Skip to main content

Gone Wrong

I have been ordering from Hobbii for a few months now, and to date I've been quite satisfied with their yarn and their service, as you can probably tell from the previous post, which was written back in April. At times the shipping does take a few weeks, but that's not bad considering we're in different countries. This month I noticed quite a few videos about Hobbii on YouTube, but they were about some controversy involving AI you can read about here. Eventually I watched a few and tried to figure out what was going on.

This seems to me like a marketing stunt gone wrong, or a completely dense exec who has no clue about the folks that use their product (or said product, either) decided to experiment and see if they could get some online viral attention -- and they did. The controversial post itself says a whole lot of nothing, but the one thing it does seem to do is advocate for the use of AI (possibly because it was written by AI.) I'm not sure. The whole thing seems fake to me.

The general/overall reaction by the fiber arts community is outrage and a call to boycott Hobbii, of course. That's typical of online responses to corporate greed, and please understand, I believe they have every right to do so. I just wonder if it was artificially provoked.

Hobbii has some nice yarns, and their shipping price is cheaper than US counterparts. I've liked all the yarns from them that I've tried so far. I'm not the type to jump on a trending social response band wagon, especially when it comes to costing anyone business and seems manufactured. Yet on this issue I sympathize with the fiber arts community.

This whole thing is very insensitive. A lot of designers and makers are suffering financially because of the glut of AI-generated patterns on the market. Artists and other makers are also losing their job opportunities because of the use of AI. Advocating for it is like spitting on the people it is replacing. I'm also wondering if the private equity group that bought Hobbii and has been firing their staff might be trying to position the company to sell off its assets.

I don't think one insensitive Linked In post and the admission of using AI is enough reason for me to stop buying from Hobbii. As a couple of the YouTubers pointed out, every yarn company likely uses AI now. I do think Hobbii needs to find a meaningful way to apologize to their customer base, especially if they want to stay in business.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On the Beach

Last week my guy and I went to walk Daytona Beach, which was mostly (and eerily) deserted. This is what our beaches used to look like when I was a kid. It was a beautiful day, cold and breezy but calm. It feels like 2026 is getting off to the right start.
Post a Comment
Read more

Eight Plus Numbers

When I was looking up the retail on the small lot of yarn plus a tapestry kit I got a lot of surprises. This Red Heart Roll with It Sparkle skein in "Diamonds" was actually a cake that sells $10.99 on Yarnspirations. The lot included two Red Heart Super Saver Jumbo skeins, which retail for $8.99 each, and stuck in the center of the buff color I found a 5.5 mm crochet hook. This is a skein of 100% Icelandic wool, which can be really expensive. It's marked with a price tag of $7.00, and I found it selling for $8.00 online. The needlepoint kit is the biggest surprise of all. It makes a pillow, and hails from the UK, where it sells for £45.00 ($60.76 US). Since it's flamingos I definitely have to finish it if I can. Altogether my eight plus lot retails for $125.04; I paid $21.30 total for the lot with the buy-it-now option and one penny shipping. I indeed got a very nice bargain.
Post a Comment
Read more

Halfway Month Blues

Last week I realized on the 14th that two weeks of 2026 flew right by me, and right now I'm writing during the third week. I wanted to be finished with more projects by now, but life and work have to come first. I think this might be when most crocheters start a new shiny project to boost their spirits. Not me. I kept working away at my first project for the year, and here's why: I don't like being surrounded by unfinished things. I also tend to get fatigued and abandon projects more easily if I've left them by the wayside to do something else. Finally, the payoff of the finished project gives me a much better spirit boost than messing around with several projects at the same time. I have a couple of strategies for sticking to working on one project at a time, which I can use to keep myself focused on reaching the finish line. Planning my next project is probably what I do most often by pulling the yarn from my stash, getting out the printed pattern for the...
Post a Comment
Read more