Trends & Takeaways from Show Season

The start of the year brings with it cold winds and the season of big retail and artisan shows, some exclusively for makers, others with a large carve-out of global hand-made elements, as the world becomes a smaller place. In our travels, we met small business owners from South Africa, England, India and across the US. We decided we were grateful to be focused on artisan, hand-crafted gifts. Otherwise, we would quickly become overwhelmed by the thousands of options available to large retail stores. Thankfully, life is simpler (and more naturally beautiful) in the artisan space.

Here are three trends worth noting from the global shows:

The influence of sustainable storytelling. While a drive toward sustainability isn’t new, it was more widely reflected as an active part of the shop owners’ consideration in product development. Each owner had a story about the source and importance of how they crafted their products. From textiles to beauty products to fabric stains, the makers are searching for new ways to get ahead of, or keep pace with, the movement. We talked to textile shop owners who find their stains through natural sources like flowers and vegetables. Some shared their process of using only leather sourced from animals who died of natural causes. Others highlighted a bamboo beauty cloth and encouraged the use of hand-illustrated linen bags as an upgrade to your brown paper bags, or replacement for your plastic ones. What these items demonstrate to us is that you can add sustainable elements to gifts and also add beauty. In the early days, many alternatives were functional but less attractive. We’re glad to see styles have evolved to accomplish both.

Style makes a clean sweep. The household broom has seen a complete makeover. The size and scope of this old bristled tool has been miniaturized and expanded to match any cleaning task. Handles are made with special wood designs, rich color stains, or with a custom ceramic base. There’s a broom for your home, one for your workshop table, for your elegant dining area, the camping table inside the airstream or outside by the picnic table. We’ve seen several examples of award-winning brooms, and because of the variation in design, they can be an added gift option for those who enjoy being inside and out. Now, there’s no excuse not to have a custom broom at every turn to make a clean sweep of your workspace.

The soft and cozy appeal of natural fibers was on display in a wide variety of hand-crafted bags. Felt, made from as far away as Nepal, appeared on custom dyed handbags, large carry bags for business and travel, and as makeup bags for professionals on-the-go. We admired the mini bags to help keep things organized inside our big bag. Complete with natural dyes, the mini sported a pair of zipper pulls for easy opening and access. For the bag-lovers among us, you know two zipper pulls are a welcome luxury typically by-passed to lower the cost. These soft materials, in an array of different patterns and sizes, nicely expand your gift choices.

As we’ve learned in our business, the origin story and artisan process is a big part of a company’s path forward. The authenticity of a company’s commitment to creating a unique, quality product with purpose, while working in unison with the natural elements around it, is increasingly important.