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Anjali Prayag

Inside a staid industrial shed in Bangalore is a wealth of tinsel that's much sought after for `scrapbooking', a popular hobby in the West.

The name AEC Offshore Trading doesn't give anything away . It could be a company dealing in motor pumps, textile machinery, garments or even spices... Any number of guesses will not prepare you for the wonderland that exists inside this medium-sized factory located in a staid industrial estate in Bangalore.

Colours, colours and more colours greet you as you enter the industrial shed. There are reams of handmade colour paper, neatly stacked jars of colourful beads, packets of sea shells, fancy fibres, embellishments, ribbon bows, etc.

"We have everything that one needs for `scrapbooking' and card-making, which is one of the most addictive hobbies in the world," says Harish Closepet, the Offshore Manager. When a typical American family returns from holiday or holds a birthday bash for one of the kids or has a celebration of any kind, the first thing they do is create `scrapbooks' filled with photographs and other embellishments such as colour paper, bows, ribbons, beads, metal charms, etc. Noting the American enthusiasm for preserving memories, Closepet sensed a business opportunity in this for several Indian cottage industries.

He was earlier involved in importing products of Indian origin for the Singapore and Australian markets; last year, he decided to move back to India from Australia to set up AEC Offshore. The company sources some of the best crafts material from artisans in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Today he has over 1,000 vendors in villages like Hatras, Aligarh, Khurja and Ferozabad creating raw material for one of the world's more expensive hobbies.

In India, scrapbook-making is still an indulgence among a handful of school kids and adults. In the US and the UK, on the other hand, women between the ages of 25 and 55 are intense scrapbook keepers and card-makers, says Closepet. According to `The National Survey of Scrapbooking in America (2004)' released by Creating Keepsakes, a scrapbook magazine, the industry has welcomed 4.4 million new scrapbooking households since 2001, fuelling its annual growth to almost $3 billion. A study says that in the US, enthusiasts spend anywhere between $150-250 a week on the hobby, while in the UK it ranges between $80 and $200. "In fact, there is a scrapbooking-dedicated population in the West and this community is growing," he says.

AEC Offshore has five graphic designers (including Closepet's wife Rashmi) who provide basic designs to the village artisans. The craft material supplied by the artisans is packaged according to client specifications at AEC's factory in Bangalore. "For this we employ 40-100 people (depending on the demand)," he says.

However, the craftspersons are advised not to give an overly ethnic look to the card-making and scrapbooking material. "Though we make glass beads using a 500-year-old Mughal traditional art, we ensure that the designs cater to a global community," he adds.

AEC products are sold under the brand name Craftime in the UK and Maddy's in Australia. The market in India is still insignificant and restricted largely to people who have travelled overseas.

The company has taken its first step in the domestic market by launching Craftime products at William Penn, an upmarket stationery store in Bangalore. But can Indians afford this expensive hobby?

Closepet says many of the products are priced differently for the Indian market. For instance, the memory album costs Rs 250 in India while it is priced Rs 925 in Australia; the stick-on charms are Rs 35 a packet, the glass beads Rs 25 a packet and the mosaics Rs 30 a packet.

And, rather predictably, China is one of the largest suppliers of scrapbooking and card-making material in the western market, though "Chinese products tend to be plasticky and impersonal, unlike Indian products which are distinct and have a personal touch," he says.

Memory albums

Scrapbooking is the art of creatively showcasing photos and memorabilia in albums. Its origin can be dated to 1981 when AJ and Marielen Christensen launched the first scrapbook supplies store in Utah.

From the late-1990s onwards, the industry grew exponentially across the world. In 2001, a survey found 21 per cent of US households had scrapbooked that year.

This has risen to 24.5 per cent or nearly one in every four households.

There are an estimated 3,000 retail stores dealing with scrapbooking in the US, alongside nearly 2,000 manufacturers, thousands of direct sales consultants, and hundreds of Web sites.

Michel's is an $8-billion chain of retail craft stores, with over 1,400 outlets in the US. And there are 250 magazines dedicated to scrapbooking in the US, the UK and Australia.

The scrapbooking and card-making market is worth about $3 billion in the US, $1.5 billion in the UK and $0.5 billion in Australia; France is just getting into the hobby.

A large number of businesses and services in the scrapbooking industry were started by hobbyists themselves.

Picture by G.R.N. Somashekar

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