I’ve been a crafter my whole life, from a family of “crafters”—aka women who made their livings being seamstresses, but we’re not here to go into that whole rant of belittling women’s work through terminology. (My father was also an amazing woodworker, but nobody ever referred to him as a “crafter”, hmm I wonder why. What is Lowe’s if not a masculine-coded craft store? Oops, I said I wouldn’t get into it, but here I am.) Anyway, as a legacy crafter who has spent her entire lifetime shopping at Joann’s, Michaels, and smaller, independent craft stores (most of which sadly didn’t survive the internet/Amazon boom), I have a lot of thoughts about Joann’s closing and, with this being its final week, I thought I should really get them out there.
(Note: I know that Joann’s is not, nor ever has been, its official name. But my family, along with many others, has always called it that, and to write it otherwise now would just be weird.)
So, Joann’s had its problems, with quality and pricing both, over the years, but it remained a staple for many other reasons. One of those reasons was community; the week Joann’s bankruptcy was finalized, I found myself at two of my local stores (I was lucky to be in the middle of 3 locations), and the community poured out. Sure, there were those getting an early start on hoarding yarn to resell, but most of the people there were talking to each other, and to the staff, about what a loss this would be and how great it’s always been. We talked to employees about how sorry we were for them; there was one employee at one of my stores who had worked there for over 20 years and was so close to retirement (I sincerely hope that she hit the threshold in the three months that it took for the store to close completely). Employees put together a Google doc, that customers could add to, of independent craft stores, mostly yarn and fabric, in the area they could shop at instead (I personally contributed a number of stores to the list, being a big fan of shopping small and local).
And in all the aisles, shoppers were chatting—about the store closing, yes, but also giving each other crochet tips, asking for advice on potential new hobbies (I steered a man away from diamond painting for his elderly mother with failing eyesight), and just generally being a community of crafters. Now, I want to emphasize—this is nothing new, I’d been having conversations like these my entire life in craft stores (yes, me! An introvert who hates to talk to others in shops—except bookshops and craft stores), and it’s honestly why I always thought I’d eventually meet “the one” in either a store of books or crafts (jury’s still out on that one… as I sit writing this in my local bookstore). There’s just something special about being in a space who just get you, and Joann’s will be missed for that.
I went to my last Joann’s store on its last day (bought a pattern rack, which I’m very excited about! Once I clean it up), and I had one of those experiences I’d been having my whole life: I had conversations with a bunch of people, shoppers and employees alike. Notably, I spent a long time talking to one guy, who had just picked up his first craft ever (crochet!) in January and had gotten super into it after his boyfriend bought him a crochet kit. We exchanged instagrams (neither of which we actually use much, but oh well) and I told him he should check out the yarn lovers group at my library. I helped him load up his own large purchase into his car, and was just thankful that this store gave me one more interaction like this.
Yes, we still have Michaels, and I’ve had my fair share of these encounters there, too, but there are certain things about Michaels that leaves me, a crafter, frustrated and missing Joann’s even more. So that’s part 2 of my rant: other stores don’t have the more niche things I need like Joann’s. Especially Michaels. In my opinion, Michaels has diversified their merchandise too much to stay afloat, leaving crafters in the lurch as they expand decor, planners, decor, fiction books, puzzles and games, decor… I know they’re (mostly) making money off it (I’m especially not immune to the Halloween decor, but don’t most booksellers lose money on books?), so it makes sense from a capitalist perspective, but it sure does suck watching the yarn section get smaller and smaller.
Besides that, they no longer carry the needles and hooks I seem to always need (I prefer bamboo knitting needles, and the sizes they do carry in bamboo is pathetic… especially if you’re looking for DPNs, which I’m always losing, or circular needles). And it’s not just highly specific stuff: I recently went in for safety eyes, and they only had one size, in blue. Human/doll shaped eyes, of course, never mind that animal amigurumi is wildly popular. Last week, I was surprised (and disappointed) to discover that they didn’t sell invisible zippers. Like, at all! Not that they didn’t have one in the size or color that I wanted, but that it wasn’t a shopping option at all! Michaels was fine when I could shop there in tandem with Joann’s, but how is its very limited crafting selection going to be my full replacement?
(Do not even get me started on Hobby Lobby. I refuse to shop there for a number of ethical reasons. I’d rather go without than shop there.)
Like I mentioned, I’m a big fan of shopping small and local—and I’m fortunate to have a decent number of yarn and fabric stores around me. But it’s all the other craft supplies, which the smaller stores rarely carry, that leaves me wanting. Because Michaels decreases the craft supplies space every year. And they’re woefully understocked in the space they do provide.
And the third part of my rant is a rant about late-stage capitalism (because why not, it’s me after all). I’m pissed that Joann’s went out of business just to line a larger corporation’s pockets. It didn’t go out of business because it wasn’t making sales—its numbers were just fine (and I heard they were set to open new stores recently) if it wasn’t trying to make up for some other deficit that wasn’t their fault. I’m so mad that we lost this store thanks to private equity firms and bankruptcy schemes. Joann’s deserved better.
One last note… if I ever win the lottery, catch me opening my dream craft-and-book combination store. Doesn’t that sound like heaven? In the meantime, however, I’ll be supporting my local businesses and mourning Joann’s.
