Economy tough on crafters

Rosa Lee Handley is trying to crochet her way out of unemployment.

After the 71-year-old registered nurse from Omaha was laid off a year ago, she learned to crochet scarves and baby blankets to sell at craft fairs to supplement her Social Security and retirement savings.

Chris Haeffner, on the other hand, is doing less of what once paid for new carpeting and a family vacation to Disney World.

The 36-year-old mother of four returned to work full time this fall after sales of her handmade bungee-cord-handle purses at craft fairs dropped dramatically a year ago.

“We weren't sure that we would be able to make the same income on our crafts as we had in the past,” the Lincoln woman said. “So it felt safer to go back to teaching.”

For some home crafters, the economy has driven them away from their hobby-turned-part-time job, as consumers reduce impulse purchases.

Others, however, affected by layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs are turning to crafting in hopes of making money.

Profit-seeking crafters are attracted to the benefits: no or little overhead; being your own boss; and making money from your creativity and passion.

But experienced craft sellers know the drawbacks and challenges: There still are taxes to figure and pay; you're competing with mass-produced goods sold at cheaper prices; and it's difficult to make a profit with rising costs and fewer spend-ready customers.

How this latest recession ultimately will impact crafting is still playing out, but individual hobbyists, both established and new, are adjusting in myriad ways. They're hunting for good deals on materials, cutting back on travel costs and creating new items at lower prices for today's thrifty customer.

“The economy has made artists and crafters smarter,” said Donna Huffman, co-promoter for 27 years of the “Autumn Festival, An Arts and Crafts Affair,” which started Thursday and concludes at 5 p.m. today at the Qwest Center Omaha.

Research from the Craft & Hobby Association shows that people are indeed getting savvier, said Victor Domine, spokesman for the Elmwood Park, N.J.-based group.

Although the trade group doesn't separately track crafters who sell their products, its research showed that the percentage of U.S. households making crafts was fairly consistent from 2006 to 2008, about 56 percent. Yet spending on materials to make craft items dropped about 15 percent, from roughly $32 billion in 2007 to $27 billion in 2008.

That shows that crafting activity remains steady, but people are finding ways to do it with less money, Domine said.

One way, he said, are “craft stashes,” events where hobbyists bring leftovers to swap and to stock up on supplies. Scrapbookers bring unwanted paper. Quilters swap fabric scraps.

Maintaining profitability is a challenge for those who look at crafting as a cottage business, especially those who travel to craft fairs.

Gas prices have fallen from peaks of more than $4 a gallon, but fuel and other travel expenses are the main areas trimmed, said Huffman, other craft fair organizers and crafters.

“If they had a real big motor home, maybe they downsized a little to a smaller motor home,” Huffman said.

More are checking tire pressure to improve fuel efficiency, utilizing online travel agencies to research the lowest hotel rates, and taking coolers packed with food instead of eating out, she said.

Some sellers participate in more shows in an attempt to increase sales, but other crafters take the opposite approach by reducing the number of shows, which typically charge exhibitor fees and can involve travel costs.

The economy has made some crafters choosier as to which shows they attend, said Elisa Rahmlow, a former crafter who now coordinates a craft fair fundraiser for the Bellevue East High School Band.

“You pretty much go to the ones where you know you had success the previous year,” she said.

Henrietta Bradley of Burnsville, Minn., would have made the trip to this weekend's Autumn Festival in Omaha if money weren't an issue.

The sales representative for a large nationwide company was laid off in April and has been making handmade blankets to sell at craft fairs. She wanted to come to the large Omaha show, she said, but it's hard enough to scrape together money to buy fabric.

But she's not complaining.

Bradley said the layoff forced her to find a self-reliance and creativity that she never would have discovered. It's also given her a sense of self-worth in this tough time, she said.

“I am using what I have to try to create something for myself. If I didn't have this right now, I'd be desperate.”

Domine said the trade group identified four reasons people craft: the social benefit; the value proposition (making something for less than they can buy it, or because they don't have the money to buy it); the intrinsic value (pride in making an item); and therapeutic value.

“Over the last couple of years, with a lot of stress because of the economy, we have heard that one of the reasons that people craft is the therapeutic benefits,” he said.

Faye Schaubert, a recently retired Qwest call center scheduler in Omaha, sells crafts with friend Randi Kelsay, a sales support specialist at Qwest, mostly for the personal enjoyment and camaraderie with other crafters.

“It's a good feeling when people like what you're making,” said Schaubert, of Council Bluffs.

But it's challenging in a tougher economy, they said. The two — who have been selling their fabric-lined baskets, table runners and napkins at craft fairs for three years — shop at fabric outlets, subscribe to retailer e-mail sales alerts and use coupons because fabric costs have doubled in the past three years.

“We've always been savvy about buying fabric on sale, but we're more so now,” said Kelsay, of Bellevue.

Mother-daughter crafting team Becky Cady, 57, and Alicia Dorau, 31, operate a Fremont, Neb., boutique but started going to craft fairs this spring to help compensate for slower store foot traffic and to more widely market their handmade fabric purses and the store.

They make more $5 makeup bags to attract cash-strapped customers, although their higher-priced purses continue to sell, Becky said. The two said they sometimes work 15- to 18-hour days and save money wherever they can, such as printing their own business cards.

“We're not hobby crafters, we're business crafters,” Becky said. “This is our livelihood, so we do everything we can to make it as successful as we can.”

Norman Handley, Rosa Lee's husband, was selling his barbecue sauce at craft fairs for years before she became an active seller.

“I had grandiose plans that I would be able to live on my retirement from the phone company and on Social Security,” Norman said. “And you find that it's not the case because of inflation and the downturn of the economy.”

When Rosa Lee was laid off, that complicated matters. She said her age prevented her from finding another nursing position, so she had other crafters teach her to crochet.

“I probably wouldn't mind working part time, but crafting is something I really wanted to do. (The layoff) made me do what I've always wanted to do.”

Haeffner, the Lincoln school librarian, is less pessimistic about changes brought about by the recession. As a young mother, she loved staying home with her children, working part time at school and part time at her crafts.

“It was a great balance for me. Now that I've started back full time, I love it, too. The economy in the last year — we've just had to change our plan.

“(The business) is doing OK. But it's not nearly as much fun to do when you're not making good money on it.”

Contact the writer:

444-1183, christine.laue@owh.com