Press: Crafting, a vibrant and innovative sector

Published in Quirks

The crafting market is often seen as a niche sector appealing to a narrow demographic. The truth couldn’t be more different. Activities such as baking, needlework, pottery, wood crafts and jewelry attract about £3.4 bn of spend in the U.K. and appeal to a broad participant base. This includes younger people, with 73% of 16-34-year-olds having participated in a craft in the last 12 months.

National lockdowns have encouraged people to discover (or re-discover) home-based pastimes, contributing to a record year for crafting. However, even pre-pandemic the sector had been in sustained growth; Hobbycraft, the U.K.’s largest arts and crafts retailer, experienced its eighth consecutive year of growth in 2019.

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