KIDS INDIA MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2017 ISSUE | Page 15

The rela
xing effe
ct of cre
for both
ative pr
young &
oducts
adults a
like
Bye bye, cyber world – hello, analogue world! Whether
it's a matter of sewing, knitting, crocheting, stitching,
felting or weaving, the craze for creative leisure
activities continues unabated. And there's a whole
slew of reasons for this. The creative and DIY trend
represents one thing in particular: making things
yourself is one way to express your self-sufficiency as
well as your own individuality.
Just how highly the concept of "leisure" time is once
again being regarded is clear when one compares
Generation Y with Generation X. Whereas the
performance-oriented Generation Y struggled to
achieve a career with a good work-life balance,
Generation Z would prefer a "work-life separation",
privacy and a 9-to 5 job. The digital world is taken for
granted by today's 25-year-olds, which is what makes
them very different from the "digital natives" (Y), who
had to "discover" the smartphone.
SWITCHING OFF FROM TIME TO TIME
The longing for simplicity and relaxation is what
characterises the colouring-in trend with its
sophisticated and naive motifs for both children and
adults, which have simply fuelled the stationery
market in recent years. In Germany, for example, the
demand for painting and drawing articles has gone up
by 80 per cent, according to the Handelsverband
Büro- und Schreibkultur (Trade Association for Office
Products and Stationery). The adult colouring-in
trend, however, should by no means be regarded as a
way of regressing to one's own childhood,
manufacturer Staedtler emphasizes, but is an
expression of people's creative urge. At the same
time, the trend benefits people's sense of well-being.
For children, however, painting means more than just
that. The activity promotes their fine motor skills and
creativity, as Oetinger Verlag discovered a few years
ago. At this publishing company, the colouring-in
book is now turning into a "colouring-in house".
Kids India Mag Issue 2 : Sept 2017 | Page 13