Another Magazine Bites the Dust

Well, Scrapbooks Etc. announced on Wednesday that they are shutting down production and August will be their last release.  
This saddens me because it was the only scrapbook subscription I had left.  
I let my Creating Keepsakes subscription lapse back in February because I was irritated by all their cutbacks and lack of inspiring new ideas. It just wasn't worth the money anymore.  
For more information, you can visit this article on Scrapbook Update.  They also have another article about the print industry and how it's affecting the scrapbooking and crafting magazines.
I left this comment to express how I feel about this news:

They say the cost of publishing is too much, but I just don’t see it. I would think publishing a scrapbooking magazine is way cheaper than it is for lots of other magazines in the market. I mean, aren’t they just taking pictures of pages that are submitted to them? It’s not like they have to find an exotic location, a model/s and a first rate photographer (plus assistants and other artists) like fashion and beauty magazines do. They also don’t have top notch writers writing in depth articles. Most have very little creative writing in them. It’s mostly instructional writing which is pretty easy.
And anything they use to create for an editorial is usually donated by manufacturers.

Why can’t they continue to publish digitally? Scrapbooks and Cards Today does it and it’s free!
I’m sad to see my favorite scrap magazine shut down but I’m mad at them for not trying harder even if just out of loyalty to its many readers. It’s easy for a big CEO to bring down the ax but they forget that it leaves a sour taste in all our mouths and that taste never goes away.

What do I care about any new publications they release now? (Insert expletive here) them! From now on I’ll use my dollars towards new supplies. I was also burned by Scrapbook Answers, Simple Scrapbooks, PaperKuts, Memory Makers and now, Scraps Etc. But that’s it, I’m done! No more magazines for me.

So, how does this news affect you?  Are you a current subscriber to Scrapbooks Etc.?


Cat

Changes in the Scrap Industy

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.

I've been meaning to write about more changes in the scrap industry for a few days now. So let's catch up.

Well, it's official, Memory Makers magazine will stop publishing after their Sept/Oct 2009 issue. You can get more info here. It's just more sad news in the state of the scrap magazines. I believe this was one of the very first scrap magazines along with Creating Keepsakes. When I received my last issue of Memory Makers in January and noticed it was just a stapled "booklet" I decided not renew my subscription, just in case. Guess I was right.

Also Scrapbook Trends will be publishing their magazine digitally. You can subsribe for their online versions for $4.99 a month. This is not a bad idea but I still like the portability of the physical magazine.

So, how many scrap magazines are left now? I now have only 2 subscriptions, Scrapbooks Etc and Creating Keepsakes. At one point, I believe I was getting 6 scrap mags a month. Wow! What a difference a year makes.

So, how does this trend change how scrapbookers will get their ideas and information on new products? How will manufacturers promote their product lines and get their ideas out? How can we follow our favorite designers without having to sit for hours on the web reading blogs? Will new designers be discovered? Will we seek out the information or just follow what trends occur in our inner circle of scrap buddies? How do you get your information? Do you search the web or do you count on the magazines?

On that note, Lisa Bearnson is taking a leave of absence from QVC. Thursday was her last show. This makes me very sad, because I've been watching her on QVC for the 11 years she was on and I recorded a lot of her shows for the ideas. She introduced me to the proper scrapbooking techniques and got me hooked on this fun, creative hobby. Neither QVC nor Lisa elaborated on whether they will continue the Creating Keepsakes hour with another guest.

I can understand why Lisa is ready to retire from the live tv spots, but can't she pass the torch to someone else to continue it?

While browsing the web to see if I could get more information on this, I encountered some message boards with some nasty comments about Lisa Bearnson, QVC and HSN. Why do people have to be so judgmental, critical and just plain mean? People, cut them some slack. Remember, Lisa and some of the other guests are not broadcasting majors. They are just regular people like you and me, presenting their products.

Even though I sometimes get annoyed with some of the guests or hosts, I don't go around spewing mean things about them and bashing their products. Just because it won't work for me doesn't mean it might not work for someone else. Let's behave like adults should and keep it to ourselves. I can only imagine what kind of an example these people are setting for their children. Are these the parents of the children that bully other children to death (this is in reference to Oprah's show last week about victims of bullies)?

Well, I hope the scrap industry continues to grow and offer us new and exciting things. I love this hobby and don't intend to quit anytime in the near future.