The majority of customers who are used to purchasing arts in many countries are tourists. Regarding Covid-19 pandemic, what was the impact on the trade of wooden arts in your home country ?
Thanks in advance for your contribution and best wishes.
Hubert
Dear Mauro Luisetto
Thanks for contributing to this discussion.
Best wishes
Hubert
not only wood, here in Brazil we're having problems with several raw materials such as cotton, cardboard, cellulose. While this reflected as a general increase on costs for the big industry, local artists and artisans have been refraining from taking new commissions because they just can't find the materials.
Dear colleague Leila Rangel
Sincere thanks for your contribution to this discussion. I really appreciate it.
Best wishes
Hubert
Woodworking is how I occupy my spare time (I am not a merchant however; I just make things like decorations, cutting boards, and small furniture for my family and friends). I began during the pandemic (back in July), like a lot of people here in the U.S. There has been a large trend in people doing DIY and home improvement projects as a way to cope with being home more. In fact, home improvement and hardware stores, as well as lumberyards, have seen a noticeable increase in sales through the pandemic - Home Depot and Lowe's to name two, and their stocks have risen also.
I am in Mississippi, so pine trees (Pinus taeda) are very common here, and the lumberyards seem to not have a shortage of it at all. Other woods I have not seen a shortage of either. I have ordered wood online also (species was not locally available), so it seems that lumber trade is still active, and I'm sure that helps those who make their living making wooden arts.
I have also noticed that there are a lot of people selling crafts, especially wooden crafts, on a website called Etsy, where merchants can sell their crafts. It is very popular here in the U.S. This past year, Etsy and its sales grew massively, so much so that it became a part of the S&P500 index, which is a stock market index that follows 500 of the top companies on the market (Tesla joined it this year as well, to give you an example of the magnitude of this; Apple is another member). As another example, my soon-to-be sister-in-law is a merchant on Etsy, and her business and sales have grown so much this year that she recently left her job to do her craft business full-time. She creates and sells custom paper products like invitations and holiday cards. So it seems that the craft trade in the U.S. is alive and well.
I realize I am mostly speaking on lumber and wood craft trade within my country, but I hope this helps!
Dear colleague Jaylan
Happy near year and sincere thanks for this contribution. How instructive it is !
Best wishes
Hubert
The majority of customers who are used to purchasing arts in many countries are tourists, so, what was the impact on the trade of wooden arts in your home country ?