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Okay, so – to begin my CHA coverage in earnest, I thought it might be good to give you some idea of what CHA is and what goes on at its annual trade shows. It’ll help us with some discussions to come later – there is so much to share about how our community of crafters fits into the larger picture of the craft industry.
I’ll also confess up front that I originally had a vague idea that the CHA show would be like a craft fair on powerful steroids. But it wasn’t quite like that.
CHA stands for Craft & Hobby Association. This group has been in existence since 2004, and its goal is “to stimulate the sales growth of the craft and hobby industry worldwide by creating consumer demand, helping members succeed and leading the industry.”
That should tell you, we are not in craft-fair land. (That quote comes from the CHA website, btw.)
CHA’s 5000+ members are manufacturers, distributors, retailers, publishers, teachers, designers, and others. And they’re a diverse lot: at the show, I saw older men in suits selling buttons, Midwestern scrapbook store owners in decorated sweatshirts, Trim businesswomen in heels, and the occasional indie crafter.
If you want to join CHA, you need to have certain qualifications (and pay a pretty significant fee). Once you’re in, not only do you have access to the two annual trade shows, you can get research reports on the industry (more on this in future posts) and network with other members.
So, the CHA show is about selling craft-related products wholesale. You can’t actually buy anything there, but yes, manufacturers and others give lots of free samples to people they consider qualified to bring in business (more on this in future posts).
You’ll see all the big companies that make the craft supplies you use every day – Plaid, Clover, Offray, Ranger Ink, and so on. And in between these giants, you’ll see hundreds of smaller companies selling everything from stickers to purse handles to rather schlocky rainbow sequined appliques.
And the show is freakin’ enormous. About 2/3 of it is scrapbooking-related products. There is almost nothing fabric-related, and only the biggest, mass-market yarn companies are there. (And I checked: there was no plastic canvas.)
In the midst of all this selling, many booths bring in well-known crafters to demonstrate their products and teach classes. And again, this is a diverse lot – Kathy Cano-Murillo was demo-ing at the Duncan booth, Margot Potter was at Beadalon, and Claudine Hellmuth was at Ranger. But there were craft celebs and experts I’d never seen before all over the place.
In fact, if there’s one thing I learned from this experience, it’s that there’s a vast amount I don’t know about the craft industry. And this is a rather exciting thing.
If you want more details on the CHA show, there’s a show website. And you might also want to check out the websites that CHA maintains to help the public learn more about crafting: Craftplace.org and Teacherplace.org.
With that foundation covered, we can get into the deeper subjects. Coming soon….
Sounds really interesting, and professional, which is a good thing inside the craft world I think. I myself am working in a craft ‘supplie’ (I know this is the wrong spelling, but my computer doesn’t give me any alternatives and I’m quite in a hurry) store in Europe, Belgium, and we buy a lot of supplies from other countries. So on a professional base I’m very excited about big craft shows or conventions. The tricky part is that working with large companies you’ll loose some of the smaller groups that sell craft supplies too. But I think the internet has a solution for that problem.. look at Etsy for instance. Anyway.. love this part 1 of the CHA convention! Looking forward to read more news! xoxoxo
Sounds really interesting, and professional, which is a good thing inside the craft world I think. I myself am working in a craft ‘supplie’ (I know this is the wrong spelling, but my computer doesn’t give me any alternatives and I’m quite in a hurry) store in Europe, Belgium, and we buy a lot of supplies from other countries. So on a professional base I’m very excited about big craft shows or conventions. The tricky part is that working with large companies you’ll loose some of the smaller groups that sell craft supplies too. But I think the internet has a solution for that problem.. look at Etsy for instance. Anyway.. love this part 1 of the CHA convention! Looking forward to read more news! xoxoxo
Hi Diane! Great to meet you this week. Thank you SO much for teaching me how to crochet. You are a wonderful teacher!!! Deana and I perfected the basic granny square on our flight back to the east coast. I’ll post my first project on the site soon :)
Hi Diane! Great to meet you this week. Thank you SO much for teaching me how to crochet. You are a wonderful teacher!!! Deana and I perfected the basic granny square on our flight back to the east coast. I’ll post my first project on the site soon :)
great explanation! although i think cha has been around longer than 2004, i think there were two big associations (cha and hia) and 2004 was the year they merged into one big one. my first time was 2005 and wow, i was stunned and overwhelmed!!! i was so happy to see you there, hope you will be back!!!
great explanation! although i think cha has been around longer than 2004, i think there were two big associations (cha and hia) and 2004 was the year they merged into one big one. my first time was 2005 and wow, i was stunned and overwhelmed!!! i was so happy to see you there, hope you will be back!!!
I’m looking forward to the podcast :)
I’m looking forward to the podcast :)
Lots of things I did not know about CHA, but at the same time was not too surprised about. Indie craft today reminds me of scifi when it was ghetto-ized (forgive the term), yet on the rise and finding more devotees. I remember we sci-fi and comics fans often bemoaned the fact we weren’t recognized by the mainstream, but when we began to be, it was kind of sad. Everything became more expensive, more controlled by conglomerates, and harder than ever to keep up with. I think indie craft is in a very cozy place, and while there is a lot to be said for exposure and accessibility and just basic RESPECT, people… there is also the knowledge that we are among our fellows, that we can trust our fellows to a great extent, and that we don’t have to continually ‘translate’ everything we say to our fellows.
just my viewpoint…
I’m so glad Craftstylish was there to REPRESENT, baby! And I really look forward to the upcoming info and podcast!
Lots of things I did not know about CHA, but at the same time was not too surprised about. Indie craft today reminds me of scifi when it was ghetto-ized (forgive the term), yet on the rise and finding more devotees. I remember we sci-fi and comics fans often bemoaned the fact we weren’t recognized by the mainstream, but when we began to be, it was kind of sad. Everything became more expensive, more controlled by conglomerates, and harder than ever to keep up with. I think indie craft is in a very cozy place, and while there is a lot to be said for exposure and accessibility and just basic RESPECT, people… there is also the knowledge that we are among our fellows, that we can trust our fellows to a great extent, and that we don’t have to continually ‘translate’ everything we say to our fellows.
just my viewpoint…
I’m so glad Craftstylish was there to REPRESENT, baby! And I really look forward to the upcoming info and podcast!
Looks fun! I’ve been to a few food shows and they sound like the same thing, just different trades. It is very fun to go around getting samples and information, there is always a bit of information overload at the end. There always seemed to be a lot of information and products that were not useful to me like prepackaged-make-your-life-easier sort of stuff.
Looks fun! I’ve been to a few food shows and they sound like the same thing, just different trades. It is very fun to go around getting samples and information, there is always a bit of information overload at the end. There always seemed to be a lot of information and products that were not useful to me like prepackaged-make-your-life-easier sort of stuff.
Great recap. This was really needed :) I think a lot of people/craft designers who have only heard of CHA never truly understand what it is all about. Your pic and description are great and will inform a lot of people!
Great recap. This was really needed :) I think a lot of people/craft designers who have only heard of CHA never truly understand what it is all about. Your pic and description are great and will inform a lot of people!
What do you mean they had no plastic canvas!?
What do you mean they had no plastic canvas!?