronted with tough times, many crafters verged on becoming fanatical about their favorite crafts as they sought out a little more everyday fun and personal fulfillment” said Sandy Ghezzi, CHA Vice President, Marketing, Member Services & Education. “This renewed interest contributed to industry sales based on the inherent benefits of crafting such as a feeling of accomplishment and stronger relationships. For many, crafting still remains an important part of their life, improving its overall quality.”


About the Study
The CHA Attitude & Usage Study is fielded by a major global market research survey provider on behalf of the Craft & Hobby Association for its members, to provide consumer insight to guide decision-making. Approximately 6,000 geographically and demographically representative crafting households participated in the study through a mail screener and diary questionnaire.

Beginning January, 2010 the CHA Attitude & Usage Study was upgraded from a direct mail panel format to an online survey questionnaire. The change will provide many valuable benefits including:
  • Greater depth of data on individual craft segments and purchase drivers
  • Detailed crafting behavior at the individual & household level
  • A more user-friendly and relevant interface for the respondent
To ensure that all data is properly calibrated and that sample sizes for individual craft segments are large enough to be statistically valid, 2010 data will not be reported until late 2010. CHA will then provide summary reports to qualified media. Complete reports are available for purchase by sending an email request to Keri Cunningham, Marketing Manager, at kcunningham@craftandhobby.org.

*±11% margin of error. Spending behavior was self-reported by consumers and is accurate only within certain ranges


About the Craft & Hobby Association
The Craft & Hobby Association is an international not-for-profit trade association consisting of thousands of member companies engaged in the design, manufacture, distribution and retail sales of products in the $27 billion U.S. craft and hobby industry. For more information about CHA visit www.craftandhobby.org. To find out more about its award-winning Conventions and Trade Shows visit: www.chashow.org.


Craft And Hobby Association, 319 East 54th Street, Elmwood Park, New Jersey 07407 USA
phone: 201.794.1133 fax: 201.797.0657 email: media@craftandhobby.org