Karen wrote:
I'm wondering what impact internet stores are having on not just LNS,
but the chain stores like Wal Mart and Hobby Lobby (and whatever you
have in Oz) - the needlework stocked in those stores is getting mighty
thin, too.
Cross Stitch is certainly seen as an "old ladies hobby" by the stores here in Aus. And the major chain stores only put out charts for that demographic. Hmm why do I have the feeling I've had this conversation before.
I guess from their perspective, if this range works and sells to their target demographic then why get in a different range and possibly lose money when all their polls and market analysis says that younger women do different crafts like scrapbooking and beading. Those crafts are on the rise and all younger marketing is aimed in those areas - some of the scrapbooking supplies are funky, and hip and trendy and all those other words I hate :)
Oh well - as long as there is the internet and designers keep designing, I wont run out of things to stitch for a while - but I do miss being able to look through actual charts in an actual store and take a purchase away with me ......
I liken this to work. As you know I manage a small branch of a public library. We have eight branches to our library. Seven branches are roughly in a half hour drive radius from the central core. So the drive between branches can be up to an hour depending on which spoke you are in in and which spoke you are going to ....
Anyway we have a floating collection, any item you borrow from any branch can be returned to any other branch. That means if we have four copies of Darkly Dreaming Dexter, at four different branches, they all get borrowed and all four get returned to the central branch then the central branch they stay at until someone borrows them from there. *OR* you can request then to be sent to your branch for you. Once again depending on what time of day you make your request and where from and to it can take up to three days for the courier to get the item to your branch.
My fellow librarians can't see any issues with this! They've lost all appreciation for the lost art of browsing!
Whenever I am working at another branch I nab one copy of all duplicated popular titles and I take them back to my branch - to widen the range of browsable material. No-one else does that. They don't see what its a hassle if you want Book X and its at another branch then you only have to wait three days - what's the big deal ???
Its a completely different mindset! I just can't get through to these people - so I arrange what I arrange for my branch and just leave the rest of them to it.
Oh included here is the cover pic of the one item I bought at the NSLNS. This is the *only* item in the store that caught my attention and its a half price linen kit. Picture in RAKS and Presents album because I didn't know where else to put it .... oooh bother I just noticed that I didn't put a picture up of the chocolate Tracy sent me before I ate it {blush}
6 comments:
I miss browsing very terribly. My LNS' close just after I get off work so there is rarely any time available for me to just wander through the racks and see what appeals to me.
I think having been banned from my local library for so long (long story and involves a spiteful ex sister-in-law) I've gotten used to doing my book browsing at the big book stores. And I do most of my needlework browsing on the internet because with the exception of PTP, most of the shops really don't carry anything I'm interested in. Doesn't mean I can't find something to buy (there's always a Blackbird design that I think I have to have), but I guess I'm one of those contributing to the decline of the shops.
Well, I've gotten 95% of my stash the last couple of years via the 'net; I've been to an actual needlwork store 3 times in 20 years, those in the last year when I found one by work, and spent $20 or less each time. My particular LNS has all of her charts in binders and to be honest, I've never looked through any except when the owner is showing me something specific. I need stuff to be out, and if it catches my eye, I'll look closer; hence, internet shopping, where I can scroll up, down, etc.
As for library books, it depends; sometimes I am after something very specific (a recommendation, the next in a series, a new release I just happen to know about), so will check my branch, and if it's not in, will ask for it. When I have no idea what I want, then I will go through the stacks, though often don't get past the new releases shelves.
I guess I'm the same with LNS and libraries - I know the capabilities of both, and depending on what I'm after, I know the path of least resistance, depending on how soon I need it. Does that make sense?
I'm one of the fortunate ones... I have a great LNS, it's only downfall being that it's an hour and a half away from me. (Well, then again, that might not be quite so bad for my wallet!) Charts are out and well organized by category and/or designer. She's got lots of models, and they change often enough to spark interest and keep people buying. She's also fabulous about mail order - I can call and say "Kim, I need a skein of Gloriana Miami Deco" or "Kim, I need some light blue evenweave to go with x,y and z fibers, pick something that looks good", and as long as the items are in stock, I have them within 3 or 4 days, and I'm only charged the actual shipping. I do order from a couple of different ONS's when they have sales.. but that's usually for more "mundane" stuff like beads, treasures or metallics, or a chart that I know Kim doesn't have. (Yes, she'd order it, but most of those times it's an impulse when I see it on sale lol).
As for my local library - well, I don't patronize it. Part of it is purely that I'd lost the "habit" of going there, and the other part is that for a while, the people who worked there weren't great on the "customer service" idea - tough to get someone to help you, etc. And added to that, they didn't get a lot of current fiction in unless it was on the best seller list. Not sure who was making those decisions, or if that part has changed. So, I usually browse at Borders or Barnes & Noble.
But in terms of what's "hip" or "trendy" in the craft world, I often wonder if it's another issue like the chicken and the egg.. does one craft become more popular because people start doing that one thing more? Or do the magazines and stores (especially the chain stores) start promoting it more so that everyone believes it's popular and then tries it?
This is absolutely the problem for me. I understand they all have lives, too, but really, would it hurt to have even just one late night where we could go in and browse? I'm close enough to one LNS that I can run in there after work and pick up what I need but there's no time to browse. I just don't always have time on Saturday to go shopping. After all, I have to get things done at home, too!!
THE LNS that mum uses is open 10am-3pm Mon-Fri only.
Excuse me ????? When are working people supposed to get there ?????
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