Paper Crafts Magazine To Close
In yet another blow to the publishing segment of the scrapbook industry, contributors of Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking magazine have been informed of the magazine's pending closure.
Paper Crafts magazine
The announcement came in an email to contributors from F+W president Sara Domville. According to the email, Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking will cease publication after the February issue, and there will be no more print special issues from the brand. The planned Card Creations volume 13 special issue is being cancelled. All content in the company's possession is being returned to contributors.
A representative for F+W told me that the Creating Keepsakes conventions will not be affected by the magazine's closure, and the 2015 schedule will continue as posted. Subscribers will be contacted directly by F+W regarding remaining issues on their subscriptions.
F+W had just acquired Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking in January as part of its acquisition of New Track Media. The Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking digital magazine was created a year ago (just prior to the acquisition by F+W) through the merger of the former Paper Crafts and Creating Keepsakes print magazine titles, with the newly created title being 100% digital.
This is the third major publication closure for the industry in a very short period. All American Crafts closed its publications in August, followed by a bankruptcy filing last month. Then Northridge ceased production of its titles. And now Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking has folded. The recent spate of closures has left a large hole in the publications market. The Stampington titles, Scrapbook & Cards Today, Cardmaker, Rubber Stamp Madness, and Scrap & Stamp Arts are pretty much all that is left of what was once a vibrant publishing sector in the U.S. scrapbook market.
On a personal note, the latest closure unfortunately leaves some of the industry's most experienced and knowledgeable publishing talent looking for new homes. I wish Jennifer Schaerer, Susan Opel, Holly Anderson, Stacy Croninger, and all of the other staff and contributors of the magazine all the best in their future endeavors.
