A First For Everything

Most remember their first crafting projects. Whether it was done in school or at home, it’s hard to forget gluing various materials together to make frame-able works of art, tracing a hand and then cutting out the shape of a turkey to make a Thanksgiving card for the family, or transforming a coffee can into Santa Claus with some red construction paper and a few cotton balls for a beard. These were some of the first opportunities to express oneself in a way that was intellectual as well as physical, even if to anyone outside of Mom, the result looked more like mad, random scribbles than any sort of art.

Crafting is just as important as ever in helping preschool-aged children, approximately ages 2 to 5, take their first steps in developing motor skills and practice at turning abstract thoughts into something concrete. Today, arts and crafts products for the preschool set continue to expand, giving retailers even more options for sales to different interest levels, demographics and constituencies.

The importance of having a stockpile of products for the pre-K demographic along with items for older children is evident at Michaels Stores, which operates in 37 states throughout the U.S., garnering more than $3 billion in sales in 2004.

David Mitchell, senior buyer, kid’s crafts & hobbies, of the Irving, Texas-based crafts chain tells Playthings that some of the more popular crafts products for the youngest age group are the basic art materials—markers, paints, colored pencils, crayons and clay. However, boxed activity kits and model car kits are also big sellers across the board.

Children have a natural interest in craft products and will gravitate to them more at the preschool age, because it’s something that they can start and finish, sometimes all on their own, says Mitchell.

“Creative activities are a great learning tool,” he says. “It helps build confidence and self-expression. Creative adults start as creative children.”

Arts and crafts kits and general art supplies are strong tools for educators and parents to use to help children develop their senses and own creativity. Preschoolers enjoy drawing and following through on different projects. It gives them something to be proud of in addition to learning about colors, patterns and following instructions to complete a project, most agree.

“Arts and crafts products encourage children to think for themselves,” says Paul O’Malley, director of marketing, Sargent Art, Hazleton, Pa. “Unlike video games or other pre-programmed forms of entertainment, using artistic expression requires the active participation of the child. They need to think about how they want their projects to look and how to achieve the desired end results, which can be virtually limitless. If you hand a child a piece of paper and say draw something, the possibilities from that are endless. The thinking needs to be done by the child, not the computer game programmer. The entire process is proactive, not re-active.”

And a certain level of self-esteem is developed by using arts and crafts products at such a young age. The new Creature Caps and Crafty Caps from Creativity for Kids lets kids custom-design their own baseball-style hat with wiggly eyes and teeth or felt shapes and ribbon. “You’re looking at colors, how to use colors, patterns, motor skills,” says William Benda, director of sales, children’s products, A.W. Faber-Castell USA/Creativity for Kids, Cleveland.

Sampling arts and crafts products in-store is a great way for customers to see and touch product before they take it home. This is especially important to parents and educators who are seeking the best possible product for this delicate age group. Of course, sometimes the best in-store testers are the kids themselves. Benda says that in-store programs are pretty much up to the retailer, however, some demonstration samples are provided to retailers so customers can test for themselves. He added that Creativity for Kids is also working on a new in-store training program to help present items to customers that the company expects to roll out early this year.

“A majority of our customers know our product pretty well,” says Benda. “We try to support them as much as we can—samples, free goods that they can offer or use to train employees. We have found over the years that a sample our retailers can make themselves or have their associates do is the best way to sell our product. For the retailers, what the specialty store is looking for is educational products that are good for children. And if you’re starting children off at an early age with good, healthy educational product, you’re going to inspire their imagination and creativity. Whether it’s one of our products or somebody else’s, it keeps their minds active.”

Judith Culberson, national sales manager for preschool toy manufacturer Edushape, Deer Park, N.Y., tells Playthings that the company works with retailers to develop in-store story time programs that include projects like building picture frames and making stamp pictures based on the story read. On Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and other holidays, retailers can have a build-a-gift event to promote the products as gift-giving purchases.

“Advertise a time that is set aside for children to have hands-on learning,” Culberson says. “Similar to what Home Depot does with in-store instruction on how to use their products.”

