The National Needlework Arts (TNNA) summer trade show took place in Washington DC from June 11-13^th.

I’ve attended the show for several years and what struck me most is that over and over again, the term ‘seismic shift’ came up in conversations. This show felt different. The needlecraft industry is changing. The optimists (a camp to which I personally belong) are excited.

As the show began, most notable was the discussion about big changes taking place. TNNA is hiring a new management company. Westminster will no longer be distributing Rowan in the US. Rowan has dramatically cut its yarn line offerings. Louet North America purchased Kollage needles. That’s a lot of news for one season!

On the show floor, there was a notable shift toward smaller companies. A number of large companies were either not there or in smaller booths than years past. There were many smaller/indie companies with a larger presence. And there were quite a few companies with booths for the first time, with a large presence. As a notable example, Sugar Bush Yarn Company introduced itself with a 4-booth-large endcap display.

Molly Girl Yarn

These changes in booth composition were a large component of the discussion about a seismic shift. Independent designers/dyers/artists have had a sizeable presence in the needlearts industry, but that presence hasn’t been felt at the show. Except this year, it was. There is a feeling that the role of smaller companies is rising fast.

On the topic of changes and independents, TNNA introduced a new sector, Business & Creative Services. This new sector includes independent designers, technical editors, video producers, social media experts, finishers, teachers, photographers, illustrators and bloggers/podcasters. In years past, these positions were only officially welcomed into the organization if they had a ‘traditional’ publishing history, such as a book or certain teaching credentials. In this past year, the organization reorganized its application standards and officially welcomes those who are entrepreneurs without brick & mortars and who are self-publishing.

The Business and Creative Services made a great splash into the Summer show with a three-day series of breakfast presentations on Social Media, Technical Editing and Photography & Layout. Each day was well-attended and provided a valuable networking opportunity. No doubt these events will only grow in future shows.

Let’s turn to looking at a few trends. Kits ruled the show at all levels. On the retail level, yarn companies (such as SpaceCadet) provided pre-packaged kits to its customers (such as ‘all the yarn you need + a sweater pattern!’) for resale. Gradient yarns (which also lend themselves to kits and bundles) were a continuing trend (Wonderland Yarns and Freia Fibers are just a few examples).

Space Cadet Sweater Kit

Space Cadet Kit

Freia Fibers

FreshStitches

Kits also made an appearance at the wholesale level: Stitch Sprouts (a pattern and yarn distributor) offered kits to stores which include class ideas along with their products. And Wonderland Yarns debuted a Yarn Club to its yarn store customers.

Stitch Sprouts

Wonderland Yarns

The crowdsharing trend taking place with uber and airBNB also made an appearance on the floor. While some shops hesitate to stock expensive pieces of equipment like weaving looms, Louet readily chatted to shops about the success some of its retailers are having with renting out its looms for classes and to customers not ready to take the full plunge. This model is likely to continue as people become more comfortable with time-sharing equipment.

Another trend appears to be cross-discipline products. In conversations, a number of shops revealed that although they were primarily needlepoint, they were branching out into knitting (or vice versa). A few companies are well-positioned to ride this wave. Red Gate Stitchery sells cross-stitch pendant kits and were being readily purchased by yarn-centric stores. Purl & Loop featured a handheld loom that makes weaving accessible to knitters wanting to experiment with yarn. Needle felting had a strong presence this year. Shops are seeking ways to keep crafty people coming back to their shops, and it seems that quick ‘try-something-new’ projects are the way to go.

Thick and bulky yarns were big this year (pun intended!) with Loopy Mango and Knit Collage showing off some amazingly large offerings. Word in the hallways is that Super Scarves (#superscarf) are the hot trend coming up this winter. Speckled yarns had a strong showing in the hand-dyed scene.

Loopy Mango

Knit Collage

Also making a big appearance were breed-specific and all-American yarns.

Shenandoah Fiber Mill

Imperial Yarn

Big changes. Rising small companies. Lots of things happening. But good things. I’m optimistic about the needlearts industry and can’t wait for the January show!

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