If you want to sell your handmade products successfully, you have to stay on top of trends and use them to create products and product collections people are more likely to search for and to buy.
So, what handmade shop trends should you pay attention to, and HOW can you research them? In this video, I am going to share my best tips and resources, so… stay tuned and don’t forget to download your FREE handmade shop trends workbook.
Not long ago I released a couple of blog posts to help you decide what handmade products to sell for the best chance of success and why some sellers are more successful than others. A lot of it had to do with trends, and I got many requests to write a blog post just about trends so that you could understand how to do the research yourself. So, here we are! Let’s talk about what trends matter most. I also have a free PDF that you can download where I listed resources and links to assist in your research.
[free] get your handmade trends workbook!
This free workbook includes a list of resources so you know where to look out for trends, and activities to help you make the most out of them!
Trends drive the market and if you can incorporate them into your products and product collections, more people will search for your products and more people will buy your products. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have your style and your aesthetics, but it does pay off to keep the current trends in mind when you’re designing your products.
Trends coexist and there is never just ONE main trend, so you will be able to find one that works for your brand and style. For example, you might see two very different trends coexisting – on one side, metallic textures, galaxy patterns, glitter, and the nineties revival, and then on the other side, you might see jungle pattern, eco-friendly theme, and earthy colors.
These two things don’t have much in common, but they might be trending at the same time so you’ll be able to find what works best for you within the general trends.
There are five trends that you need to pay attention to. Let’s dive into each one of them.
Is blue trending? Is burnt orange trending? Is bright yellow trending?
Color trends change every year and, to a degree, every season. If you release seasonal collections, it’s important to know what the colors of the season are going to be.
Patterns are as important as colors and can be used in your prints, illustrations, fabrics, and so much more. You need to know what patterns are in. Are floral patterns trending? Polka dots? Stripes? Anything else?
Textures and materials might be things like velvet or metallic coming back, or materials like vegan leather or cork trending.
This is about more of a broader kind of theme. It could be things like the nineties revival, jungle theme, eco-friendly theme, etc.
Trend type number five is characters and animals. Sometimes unicorns are trending, sometimes pirates are trending, sometimes cats are trending… and you have to keep on top of that.
Now that we know what trends to look for… how do we look out for them? Here are some tools to help you (and remember to download your freebie where I’ve listed all of them and then some):
The first “tool” (and sorry about that – it’s very obvious, but let’s get it out of the way) is a simple search on Google. By searching “color trends YEAR or SEASON” “pattern trends YEAR” “wedding trends YEAR” you’re going to get a lot of information so I’d recommend to start there.
Next up we have Etsy trends forecast and reports. This is useful even if you do not sell on Etsy as it is still great insights into what customers are generally going to be looking for.
They also create shopping guides that are well worth taking a look at as well.
Next is Pantone. Pantone sets the tone when it comes to color by announcing their color of the year. Designers, artists, brands – the entire world really – waits for this information each year to design their products and collections – and you should too. You don’t need to use this one color only of course, but having a couple of items or patterns using this color is definitely a good idea. At the time I’m recording this video, 2019, the color of the year is living coral.
Pantone also has a separate part on their website, an entire section called color intelligence that sums up the color trend highlights. I really recommend you take a look at this page because it will give you different trends and different recommendations so that you can pick what will work best within your brand and your aesthetics.
Moving away from colors and into patterns, first we have Pattern Curator. They actually sell this information so they better be on top of it. You don’t need to purchase their guides or subscriptions – unless you want to – but just looking around their site and blog will already give you a lot of ideas.
Pattern Bank sells patterns to designers so again, they better know what they’re talking about and what trends are coming up because if not, they’re not going to be successful. They do a lot of research and they do it well ahead of time as well. We’re currently in 2019 and they’re already giving you trends for 2020/2021. That’s nice when you want to start being a bit more organized with your collection launches and maybe being at least six months ahead when you design and create your designs.
Although you are NOT competing with the bigger retailers, their market and yours are driven by the same trends – they usually have a “trends” or “inspiration” section on their websites that’s often packed full of ideas. Here, for example, we have one from Target.
Publications like Elle or home decor magazines will often have a ‘trends’ or inspiration section on their websites too. Those sections are well worth your time.
For illustrations, graphic design, stationery, and prints: Stationery Trends and Creative Market’s “Trends” blog section are good sources of information as well.
This should be enough to get you started but I have listed a few extra links in the Handmade Shop Trends Research Resources PDF, so make sure to download it. And as always, don’t be a stranger! Let’s take a conversation in the comments below: what’s your favorite resource from what I’ve shared today? I am looking forward to reading your takeaways!
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Download The handmade trends workbook
October 8th, 2019 at 8:34 am
Many helpful information! I opened some new sources. Thank you Deborah! I have received the new ideas and so on ☺
October 10th, 2019 at 11:25 pm
Thank you so much Olesya, I am glad it helped!