FUTURE FEED: Lurking, Watching & Commenting

Last year, in a frenzy of MIY (Make It Yourself), beading was everywhere. Bead shops, beading school holiday activities, beading mags, you couldn’t turn around without walking into strands of Czech moonglow Murano inspired lampwork tiger tail strung strands of home made goodness. It knocked scrapbooking off its perch as the craft de jour. And as with any hobby different levels of skill abounded. Possibly one of the most common sounds heard around the place was strings of homemade necklaces collapsing from lack of knotting skill, and beads careering off across tiled floors.

What’s it going to be next year? Well, a few predictions:

1. Arty decals, the designs of which owe more than a passing gratitude to Dutch born designer Toord Boontje are popping up on craft sales sites like Etsyand in interior mags. Next step? DIY (Design It Yourself) and whiz your design up the pipe to a decal making outfit, and voila, whole new look for the kiddies’ rooms. Decal manufacturers, traditionally providing stickers to the retail industry for their shopw windows, won’t know what’s hit them.

2. And in homewares, the decal will do it again. Revitalise those old bits of crockery by overlaying a funky design. Whoever comes up with the dishwasher safe decal will make a fortune.

3. Bespoke Snow Domes. Nostalgia always plays a part, in any reincarnation of a hobby. So get out those family snaps, superimpose them in front of a photo of your house or backyard, fill it with glitter, and hey presto ~ the 2010 Xmas gift for all your far flung friends and family. Beats the personalised calender or coffee mug.

4. And in the pursuit of craft happiness, make sure you put in a few reycled bits and bobs ~ just to prove your green credentials. I’ve seen darling bits of jewelry made from typewriter keys, knitting needles, mahjong tiles. Now some fab necklaces concocting from empty biros, disposable cigarette lighters and bread ties please. And the ultimate ~ picnic glasses made from empty water bottles. Yes!

But what will become of the beads, I hear you ask. Well, they’ll wend their way to op shops and school fetes across the nation, and some enterprising trendsetter will come up with something else to do with them. And in 2012 we’ll probably see what that something turns out to be.