New Trends For Your Handmade Products In 2010

When I was searching around for inspiration for upcoming trends in 2010 I came across Trend Hunter, a site dedicated to spotlighting what’s hot and what’s not!  Right now, Trend Hunter is featuring a video on their site that guides the viewer through the Top 20 Trends in 2010.

This video ignited my interest more than any other 2010 trend spotting resources I came across on the web.  In the spirit of viral campaigns (another trend in 2010), I’d like to recap and elaborate on some of my favorite trends from Trend Hunter’s video and of course add my own little spin on the topics so they tie directly into the creative community.  So, let's get started with the top trends for your handmade products in 2010.

Personalization

This is great news for the handmade community!  Essentially, the rough economy has been driving consumers away from lavish items toward more personalized gifts.  Offering opportunities for customers to customize gifts through the products you make will be a big hit throughout 2010.

Be Bold

Think color, color, color, the brighter the better!  Everyone needs a color lift after 2009!  Adding bright colors to your products, blogs, and packaging is one great way to draw attention to what you’re selling.  For some colorful inspiration, you should check out Sparkle Beast Designs on Etsy.

Prodependency

This concept is that "you can’t have one without the other." Think about creating a niche around "prodependent" products.  These are products which play off each other, such as his and hers items.  Other fun ideas are lock and key products or salt and pepper products; the sky is the limit here!

Art-Swapping

This is a takeoff from Trend Hunter’s "Life-Swapping," which is where people actually exchange lifestyles for a period of time.  You can think of Art-Swapping as an exchange of your art for other people’s art and products.  You can also think of this more generally for services rendered, like helping a friend out at an upcoming art festival in exchange for them writing a guest post on your blog or assisting you with managing your inventory.  Your bartering abilities are a great skill for maximizing this trend!

Be Nostalgic

This one is somewhat self explanatory.  It is basically the creation of anything that is a memorable throwback to the past to take people back to another time and place.  The examples Trend Hunter used were creations based on Where the Wild Things Are and  Alice In Wonderland, but this is a broad category, so let your imagination soar!  For me, this Curious George light switch and custom Marilyn Monroe dress take me back.

Crowdsourcing

Involve and encourage dialogue with your customers!  Ask and incorporate feedback and contributions from your network into your products and let your network serve as your eyes and ears.  With the expansion of social networking platforms, your ability to crowdsource is getting easier every day.

Next Besting

In light of the economy, a lot of people are trending toward what Trend Hunter calls "Next Besting."  This is where people are taking a step back from the name brand and top of the line products and going for the "next best" option.  As you are buying the next round of supplies to restock your business, evaluate which of your usual higher end supplies can be substituted for the next best alternative without compromising the look or quality of your products.

Thank you Trend Hunter for highlighting which trends we can anticipate in 2010.  You can see the Full List of Trend Hunter’s Top 20 Trends for 2010 and please comment and share your thoughts on what you think are the new trends for this year.