New to Edushape’s preschool lineup this year are three products. Frame It lets children create and decorate their own picture frames with pre-cut shapes. Kids put their stamp on their art with Stamp It, a variety of interchangeable foam stamps. The Kraft-A-Flower set includes a foam flower pot and flower bouquets to be arranged by kids with help from their parents or on their own.

For Sargent Art, point-of-purchase displays are the way to go for retailers seeking to increase their arts and crafts sales. Project sheets and other in-store demos also help educate consumers about products. “Periodic in-store demos work best—some scheduled, some spontaneous,” says O’Malley. “Our packaging is also always designed to be informative, shelf-friendly, and eye-catching. On some occasions, such as grand openings and special events, we may also offer new product giveaways.” O’Malley says that sampling the crafts is always important to consumers, and quality always wins out in the end. “Quality is also an important part of how we support our retailers,” he says. “Our products, especially our paints, for example, are formulated not to dry out or separate (pigment from water) on the shelf. Quality can be the difference between a one-time sale and a loyal repeat customer.”

Whether kids are in a store, at home or in school, they like the attention of trying something new and completing it for an audience, even at such a young age, says Raven Willden, product manager at MagiCrayon T-shirt kit producer SBW Publishing, Sturgis, S.D.

“They’re really proud of what they have made, and when they get doted upon for their creativity and artistic ability, it’s really great for self-esteem and helps to encourage their individuality,” says Willden. “The littler they are, the more excited they are to see that they colored a shirt. Even if it’s not 'in the lines,’ that’s not the important factor.”

SBW recently brought 180 shirts of the same print to a local school and all came back with 180 different designs, all created by the kids. The MagiCrayon kit is a shirt set that includes eight MagiCrayons, a silver glitter tube and one screen- printed, 100 percent cotton T-shirt for design. MagiCrayon recently acquired the Curious George license for 2006 and plans to announce several new licenses throughout the rest of the year.

“This is something that we can take to the tweener, but for the little one, they are so in the age right now of self-expression and development, they’re very much into coloring pages and coloring, expressing themselves on paper, giving it to a loved one and it’s their way of saying, 'this is me,’” says Willden. “With the T-shirt, they can actually wear it outside and express themselves to everyone that comes in contact with them.”

Everything from apparel to books to models is up for grabs this year, making for a diverse stock of arts and crafts product.

“It is important that retailers have a selection of craft products that are appropriate for young children, because preschoolers do not have the dexterity or ability to do complex arts and crafts activities,” says Nurit Amdur, president, Alex, Northvale, N.J. “This is why we have developed our new Little Hands line designed especially for preschoolers.”

The Little Hands products, to be launched at Toy Fair next month, include 35 new items for preschoolers to help with motor skills, sequential thinking and spatial relations. Crayons, paints, chalks and markers are included in the line.

Amdur says parents are ultimately the ones buying arts and craft products, and it’s good to have a selection of items that parents can work on with their children. “It is important that these craft products appeal to the parents,” she says. “Chunky, big pieces are easy for children to manipulate and require less adult supervision. Parents can share in the activity, but let their children create art independently.

“Crafts provide open-ended play and spark creativity and independent thinking. Arts and crafts allow children to express themselves freely. Many crafts are collaborative activities that children can share with parents and other children. They learn about sharing and cooperation and gain a sense of pride and achievement when they complete a project.”

As we move deeper into the New Year, Michaels’ Mitchell says that increased quality is advancing the play value of arts and crafts. He tells Playthings that there will be continued emphasis on art supplies, because there’s “improved washability, more choices and better performance” of product. He adds that knitting items, boxed activity kits (including jewelry), pottery wheels and kids art sets will continue to sell strongly in 2006.

Alex’s Amdur sees the future of arts and crafts heading towards more touchy-feely products.

“Tactile and textured craft products are very popular. Crafting in general is going back to basics,” she says. “In this fast-moving, computerized world, people use crafts as a way of connecting to a simpler time. Crafts also help bring people together as new generations learn traditional skills. Crafting stimulates children visually as they select colors and shapes to create their homemade masterpieces. As they get older, they begin to engage in craft products with a particular goal in mind and use their problem-solving skills to make their visions come to life.”