INTRODUCTION

Every year The Craft Center at CHF international presents the trends for the next two years specially targeted for the handmade world. The goal of this interactive document, presented this year as a blog, is to share with artisans and entrepreneurs around the world the current and future trends as expressed in concepts, ideas, shapes, textures and colors. Taking the pulse of the market by interviewing experts who share their vision for the future, we can see significant opportunity for the handmade world as the global economy rebounds from the recession. The growth of the handmade sector is a response to the redefinition of our own ethical values and meeting the needs of a customer who is now closer to life’s core values: authenticity, exclusivity, character, diversity, fairness, respect, and cultural heritage.

Quality has emerged as the new aesthetic for this post- zen world and with quality comes an emphasis on the construction of the product, the producer, and the raw materials. According to Alexander Van Slobbe, Artistic Director of the Design Academy of Eindhoven, “We have in recent years confused consumerism with luxury and consequently caused major damage to the environment and disregarded the essence of quality. The financial crisis has brought us back to earth. It compelled us to reconsider and put things back in perspective…consumers can’t be fooled anymore and they are able to distinguish between quality and non-quality. A consumer notices the attention paid to the realization of a product. It is therefore the designer’s task to reinstate the master craftsman….Luxury is never in the thing itself but always in the visible attention with which it is made, the intimate relationship that you as a user can build with it, the symbolic gesture of giving it.”

Sustainability has been a goal for many socially responsible companies and the most desired brand asset for many international brands. In a context where many people define themselves by what they buy, new brands are gaining followers by linking commercial desire with preservation of the environment and the cultures that inhabit fragile ecosystems, making the product multidimensional in terms of meaning, purpose and target audiences. Sustainability is becoming luxury that goes beyond necessity.

Examples of products that target a socially responsible consumer while promoting an appealing brand include: FEED bags, launched by Lauren Bush, are made as eco-friendly and fairly as possible; TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: with every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need; EDUN is a progressive brand that provokes us to think beyond fashion, founded by Ali Hewson and Bono, the brand generates trade opportunities in developing regions.

In this context, the platform for the handmade world is one of relevance as products are motivators of the values and virtues that people at desperately trying to embody. Education is also one of the layers of this new pattern of consumption because those brands are defining the new meaning of cool so their effect is proportional to their “coolness” factor. The handmade world is ready to embrace a new world of consumers.

The beauty of the handmade sector is that it has the potential to help increase job creation for women, curb urban migration by offering economic opportunities for rural communities and encourages creativity and respect for the elderly, giving them dignity and pride. Echoing the tremendous influence of social media and its important role in communication, integration and branding, we present this report in the format of a blog, which will be updated constantly and will be open for comments, ideas and new ways of thinking that artisans can share with each other.