We’re so pleased to bring you this special episode of the Craft Industry Alliance podcast. This is a recording of the State of the Industry panel discussion which took place live on stage on May 7 at h+h americas 2025 in Chicago. With over 800 people in the audience, our panelists dove into the biggest issues and ideas the crafts industry is wrestling with right now. It was an exciting conversation among four industry professionals each of whom has a unique vantage point and perspective.

Our panelists included Jakob Lang of Lang Yarns, Anna Maria Parry, Adam Blumenthal of Lion Brand, and Lucy McDermott from Stash Charlotte.  We hope you enjoy listening to this conversation and we invite you to join us at h+h americas 2026 which will be held May 6-8 in Chicago.

We begin this discussion with each panelist briefly introducing themselves. Next, we talk about the state of craft retail right now including what’s working for brick-and-mortar shops and for e-commerce shops. We also discuss how B2B shoppers are buying supplies today (from reps, at trade shows, from B2B e-commerce shops, etc.).

Trends are the next topic and the panelists talk about how they spot trends and how they use them (or don’t follow them) in their respective businesses. We discuss the business trend of selling direct-to-consumer and how we should be thinking about that idea today.

Next up, we talk about the bankruptcy and closure of Joann. Our panelists share what they feel went wrong and what opportunities this loss presents to our industry going forward. We discuss how independent craft retailers might consider attracting former Joann customers.

We discuss how craft retailers might diversify their product assortment, whether it’s wise to do this, and if it is, how to do it successfully. How can we support new independent retailers and help them succeed?

Next, we address tariffs and the economic uncertainty we are facing right now. Our panelists share how tariffs are impacting their businesses and what measures they are taking to mitigate that impact.

We discuss trends, specifically where our panelists are finding trends now and how they might be incorporating trends into their businesses. We also talk about the various changes we’ve seen over the last year in social media and how our panelists are thinking about social media strategy today.

Finally, we take a few questions from the audience including one about sustainability.

We hope you enjoy this conversation, and we’d love to see you at h+h americas 2026 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, March 6-8. Mark your calendar!