Reviving Cross Stitch: We've Got to Get the Word Out

摘要

For a variety of reasons, participation in specific crafts ebbs and flows with different activities pushing to the forefront while s wait for rediscovery. Currently yarn crafts are all the rage, while in other needlearts, particularly cross stitch (or counted thread as some call this category), sales are slipping. Reports from the store front contradict findings from the HIA Nationwide Craft & Hobby Consumer Usage and Purchases Study that say in 2001, 19% of consumers surveyed participated in cross stitch, the highest participation rate for a particular craft. Equally puzzling is that the 2001 results indicated a 3% increase from 2000. Why do sales of cross stitch seem to be off when surveys say almost one in five people are doing cross stitch projects? Perhaps cross stitchers are not buying new supplies. It's easy today to download a free pattern from the Web and use a year's old stash of floss to stitch. Simply put, consumers are not inspired to visit stores to buy new supplies.