The past few years have reminded people that getting down and crafty is a great way to detox from technology, with suppliers finding new ways to make it easy to bring out your artistic side, as Gary Wadhwani director of Craft Buddy reveals.
Thinking back to when the business started in 2010, director Gary Wadhwani recalled: “You’d find largely adult-oriented products, typically in the realm of sewing and knitting, or you’d find totally different, much more basic products in toy shops, aimed at pre-schoolers.
“The pandemic certainly shone a light on arts and crafts, and helped bring it into mainstream view. While its well known that activities like baking and puzzling enjoyed their moment in the sun, it’s lesser known that arts and crafts like our Crystal Art and Paint By Numb3rs enjoyed huge popularity, as people looked for relaxing, calming activities during a stressful time – and we saw demand skyrocket!”
Gary believes Craft Buddy’s move into licensing has really helped by bringing on board partners including Disney and Warner Bros, allowing the company to develop activity-based kits powered by characters like Stitch, Harry Potter, Disney Princesses, Marvel Superheroes and Star Wars characters.
He added: “What we’ve tried to do in the last decade is bridge the gap, by making cool and contemporary arts and craft products that both kids and adults – and increasingly kidults – can enjoy.
“What I think is unique about our licensed art and crafts products is that you can interact with your favourite characters in a much more intimate way than a regular toy or collectable, because you’re playing a role in creating and building the end product itself. There’s something very powerful about this – you feel more connected to the end product, and more inclined to keep and display it.
“I think the growing realisation of the dangers of phone addiction and excessive screentime has led many people to seek healthy offline activities, and this is where arts and crafts come to the fore, as something productive, therapeutic and functional – all our products can be used, such as our greeting card and notebook kits, displayed or gifted.”
Read the full article in the autumn/winter edition of Stationery Matters magazine.
