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Dirty Pouring, pyrography, calligraphy, candle making and wabi-sabi are set to be big trends in crafting next year, according to Hobbycraft.
The specialist arts and crafts chain has revealed that Dirty Pouring – an art which involves mixing more than one paint colour in the same container before adding (or pouring) it to canvas or substrate – is becoming more popular. Hobbycraft has seen sales increase by 14% this year and to support this uplift, the retailer will be increasing its ‘Dirty Pouring’ product range in the New Year.
Sales of wood blanks are also up, by 360% on last year. These are used as a base for pyrography projects, which is the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks resulting from the controlled application of a heated object such as a poker. And calligraphy items are up 40% compared with last year, as the nation perfects their personalisation and writing skills.
Hobbycraft customer development director Katherine Paterson commented: “It’s very interesting to see that writing tools and personalisation are becoming such a popular trend, and we think Dirty Pouring is such a great technique – ensuring that each piece of art is different and totally bespoke. We hope that by increasing our lines, we’ll encourage more people to take up this art.”
In addition, the company notes that candle making has seen a 41% rise in sales compared with last year, pointing out that its social video on ‘How to Make Flowerbomb Candles’ has reached over 84,000 people on Facebook alone.
Hobbycraft has also found that wabi-sabi – a trend which appreciates ‘beauty in imperfection’, is also becoming more common, with crafters upcycling broken items such as pots and clothing by adding gold paint or colourful thread. Wabi-sabi originally began in ancient China with its history rooted in Zen Buddhism. ‘Wabi’ is defined as ‘rustic simplicity’ or ‘understated elegance’ while ‘sabi’ is translated as ‘taking pleasure in the imperfect’.
Founded in 1995, Hobbycraft has grown to a nationwide business with more 90 stores across the UK selling over 35,000 arts and crafts products for creative activities from art, baking, home craft, jewellery making, knitting, sewing, crochet, kids’ crafts and model making, to accessories for weddings, parties and celebrations.
On trend: Dirty Pouring
