Ondori going down :(
Popular Japanese craft publication company, Ondori (雄鶏社), is going bankrupt. The past year has seen declines in sales of craft books.
I have noticed it. When I go to the craft section now at Kinokuniya, most of the books look like the same "grandma style" books from the pre-trendy zakka craft days save for one or two. A lot of authors are disappointed that works made by home crafters from patterns they drafted for books are being sold in the marketplace or that their ideas are extrapolated on by other authors, companies, or entrepreneurs. Many popular craft authors have declined to write a book saying their ideas are best kept in-house and taught to a small group. This is truly sad. I love Japanese craft books. I find them a lot "prettier" than a lot of the craft books here. For me, I love that they are sharing their knowledge and ideas. Plus, the authors argue many of the books can be found in libraries so they do not make money when books are checked out. They also forget that many people like owning the books (like me). However, I can see it happening and why they feel that way too. It is almost like the fashion industry who just love knocking stuff off. I am not speaking about couture designers but the ready-to-wear companies. Patterns can be patented but variations of the patterns are not so why spend the money to? The money is best spent on efforts staying ahead of the game. That is why when someone says I am trendy; I say I am not. I say I am staying ahead of the trend. Being trendy is being now. Innovation is the future. That is the secret. (I learned this from Margaret Rucker; best trend/business model analyst ever!) Or, at least, I like to think I am. ^-^;; I see english amigurumi books now in the knit and crochet section at B&N and Borders...Hmm...Maybe I should not say it; I might get flamed... As a result, many of the craft books become very generalized and the market gets saturated with similar books. Most of them are compilations of designs made by various designers. They do not highlight an idea or style... I think I am thinking way too deep...but these are just thoughts that are in back of my head. Feel free to disagree.
As for me, I still have lots of Japanese patterns to plow through. I should just concentrate on myself instead of jabbering nonsense. Check out my to-do post-its:
The post-its are projects that I want to work on...and not a comprehensive list of everything. Those are just the ones that I happened to like from those books.
Despite what I said, I still love the library. I can peruse books longer than at a store. I just have to say that Material Obsession is one of the best English quilt books that I have seen in a long time. The last one I truly liked was Quilts by Denise Schimdt. Best thing about the library? They have copies of Gothic & Lolita Bible! :D
I lied above. This is the best thing about the library. Going to the Library Sales section and getting these for a $1 each. Except Draping for Fashion Design was a quarter! Yeah, a quarter! You can't even get a giant gumball for a quarter anymore!
I have noticed it. When I go to the craft section now at Kinokuniya, most of the books look like the same "grandma style" books from the pre-trendy zakka craft days save for one or two. A lot of authors are disappointed that works made by home crafters from patterns they drafted for books are being sold in the marketplace or that their ideas are extrapolated on by other authors, companies, or entrepreneurs. Many popular craft authors have declined to write a book saying their ideas are best kept in-house and taught to a small group. This is truly sad. I love Japanese craft books. I find them a lot "prettier" than a lot of the craft books here. For me, I love that they are sharing their knowledge and ideas. Plus, the authors argue many of the books can be found in libraries so they do not make money when books are checked out. They also forget that many people like owning the books (like me). However, I can see it happening and why they feel that way too. It is almost like the fashion industry who just love knocking stuff off. I am not speaking about couture designers but the ready-to-wear companies. Patterns can be patented but variations of the patterns are not so why spend the money to? The money is best spent on efforts staying ahead of the game. That is why when someone says I am trendy; I say I am not. I say I am staying ahead of the trend. Being trendy is being now. Innovation is the future. That is the secret. (I learned this from Margaret Rucker; best trend/business model analyst ever!) Or, at least, I like to think I am. ^-^;; I see english amigurumi books now in the knit and crochet section at B&N and Borders...Hmm...Maybe I should not say it; I might get flamed... As a result, many of the craft books become very generalized and the market gets saturated with similar books. Most of them are compilations of designs made by various designers. They do not highlight an idea or style... I think I am thinking way too deep...but these are just thoughts that are in back of my head. Feel free to disagree.
As for me, I still have lots of Japanese patterns to plow through. I should just concentrate on myself instead of jabbering nonsense. Check out my to-do post-its:
The post-its are projects that I want to work on...and not a comprehensive list of everything. Those are just the ones that I happened to like from those books.
Despite what I said, I still love the library. I can peruse books longer than at a store. I just have to say that Material Obsession is one of the best English quilt books that I have seen in a long time. The last one I truly liked was Quilts by Denise Schimdt. Best thing about the library? They have copies of Gothic & Lolita Bible! :D
I lied above. This is the best thing about the library. Going to the Library Sales section and getting these for a $1 each. Except Draping for Fashion Design was a quarter! Yeah, a quarter! You can't even get a giant gumball for a quarter anymore!