Craft Focus - Feb/Mar 2020 (Issue 77)

93 PROFILE Tell us a little about Hunkydory Group. Hunkydory is a multi-award-winning papercraft manufacturer from the north-west of England. We have been designing and making products for more than a decade, with a team of talented and creative individuals who continue to innovate year after year. We produce several bestselling brands under the Hunkydory banner, including Adorable Scorable, Prism and Moonstone. We also manufacture bespoke papercraft for other popular brands. Talk us through your current product range. Although we are best known for papercraft kits, we have diversified in recent years and now cater for a range of craft techniques including die-cutting, stamping and all manner of colouring mediums such as ink, sprays, pens and pencils. We also stock a wide range of tools and consumables. What are your bestselling collections? Under the Adorable brand, our cardstock and award-winning Scoreboard are market leaders in their category. In addition, the innovative Mirri Magic technique and our Deco-Large sets continue to bring another dimension to card making. How often does the company launch new lines? Having several popular in-house brands means we launch new products almost every week. Each release is scheduled, allowing customers time to buy and get crafty with their goodies. We do our best to cater for as many interests and themes as possible, which helps to attract new crafters whilst keeping our current clientele engaged. Do you exhibit at any shows? We attended the exceptional Creativeworld show in Frankfurt this January. Together with Paperworld, it offers a wonderful mix of international craft and hobby suppliers – you can’t help but be inspired for the future of our industry. Have craft TV channels changed the way the company does business? Craft TV channels have increased awareness of our brands within the marketplace and helped greatly with economies of scale as we established ourselves in the industry. Television has shaped the craft sector in the UK, enabling suppliers to reach a wider audience, whilst also creating a demand for products that can be satisfied through online and traditional bricks and mortar retailers. The craft world is constantly evolving – what’s your take on the health of the industry? I would agree that the industry continues to evolve rapidly, so it is important that suppliers adapt alongside their customers. The sector is quite cyclical so it will benefit companies to be involved in a number of different crafts instead of focusing on one niche. The long-term key to a healthy industry is ensuring that the consumer is supported with education on how to get the best from the products they purchase. This helps to ensure that consumers stay engaged and use the item they have bought rather than becoming disillusioned and moving on to another hobby. What do you think the biggest papercraft trends in 2020 will be? As the industry matures and crafters get more creative, we are seeing a real blend of techniques being used together. Projects that require stamps, dies and paper all together are becoming commonplace – this will continue to progress as people look to make more of the skills they have learned. Creative journaling is increasing in popularity and with a greater focus on mental wellbeing and mindfulness we will see more of this trend. +44 (0)1772 272 577 hunkydorycrafts.co.uk