Do you feel like your crafting hobby is taking over your home?
You know you have a problem when all your surfaces are covered in glue, glitter, paper, cardboard, paint, canvases, and brushes.
Perhaps you’re a fan of the Great British Sewing Bee, and your home is stacked to the ceilings with material, ribbons, sequins, threads, and patterns. Maybe you’re an amateur potter, a potting shed wood worker, or an avid furniture restorer.
There has been a huge increase in the numbers of people taking part in craft hobbies in recent years, fuelled by the need to make do and mend, the increase in the number of crafting programmes on television, and a boom in the upcycling of furniture and clothes.
Vintage is now fashionable, and we all want something hand-made. Upcycling can also save us a lot of money on buying new from the High Street, which is another huge bonus.
The estimated number of craft-based businesses in the UK is in excess of 23,000 with an estimated income of £457 million. More than 25,000 people are employed in UK-based craft businesses, more than three quarters of whom are sole traders, and a government report estimated that the numbers of craft businesses rose by 20% in the past ten years. That, of course, is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the numbers of those carrying out activities like paperwork, scrapbooking, sewing, embroidery, knitting, felting, wood carving and metal working without being businesses.
The scale of those involved is numbered in the millions. A recent survey of 1,000 crafters showed another key reason why the hobby is booming. Almost a third of those questioned said they took up their hobby to relieve stress.
Many of us who have craft passions find we’re simply running out of space for our equipment and stock. We have the answer. Our site is just half a mile away from Manchester city centre and has 30 unfurnished offices, 20 lockers, 150 workshop and industrial units and 300 storage rooms. You can rent a self storage room from the size of a shower cubicle to the equivalent of half a tennis court, so clear some space and get crafting!
