#Handmade: social media is fuelling the arts and crafts craze

#Handmade has taken Instagram by storm, with the number of posts mentioning the hashtag reaching over 300 million. On the list of the year’s most popular hashtags, #handmade ranks 59th. Over on TikTok, videos tagged with #handmade now boast more than 90 billion views. Basically, doing arts and crafts projects has become mainstream – even for adults. It’s a trend reflected in Galaxus’ sales figures,

with the online retailer’s customers purchasing 20 times more handicraft products and art paints than in 2019 (see chart). Sales of model-making products tripled over the same period, with scale modelling kits proving especially popular.

«This major arts, crafts and model-making craze started during the pandemic,» says Sara Pavlovic, a Category Business Manager responsible for Galaxus’ model-making and radio control range. «For many people in Switzerland, pottery, painting and model-making served as distractions during lockdown,» says Lara Diener, Sara’s colleague and handicraft expert. But while the demand for video games and similar items tailed off after the pandemic, sales of pottery wheels, foam rubber and mosaic tiles have continued to rise – as demonstrated by sales in the first two months of this year.

The boom, Sara and Lara believe, can be explained by the fact Galaxus’ customers are keen to take life at a slower pace and express their creativity instead of spending time staring at a screen. Screen time, however, does give handicraft lovers inspiration as well as a place to show off their creations. Alongside the handmade hashtag, users can scroll through posts tagged with #art, #DIY and #pottery. «The community is particularly active on TikTok right now,» says Sara. «You can find practically anything on the platform these days – from tutorials on how to give mugs a cheeky paint makeover, to making your own decorations for your campervan.»

Women are more likely to have craft glue on their fingers

A glance at the demographics reveals significant gender differences on Galaxus. More than two thirds (71 per cent) of customers buying arts and crafts products are women, while men make up just short of a third of Galaxus’ handicraft customers. By far the most arts and crafts lovers can be found among the 30–39 year age group, followed by customers aged 40–49. It’s unclear how many of the groups’ purchases were made for children and how many were for the adults themselves.

Do you do arts and crafts in your spare time? What’s your next project going to be? Which Insta or TikTok creators can you recommend to the Galaxus Community? Let us know in the comments!