Country Craft Marketing: Selling a Lifestyle

Diana Lambdin Meyer is a Parkville, Mo.-based freelance writer. March 1999.

TRADITIONAL AND COUNTRY CRAFTS ARE A $5 BILLION A YEAR “INDUSTRY” BY SOME ESTIMATES, BUT EVEN THOSE INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN THE CREATION AND SALE OF COUNTRY CRAFT ITEMS HAVE A HARD TIME DEFINING THE PRODUCT.

Whatever the definition, though, crafts in all traditional and country styles sell well across the country in craft malls, galleries, antique and craft shops, and at craft shows. In fact, living with these crafts has become a lifestyle for many consumers. For the craftspeople trying to sell these crafts, the trick, as in marketing most products, is focusing on the right market.

DEFINING THE MARKET

“The ideal that we strive for is weathered, worn, muted colors, nothing too frilly,” says Sue Wagner, editor of Country Sampler magazine. With a circulation of more than 600,000 nationwide, the magazine sells craft items for the artist.

“I would say there are at least 15 or more categories of handmade crafts, from colonial to cottage to Western,” Wagner explains. “The art is as old as the hills, but the business is relatively new.”

The market for country crafts has certainly developed strength over the last 10 to 15 years. Country Sampler, for example, is 15 years old. Coomer’s Craft Malls, the nation’s oldest and largest chain of retail locations for craft artists, and one of the biggest venues for traditional and country craft artists, is only 10 years old.

Barbara Pitt with Heritage Markets in Carlisle, Pa., is a wholesale trade show promoter for traditional crafts. She’s been in the business 22 years and is considered a “grand dame” of craft merchandising. Pitt’s definition of traditional crafts, which seems to be the most common, is “a product with roots in American history recreated for today’s decorating style.” Reproduction furniture, hand graining and affordable prints fall into Pitt’s definition of traditional crafts.

Country crafts, according to Pitt, are products created from an original idea that complement a relaxed lifestyle, something that people have fun with. Wreaths and garden furniture fall into this wide category.

“The traditional and country markets have become a lifestyle in recent years,” Pitt says. “This is an industry that has evolved into a way of living, encompassing antiques and collectibles.”

The popularity in these “lifestyle” crafts can be seen in the success of one the most well-known promoters of country craft: Country Peddler Shows. There are 26 Country Peddler Shows scheduled for 1999, 22 of them in Texas, three in Ohio and one in Nebraska.

This limited geographic concentration may fuel the impression many people have that the main markets for traditional and country crafts are the Midwest and toward the center of the country, especially Texas. But, explains Wagner, the impression is actually unfounded. “There seems to be the impression that ‘country’ style crafts are concentrated in the Midwest, and, in fact, it may have started there,” she says, “but at this point ‘country’ is all over the country.” The cottage and New England style of decorating, as well as the colonial and southern styles, have spread throughout the country, gaining popularity as well.

The circulation of Country Sampler magazine into all 50 states is an indication of the widespread appeal of country items. Wagner says that the magazine’s readers hail from California to Florida, with really no noticeable concentration in one region.

WHO’S BUYING WHAT

“Our demographics are middle-income women, ages 35-54, with a couple of years of education, but beyond that, things are up for grabs,” says Nancy Hester, advertising coordinator for Coomers Craft Malls. Whatever the region or the product, the consumers also must have a good deal of discretionary income with which to redecorate their home, apartment or even their motor home every couple of years.

Statistics from the 30 Coomers locations in nine states indicate that Victorian items sell best in Illinois and women’s clothing items sell best in Texas. Wood items, from furniture to wall hangings, are constant bestsellers across the nation.

That’s good news for Wanda and Laverne Rubin of Decatur, Ill., who specialize in wooden crafts in their store, All Seasons Decor. Now retired from a carpentry career, Laverne does the wood cutting, and Wanda does the painting. Furniture, pictures, dolls and plaques all sell well from their shop and in craft shows throughout the Midwest.

“I think Illinois is really the center of the country look,” says Wanda. She and her husband grew up on a farm and often rely on their memories when creating a country or traditional craft item. They use mostly weathered barn wood for their products. Rustic styles and themes are most essential among these types of craft.

Word of mouth from customers the Rubins meet at craft shows and a bit of local advertising keeps foot traffic in their shop.

“We do really well at shows in the Chicago and St. Louis suburbs where people have money and crave the country look,” Laverne says.

But the Rubins don’t do well on the Internet, an effort they initiated about two years ago. “It seems people don’t want to pay that extra shipping or something,” Laverne explains.

As more people gain access to the Internet and more women in particular become comfortable with computers as a shopping and decorating tool, Nancy Hester at Coomers believes that will change. “Our crafters don’t sell so many orders from our Global Gallery, it is more of an advertising tool to generate interest and foot traffic into the mall,” she says.

Margi Borgman, a district manager for Coomers Craft Malls in Ohio and Illinois, agrees with the Rubins that word of mouth is some of the best advertising available, especially for this type of craft. “If people come to one of our malls and have a good shopping experience, they will return and they will tell their friends,” she says. “We make sure they are greeted when they come and when they go and that everything is pleasantly arranged and convenient while they are here.”

APPEARANCE REALLY IS EVERYTHING

A formal study conducted by Coomers two years ago focused on the visual display of the product. The research indicated that consumers make a decision in less than three seconds about whether or not they will stop and look more closely at items. That decision is based on the visual elements of the booth.

In the craft malls where traditional and country crafts are predominant, Borgman says, “We found that booths using wood creatively in their display, such as picket fences, crates and window frames, were 80 percent more likely to get shoppers to stop.”

That doesn’t mean that every booth should have crates and picket fences, but that an investment in the display will pay off. “Peg board is convenient, but also impersonal,” she adds. “Spend that extra time and money to make the booth correspond with and enhance your product.”

KEEP ONE EAR TO THE GROUND

Borgman sees her job as one of offering advice and assistance to craftspeople and artists who come to her mall. The most important advice she offers anyone marketing traditional or country crafts is to listen to suggestions and advice offered. “People come to me and ask for help or ideas, then they get their feelings hurt if they don’t
hear what they want to hear,” Borgman says.

Pitt agrees that more craftspeople who create country and traditional crafts would find success if they would stay focused on the audience for the product rather than just on their product. She explains, “I don’t mean to keep originality out of your work, but if you want to make a living at this, you must diversify, be flexible and listen to what the marketplace is telling you,” she says.

And you must consider where the audience for your work will be. If a fine contemporary craft show does not accept your work, it is likely because the show promoter knows that the audience that attends the show is not the best audience for your work.

Other advice that applies whether in a wholesale trade show, craft mall, shop or craft show includes diversification of price points. Your line of merchandise should have high-dollar and low-dollar items to help balance sales among a diverse consumer group. Like most craft consumers, many buyers of traditional and country crafts will spend hundreds of dollars to find that certain item to perfect their home environment. Others won’t or can’t, and will search for smaller or more affordable items to fill their homes. “If you are serious about this, you must get your pricing down pat,” stresses Pitt.

Go to wholesale shows, galleries and furniture stores. Read trade books and magazines. Go to shows and see how your product fits in with the rest of the work, according to the price range and style. Is the show a good fit for your work, and do items similar to your style seem to be selling?

Whether craftwork is country, traditional or folk, or somewhere in between, success requires more than marketing — it requires marketing to the right market.