Craft Focus - October/November (Issue 75)

32 Good reads Katie French, editorial director at speci list publisher Search Press, reveals how to spot a craft bestseller Tell us a little about the history of Search Press. Search Press was set up in 1970 by Lotti de la Bedoyere and her son Martin, who still runs the company today. Working from her home in London, Lotti started with translations of two German books – Candle Making and Pin and Thread, and from there the Leisure Arts series was developed. It covered a diverse range of subjects, from basket weaving to batik. Some crafts, such as macramé jewellery are proving popular again today! By the early 1980s Search Press had outgrown Lotti’s kitchen and moved to its current premises in Tunbridge Wells. What does your role as editorial director involve? I’m responsible for ensuring that we continue to produce the beautiful high-quality books our customers have come to expect of us. I research and commission about 60 new titles a year across a broad range of subjects, from oil painting and beginners’ watercolours to knitting, embroidery and sewing. I also acquire the rights to foreign-language books from overseas publishers and work on collaborative projects with companies in the USA, Australia and South Africa. Just as importantly, I oversee our wonderful editorial and design departments, making sure the team are happy and productive, creating books that people really want to buy. How does the commissioning process work? The starting point can be either the subject or the author. So, I might identify an emerging trend or a new take on an established craft and then research a suitable writer for it, or I might discover a fantastic person who is doing some amazing work and develop a book idea with them. Whichever route I take, I begin by spending some time getting to know them and how they work, ultimately developing a clear, shared vision which I can then discuss with the other members of the board prior to the exchanging of contracts. Are you continually searching for new authors and trends? Yes – keeping on top of trends and spotting emerging artists and crafters is paramount to the success of our list. I attend art shows and craft fairs, both consumer and trade, and spend a lot of time talking to my colleagues and contacts in the industry. However, by far my most important source of information and ideas is the internet. The company has a milestone anniversary coming up next year – how will it be marking the occasion? We are very excited and proud to be celebrating our 50 th anniversary in 2020 and we’ll be marking it in various ways throughout the year. There will be a special author party to show our appreciation to the amazing artists and crafters who have written for us over the years. We will have features coming out in specialist magazines and in the national press, and all the trade and consumer shows we attend will have their own special theme. We’re also planning charity events and a party for our staff, some of whom have been with Search Press for more than half of our 50 years. Details are still to be finalised. With such a broad range of titles in the Search Press catalogue you must be in a great position to spot new trends. What’s popular at the moment? Trend spotting is really difficult, especially when the time between commissioning a title and receiving printed copies can be anything from one to two years! The current popularity of embroidery, dressmaking, knitting and crochet show no signs of slowing down, and there’s a huge appetite amongst crafters for new designs, techniques and products to try. Yarn crafts are definitely going places. Needle felting is big and getting more and more popular, as are weaving, macramé and punch needle embroidery. Crafters are becoming increasingly environmentally aware and are being far more discerning about the source of the materials they’re using. People are keen to re-use and re-fashion, with upcycling and recycling on the increase. In art, there’s a definite shift towards a more experimental, mixed media approach, with collage showing something of a resurgence. Crafters are also discovering the joy of watercolour painting and hand lettering. Why should retailers be stocking books? Crafting is huge, and enthusiasts are always on the lookout for something different. Although there’s a lot of free content available online, more than ever, people are valuing a high-quality content-rich book as a source of inspiration and instruction. It can encourage further purchases – someone picking up a beautiful sewing title, for example, will then want to buy fabric and threads.