I think I really started noticing it with the scrap booking market. Suddenly, people that had dutifully recorded every step little Johnny took were encouraged to turn those each blurry 4 x 6 into a work of art that little Johnny would treasure for ever. FYI, I recorded the steps. But the blurry photos are in a box somewhere. And there's another box of blurry negatives that I just can't bring myself to deal with. Papers, trimmers, albums with posts, albums without posts, stencils, glitter, glue, corner mounts, punches, oh my! Little boutique shops popped up with racks after skinny rack of scrapbook supplies. My favorite craft store (and it's not small) devoted a full 1/4 of their store to scrapbooking. Now as an artist I appreciate that the scrapbooking industry made archival supplies incredibly affordable, but as a mom, the guilt factor became a little overwhelming. "My children won't have tastefully arranged 12-inch thick albums of every grade and every day at the beach!" I watched weekend conventions of scrapbooking women haul in their LUGGAGE of supplies (with slots and compartments to safely store 12 x 12 papers and sorted brads and double-sided tape at $129.99 a pop) and shuddered.
Then came the beading industry. At the risk of sounding a little crusty, I've been making my own jewelry since I was 7. Suddenly, every magazine cover, craft store and hardware store sprouted shelves and shelves of beaded creations and supplies. Even the sporting section was not immune as crafters raided the fish line racks for their creations. Another quarter of the craft store disappeared under rows and rows of glittering cards sporting every type of rock and stone that could be safely mined for the purpose. More little shops popped up around town, with the express intent of helping you create masterpieces of wire and seed beads. (While the other little shops started to fade away like nonarchival newsprint images.)
And now it's cupcakes. I find it ironic (and a little unfair) that in a nation besieged with weight issues and messages of healthy living, the latest fad is edible. I also find it a little puzzling. It's like the Food Network reached in and has infiltrated the minds of my little town. People buy mini cupcake makers and cupcake trees. Little bakeries devoted entirely to cupcakes are appearing. My church women's group is even planning a "cupcake paloosa". (I did realize that if I get on this bandwagon, I won't have boxes and boxes of supplies sitting around in my closet for the next decade. Just the extra sitting under my back pockets to carry around for the next decade.) What's the deal with cupcakes?
Oh.
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