The yarn industry continued to see a lot of action in the second quarter of 2019.
Ravelry announced it would ban support of Donald Trump on the site, prompted by an incident where a user was doxxed. (‘doxxing’ refers to the practice of publicly posting a person’s private information, such as home address or phone number. The intent is to make this information easily available so that the victim is inundated with messages/fears for their safety.) The announcement received widespread coverage in mainstream media, including CNN, the Washington Post, and The Guardian.
The same weekend, The National Needlearts Association (TNNA) held its summer trade show in Cleveland, Ohio. The show saw a noticeable decline in vendors, largely due to the absence of needlepoint and cross-stitch companies, many of whom are now attending the new Spring Needlepoint Show in Orlando in March, although the current president of TNNA is a needlepoint member and did attend TNNA. There was a significant presence of British brands at the show. Multiple UK-based companies mentioned that the looming Brexit and unclear trade relations with Europe encouraged an increased focus on establishing themselves in the US market.
The following happenings include some from the previous quarter that went unreported:
Patternfish closes its doors. After 11 years in business, the website Patternfish closed its doors on May 31st. With a library of over 23,000 patterns, patternfish offered a curated library of knitting and crochet patterns.
Kollage Needles has ceased manufacturing and has closed operations, despite a recent rebranding. The announcement states that the company was unable to overcome the debt that was taken on to acquire the business.
Louet spinning wheel.
Louët (Holland) is now distributing its own weaving looms and wheels in North America, following the dissolution of Louet North America. Perhaps as a signifier of the declining costs of shipping worldwide, Ashford (New Zealand) began distributing directly to North America after the retirement of their US distributor last year.
Creative Knitting ended publication, following the Spring 2019 issue. The magazine was published by Annie’s.
Knit Wit Online magazine has stopped publication. Read the announcement, here. The final Instagram feed makes a statement.
MakerFaire halts operations. Citing financial troubles, all 22 employees were let go and operations ceased.
Interweave magazines have been acquired. Following the bankruptcy of parent company F+W, the craft magazines were purchased by Terry O’Toole’s Investment company. He is the managing partner of the investment firm that had a majority interest in F+W.
Penguin Random House acquires F+W’s books division. The assets include more than 2,000 non-fiction books in the backlist. The company publishes approximately 120 new books a year. Imprints include North Light Books and Interweave. Read more, here.
Nancy’s Knit Knacks looks for a buyer, citing a desire to retire. The listing is available here and is unsold at publication date.
Chicken Boots, at least in its capacity as a wholesaler of sewn project bags, has closed. Or paused.
Furls needles.
Furls Crochet hooks expands into knitting needles. The company known for fine crochet hooks has branched out into offering knitting needles.
Personnel
- AFCI announced Peter Finn as Executive Director.
- Trisha Malcolm joins Mez Crafts, the parent company of Rowan, as Executive Brands Strategist.
Events
Spinzilla is suspended. A TNNA initiative launched in 2013, the announcement cites a need for reorganization. Declining participation, a decrease in sponsorship and lack of volunteers at the organizational level are likely contributing factors to the decision.
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Stacey helps small businesses in the craft industry put their best foot forward in the digital world. She specializes in developing a company’s branding, marketing + social media to build customer-loyalty, community-building and engagement. She writes, teaches and consults on a variety of small business marketing topics. www.staceytrock.com
So sad to see the decline of the knitting world. However, knitting was and always is a hobby that sees highs and lows, and we will see a high again but probably not for awhile. In the meantime, what continues to kill the businesses as they currently are is the constant consumer demand for free shipping and “something for nothing”. It’s hard for everyone to make it in the Amazon mentality world. Of course we can’t decry the buggywhip factory because automobiles are on the scene. People have to reinvent how they market. Unfortunately a lot of times this means that someone goes unpaid.
I don’t view what’s happening now as the ‘decline of the knitting world’… in fact, knitting is growing as an industry! The way things are done are certainly changing, and that might not be bad! But it is change 🙂
I see an increasing number of consumers interested in breed-specific yarn, hand-dyed yarn and local, quality sources. I’m not so sure the Amazon mentality is taking over the industry. There are elements (especially with vendors who compete on price), but I don’t think it’s the whole picture.
Yes. I totally agree with your perspective on this. I see the fiber/knitting industry moving in a positive direction, embracing education and quality products. I believe fiber arts should be referred to more as an art rather than a craft. It is definitely an art in many aspects.
Thank you very much for this informative round-up. I have been wondering if/how the market could support all of the start-ups in the recent (tidal)wave of independent yarn dyers, designers, podcasters, influencers, and online content creators. I have great respect for them as entrepreneurs, but often wonder if they can sustain and grow when they take on so much (planning, sourcing, production, packaging, shipping, marketing) all by themselves. It is a new world, yet the reality does concern me because there seems to be a glut of everything – yarn, project bags, patterns, YouTube channels, fiber festivals, retreats, etc. Just like with most things, starting something is the exciting part because there is so much support, attention, opportunity. Keeping it going is another thing. I wonder how this will all work out.
It depends what you mean by “growth.” The challenge with larger staffed businesses or businesses with investment is that even moderate, slow growth is seen as a failure. If a business owner in the yarn industry is sustaining their business and themselves and responding to trends, then they will thrive.
You’ve got a lot to unpack here!
Question one is how the market will react to so many businesses (whereas previously, the market was controlled by a few large companies). We’ll find out!
The second issue you raise is how entrepreneurs can grow as a business when they do everything themselves. I think that’s built on a bit of a failed presupposition: many indie businesses do bring on staff so they aren’t doing everything themselves. You can also be a solo-preneur and be successful (for example, one person earning 50k may be earning just as great of an income as a company bringing in $250k but employing 5 people).
The third point is about the glut of everything: is that any different than the other industries?
Some of the above mentioned companies I’ve never even heard of and I thought I pretty much familiar with the more popular knitting sites/companies/info. I can say as a consumer as I was big into knitting in the 90’s and early 2000’s but the 3 years or so I’ve really dropped offline. I rarely finish anything and hardly buy knitting supplies at all much less attend classes and retreats. Crafts definitely have ups and downs and I do a lot of different needlework crafts so something is always getting more attention than others at my house. For the last 10+ plus years its been my sewing machine with some needlepoint/cross stitch worked in. I think I burned myself out on knitting – for years it was all about socks! As a consumer I feel bad when these companies go out of business because if we don’t support them when we can they wont be there when they need us but I cant support them all. That being said those Furls Knitting needles are really calling my name, they are gorgeous.
If we Indie makers stay focused and small we will survive. It seems the companies that “scale” their business based on antiquated practices or different industries’ models tend to fail. I keep on keeping on with resilience and adaptability. I’m 54 and have had a part-time businesses going since the 80s. Always “maker” based with a strong yet flexible foundation of teaching has kept my happy and earning. I have bootstrap framework and I know when to save and when to spend. I’ve been artist in residence in reputable art galleries and built art studios in my basement and bunkie at our cottage. I have a part-time bread-and-butter income teaching online English lessons to students in China. That foundation keeps me stable and I love the job. We will survive. Marketing is still and pain or pleasure species. Stay focused, small, and give the people what they want. Sandra Clarke
You’re hitting the nail on the head when you say that an antiquated company won’t make it. But I’ve seen companies “stay small” but also stay antiquated and large companies that flex and thrive in changing times.
You need to run a business that works for you!