CHA Create-N-Connect Armchair Attendee Week, Day 2: Product Trends

Welcome to Day 2 of 3 days of Armchair Attendee Week here at Right Side Up! If you've just stumbled across this today, be sure to check out yesterday's blog post, which provided an introduction to the week as well as an overview of design trends. 

Today I am focusing on product trends. As I mentioned yesterday, my goal is not to be comprehensive, but to highlight some notable and interesting new (or newer) product trends, providing examples of each. Many of these trends are smaller, involving just a few manufacturers, but all are trends I'm betting will gain traction and popularity as time goes on. So...let's get started!

Shaped Paper Clips
Shaped paper clips have been a novelty item in the office supply world for a long time, but they are starting to cross over into the papercrafting world. We've seen some of these in the past, but a couple of companies seem to be really jumping in this summer. I can see this trend taking off, as the possibilities are endless. A year or two from now we might be thinking of these in the way we think of chipboard or stickers or washi tape or...(you get it).

1. Maya Road Vintage Metal Clips - there are several different shapes available, but these bicycles and cameras are my favorites:

2. Webster's Pages Designer Paper Clips - lots and lots of these in various colors across collections, again, just a few of my favorites here:

 

Vintage Photo and Slide Frames
While we've seen vintage cameras, polaroids, etc. around for a while as a design trend, the surge in vintage photo and slide frames (chipboard, die cut, etc.) is a newer trend, having cropped up across the last six months or so, including with the last round of mid-releases between the winter and summer shows this year. Here are some of the current releases embracing this trend:

1. October Afternoon Daily Flash Chipboard

2. Crate Paper Close Knit Photo Overlays

Straws
The world of party supplies has been hit in the last couple of years by the colorful paper straw trend. Think stripes, chevrons, and polka dots. It was only a matter of time before that trend crossed over into papercrafting. We've been using toothpicks for a while and I'm excited about the possibilities of using straws instead. Straws are much easier to adhere to projects, come in a variety of colors and patterns, and are easier to cut to size. 

Although I've only seen straws from one manufacturer - Doodlebug - they've hit the market with a splash with this product! I think we're going to be seeing lots of straws at the show next winter. Doodlebug is packaging straws, or "Pixies," as they call them, in two ways:

1.  In single color packs (they come in a dozen different colors):

 2. In multicolor packs, packaged with various toppers (banners, flags, etc.) to coordinate with their new lines:

Here's a short video from scrapbook.com's YouTube channel from the show floor that highlights the Doodlebug Pixies and a couple of different ways they can be used:
 

So, which trends appeal to you? Which trends have I missed?

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post, which will showcase my must-haves from the show.