25/10/11
Future Publishing, the special interest media group and UK’s leading provider of craft content, has unveiled a flagship e-commerce craft website called The Making Spot.
The Making Spot is a crafter’s dream as it brings together expert content from across Future’s extensive craft portfolio, encompassing leading magazines such as Simply Knitting, The Knitter, Cross Stitcher and Mollie Makes.
Crafting has enjoyed a huge revival in recent years and the online craft community is continually expanding. The Making Spot offers a fantastic inspirational resource for all crafters and caters not just for seasoned online crafters, but also to people just beginning to try their hand at a craft.
On The Making Spot you’ll find thousands of projects and patterns, including both free and paid-for downloads, to inspire and excite. Users can enjoy a wealth of resources for every skill level and budget.
Free online step-by-step tutorials add another dimension and users can even compare notes and tips on their latest projects by creating a personal profile complete with a photograph on the website.
As part of the launch strategy for the new flagship website, Future employed Community Editors Lyndsey Mayhew and Zoë Williams to engage with the online crafting community through social media such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and crafting forums. Getting to grips with what makes readers tick, Lyndsey and Zoe are keen crafters themselves, collating the best of online inspiration for their very own The Making Spot blog.
Kerry Lawrence, Publisher of Future’s craft portfolio says: “This is a first for Future as The Making Spot will be an e-commerce website, designed to enhance the customer experience, but also drive revenue in a new and exciting way. We’re building on the strength of our craft portfolio and expertise to create something different, giving visitors the chance to see crafting in a new light.”
Stuart Anderton, Group Publishing Director, added: “The Making Spot is another example of digital innovation from Future, with the craft portfolio leading the way. Our readers are very loyal and we’ve designed this website to be an easy-to-use resource for all. We’re very excited to have launched this new website in time for Christmas and I hope users will really enjoy the site.”
Whether you love to knit, stitch, or crochet, make cards, scrapbook or sew, visitors are sure to find something to interest them on The Making Spot. Check out the YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h-Cvp6BB14
ENDS
For more information: contact Amy Bullen on amy.bullen@futurenet.com or 01225 732269.
About Future’s Craft Portfolio:
Future has been publishing craft magazines for 20 years and currently holds number one positions in both the cross stitching and knitting markets. The Hobbies & Craft group has almost 70,000 loyal subscribers across the portfolio and we’re the only UK publisher to have two knitting titles. Every year, we distribute in excess of a million copies of our Hobbies and Crafts magazines to more than 40 countries as far afield as Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Chile. Our leading craft portfolio includes titles such as Simply Knitting, The Knitter, Cross Stitcher, PaperCraft Inspirations and the brand new Mollie Makes as well as leading genealogy title Your Family Tree.
About Future:
Future is a leader in the field of digital publishing and was named Consumer Digital Publisher of the Year at the annual Association of Online Publishers Awards – becoming the first magazine publisher to win the Award. Future also won the Grand Prix Award at the event in June. Its web and mobile sites deliver 160 million page impressions every month to over 30 million unique users*. Future delivers more than 100 digital editions and bespoke apps through the rapidly growing iPad platform and is developing product for new tablet devices coming on stream. Digital now accounts for a third of all Future’s commercial revenues. And its development of video on demand and apps is rightly regarded as market leading. Technology brand T3 is leading the way on iPad, becoming one of the top grossing apps in the UK and one of the very few five star apps in the world. The Future digital portfolio includes award winning and hugely respected brands including: www.techradar.com, www.cyclingnews.com, www.gamesradar.com, www.computerandvideogames.com, www.musicradar.com and www.bikeradar.com.
* source: comScore Digital Analytix, August 2011
