(no subject)

[listersgirl]

I am encountering a weird craft fair phenomenon this year, whereby all the craft fairs are much smaller than they were last year. By which I mean that a craft fair that was in 2 rooms last year is in one this year. It's odd! Maybe after last year's giant craft explosion there are now more events than artisans? Or maybe the handmade holiday has gone out of vogue. I went to 5 different shows today, 4 of which I'd been to last year, and they were all awfully tiny. And only one was particularly interesting. If this trend continues I'm going to have to make other plans for my remaining gifts.

Comments

[sarcasma.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking recession, too -- there may be artisans who didn't have time to MAKE crafts (in selling quantities) this year because they're working 16 part-time jobs to pay rent, or perhaps it's just not worth it to get a table at the big high-competition events, or or or. But they're definitely small and lacking in interest. Oo, which brings me to Recession Theory Subpart C: the materials to make interesting crafts are too expensive so some of the items have been dumbed down and marked up (this would explain the amount of random resale items and terribly uncreative crochet we saw, for instance).

I am absolutely going to have to come up with another solution for my last few purchases, because eek.

[listersgirl]

That's probably all very true. It's just so weird to see the difference in the shows!