Why are we so hung up about brands???

Someone once told me that the scrapbook industry is like the fashion and music industry. How true that is! What's in today will be OUT tomorow leaving a lot of the former "ins" scratching their heads as to why they can't even GIVE away their "new" products anymore.

Recently, on a MB, I saw some sage advice - they said something like, "why do we worry so much about having the NEWEST, LATEST and GREATEST papers and embellishments all the time?" As our grandchildren look through the books, are they going to say, "Hey, Grandma was really "hip" - she was using (insert your current "gotta have" here) for these pages!"? Nope, they won't have a clue what was popular and faddish during the summer of 2005. They will just see the photos.

I love a lot of the new stuff out there - and I buy a lot of it. But, I may not actually get around to using it for a year or more. I have paper from the mid-nineties in my stash. Some of it was bad then and it's STILL bad so I let my kids use it. But, much of it's just patterned paper that can be used for many different types of pages.

The brand name stampede tends to stump me. There are SO MANY great companies out there who aren't "brand" names but have products similar in look and quality but lower in price. Basically, when you pay a high price for a common product like cardstock, you are paying for the NAME and the packaging. I have seen FABULOUS textured cardstocks by generic companies - but everyone HAS TO HAVE the expensive stuff by the big brand. I think we are seeing a similar situation with the new CK stuff at Joann's. They are using their name to inflate the price of the "knock-off" products. Oddly, they are knocking off brand name stuff from companies like Making Memories, Go West Studios, Heidi Swapp and Cropper Hopper. It's like the "Brand vs Brand Smackdown" or something - who can charge a higher price and have a bigger name for the same stuff!

It amazes me that products can rocket to popularity before they even come out. I am amazed at how many people have pre-paid for one of the new electronic die-cut machines before they have even seen one. What if it's not that good? What if something better or more useful comes out in 6 months? What if version one has bugs but version two comes out in a few months with more features and fewer bugs? What if it's sold at M's and you could have used your 40% off coupon?????

Remember, it will not matter in 25 (or even 10) years that you chased the hot new products everywhere. What matters is that you preserved your family history for future generations.