Here's the official announcement.
Simple Scrapbooks magazine is no more.
This is pretty sad news in the scrapbooking industry. I have to confess that I'm not surprised though. Sad, yes. Surprised? No. It's not that I thought this magazine should closed down, I just wondered how long it would be able to sustain itself in this economy. Once CK media shut the doors on it's Digital Scrapbooking magazine a few months ago I wondered if they wouldn't just try to roll the digital and simple portions of scrapbooking into their regular Creating Keepsakes magazine. If you think about it, it's actually a testament to the HUGE popularity of scrapbooking over the past 7 years that they were actually able to publish 2 different magazines (and then add a 3rd) in combination with their wildly popular classes, CKU, online site, and OODLES of idea books all at the same time. They have been a literal giant in the field. I guess the scariest thing about this news is that even the big guys are falling because of the economy.
I'm really sad for the creative people who have put their all into making Simple Scrapbooking a reality. I worry about what will happen to Cathy Zielske who is one of my all time favorite scrappers and a huge part of the Simple Scrapbooks empire. I have always loved the concept of the Simple Scrapbooks magazine and I used to get a lot of inspiration from it.
Actually, I used to subscribe to all the scrapbooking magazines. As I have embraced digital scrapbooking over the last few years and found blogs, forums, and various online publications I let my subscriptions expire. My magazines were simply gathering dust while my computer mouse got it's daily workout. I'm the problem these magazines are facing. I don't need them anymore and I was their core audience. It's a problem that is plaguing the whole magazine publication industry. Even the other night as I was thumbing through a Martha Stewart magazine while laying in bed, I mentioned to my hubby that I really hate to read a magazine anymore unless I have my computer nearby. There are always so many links and online references that I want to access while reading the magazine. The magazine become more of a multimedia ingredient for me than the actual source of information.
The way we access our information is changing. I don't think books and magazines will ever go away. I mean, what are you going to read while your plane is taking off and they won't let you have your electronics on? LOL! Actually, there are times when even I like to do something non-electronic and in my opinion, you just can't duplicate the feeling of a book in your hands. However, the publishing industry is changing. I think what is even more telling about this news is that the SCRAPBOOKING industry is changing. It will never go away, but I do believe that the hey-day of hoarding consumerism (at least my own!) this industry enjoyed in the late 90's and early 2000's is now wavering.
Should I be worried about this? I call myself "Katie the Scrapbook Lady" and my professional and personal pursuits mainly center around scrapbooking so this certainly concerns me. However, I believe that the tough economic times have driven people back to what matters. In scrapbooking terms, that means it's more about the pictures and stories now and not so much about the fancy stuff. I'm ok with that because I'm good at the basics. That's what I've based my own online design business on and that's how I scrap. I believe in the heart and soul of scrapbooking; the simple act of putting your memories into a tangible form to share with others. I loved Simple Scrapbooks for embracing and promoting the fundamentals of keeping and sharing our treasures.
I will miss Simple Scrapbooks. My heart goes out to those who were hurt by this decision.
related links:
Stacey Julian's blog post (founder of Simple Scrapbooks)
Nancy Nalley's blog post (Scrapbook Update)
