Creativation 2020 - Trends

One of my favorite things to do at Creativation is to go on the hunt for the latest trends. The year 2017 was all about cacti, hot air balloons, flamingoes, pineapple, adult coloring, and dreamcatchers. 2018 brought us llamas, mermaids, unicorns, narwhals, sugar skulls, teapots, and hand lettering. 2019 was the year of avocados, 'yay', diamond art, sloths, tacos, toucans, and french fries. Some of those are still around and going strong. 

But what does 2020 have in store for us that's new and fresh? Topping the list: lemons. 

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Lemons / "Squeeze the Day"

Sure, lemons (and fruit in general) are timeless motifs, but this goes way beyond that. Lemons on patterned paper. Lemon booth decor. Lemon stickers, stamps, cards, journals, and everything else. I lost count how many times I saw "Squeeze the Day" or "Main Squeeze" or "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy" on products. By the way, puns are still going strong.  

Bees

Bees were everywhere at Creativation this year. Not actual bees; bee MOTIFS were everywhere. Did you spot one amongst the lemon photos above?

Girl Power

2020 is clearly the year of Girl Power, particularly in scrapbooking and paper crafts. I was happy to see that some of the designers are using a variety of skin tones and hair colors on their products; this showed up most obviously on patterned paper.

Shaker Cards / Polymer Clay Sprinkles

Shaker cards aren't new, but they've exploded in 2020. And this year, we'll be filling them with polymer clay sprinkles (versus the sequins, seed beads, and glitter from shaker cards of years past). I'm in love with the sprinkles that look like slices of fruit - and yes, there were lemons. 

   

Glow in the Dark / Neon

I've been seeing glow parties on the rise (and attended one on NYE!) and was suspicious that it would cross over into crafts as a trend. Indeed it has. Manufacturers were displaying paints, foils, inks, markers and more in neon and glow-in-the-dark colors. There was even glow-in-the-dark yarn!

The Eiffel Tower

I expect to see the Eiffel Tower on travel-related papers and stamps. That's not a trend. It's not unexpected for the Eiffel Tower to show up in a love-themed collection. But when I keep seeing it over and over across many different styles and beyond the expected, it's a trend. Check out the first photo: Eiffel Tower + lemons = trendy, for sure. 

This completely baffled me. It's from a collection called "Capri" and the paper is called "Sorrento" and features Italian writing. Why exactly is the Eiffel Tower there? Perhaps because it's trending?

Mushrooms (with and without gnomes)

I saw mushrooms and I saw gnomes. I saw more mushrooms without gnomes than gnomes without mushrooms, so I'm declaring that mushrooms are the actual trend and the gnomes are along for the ride. 

So what else was big? Paint (and resin) pouring are still going strong, as are vinyl and foil. Expect to see plenty of buffalo plaid, stencils, and upcycling. There were a lot of zodiac-inspired things. I also saw a good number of rabbits beyond the expected Easter- and baby-themed stuff. 

What do you think? Are you all about the bee? Lemons or mushrooms catch your eye? Any trends that are a definite no? Tell me in the comments!