Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
October 30, 2002
Scrapbook-making taps interest in preserving family memories
Hobby archiving memorabilia is the 'quilting bee of the new millennium'
By Maureen E. Daly
(CNS) — Scrapbook-making is shedding its image as a quaint pastime of a bygone era, becoming the fifth most popular craft activity in the United States. Fully 11 percent of households participate in this hobby, according to the Hobby Industry Association 2000 Nationwide Craft and Hobby Consumer Usage and Purchases Study.
Photographs, official records and memorabilia, like diplomas and marriage certificates, are the raw materials of a fast-growing industry that markets the albums, archival quality paper and adhesives to put family history, coffee-table books and works of art together.
If you are one of those people who goes acquisition-mad in a stationery store, this hobby is made for you. Scrapbooks are not just a showcase for photography, they are a place to use the handmade papers, calligraphy and embossing tools and the millions of inventive rubber stamps and stickers on the market.
A 1998 Hobby Industry Association study of women over 55 years of age found that 21 percent had participated in scrapbook-making in the six months prior to the study, 82 percent are interested in preserving family history, and 67 percent like to give crafts as gifts.
"Scrapbooking is the quilting bee of the new millennium," said Cathy Valero owner of The Scrapbook Garden in Roswell, Ga. "It's an opportunity for women to come together to work on their own book in fellowship." Her store is part of a franchise in Georgia founded by a Mormon family who brought the craft east from Utah.
"This hobby began among the Mormons, because it is the mother's responsibility to preserve the family heritage," Valero said.
Kimberly Strickland, assistant manager of the Roswell store, said that when she began working in the hobby in 1995 there were few scrapbook stores in the East and materials were scarce. Hobbyists bought their materials from consultants who made presentations in clients' homes in the same way that cosmetics and kitchenware is sold. In the last five years, stores have sprung up combining the source of supplies, a workshop space, classes and a community gathering-place.
"The social component (of crafting) came through over and over in the study" of older women, said Susan Brandt, spokesperson for the Hobby Industry Association in Elmwood Park, N.J. "The more opportunities we can create for crafters to come together, the longer we'll keep them crafting."
It is with this attraction in mind that scrapbook supply stores rent table space by the hour as well as offer classes in matting and cropping photos and using archive supplies. Like sewing, paper crafts can require a designated work space and a large block of time. The Scrapbook Garden in Roswell even offers sleep-over parties where scrapbook fanatics can crop and paste all night.
In these mobile times, scrapbooks are a portable way for dispersed families to access their history.
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