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Once upon a time, adolescents were apprenticed to a master craftsman who would teach them a profession, a craft, if you will. Today, we've tacked on the word "arts" and suddenly the immediate association of the word "crafts" has changed to little kids run amuck with Elmer's glue and great aunt Ida humming along gleefully, her knitting needles clickity clicking a great, big ball of fuchsia yarn.
In truth, crafters truly do run that gamut, from the young to the simply young at heart. According to Jerry Cohen, publisher and president of All American Crafts (AAC), parent company to PaintWorks, Bead Unique, Crochet Fantasy and Woodturning Design, among others, while ages vary dramatically, most of AAC's subscribers are between 35 and 50 years old; decidedly older and/or younger than the stereotypical child/great aunt connotation. Take knitters, for example, "10 years ago [they were] 50-plus years old; now the average age is 35 to 40," Cohen says. Allison Bergeron, account manager at Millard Group, list manager of PRIMEDIA's many craft publications including Paper Crafts, McCall's Quilting and Sew News, agrees, saying, the audience tends to be younger than expected—"soccer moms," but she's quick to add, "we also have grandparents and home decorators."
OK, crafters span quite a wide age range; so what exactly do they do? According to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, crafts can be broken into several categories:
That's quite a range! Consequently, crafters "differ dramatically from one subscription file to the next," says Cohen.
A Palette of Crafty Individuals
The majority of crafts enthusiasts are women; "of course, if you're talking woodworking, more male," Cohen is quick to point out. Emily Johnson, consumer sales manager for PRIMEDIA's Scrapbooking division, agrees, saying her company's crafts-publication subscriber files primarily are comprised of females.
Something all crafters definitely have in common is the need to make things by hand. And to do it with panache.
Cohen says his publications have found "how-to" articles receive the best response. Johnson agrees, adding that "how-to" articles seem to perform especially well with the beginner audience—a guided layout to a finished product. For example, PRIMEDIA's Paper Crafts magazine offers an array of step-by-step instructions, which Johnson says readers love because it's easier to produce duplicates of the projects.
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