Many people who enter the world of the fiber arts are devastated at the soon to be closing of a craft store called Joann Fabrics. While not necessarily the cheapest ever, Joann held the hearts of many individuals. Founded 82 years ago, Joann was originally called Cleveland Fabric Shop before it became Joann Fabrics in 1963. Joann’s history goes way back to two German immigrant couples trying to run a cheese store. Hilda and Berthold Reich and Sigmund and Matilda Rohrbach were the four people who created the foundation, as the Rohrbach’s decided they wanted to sell fabric as well in their quaint little cheese shop. Eventually they became solely a fabric store, beginning to spread nationwide.
Even though so many people love Joann, it wasn’t enough as the market continues to change and the owners of Joann went into debt, eventually having to file for bankruptcy. The pandemic in 2020 pushed back the bankruptcy for a little bit as people were locked indoors and had much more time to do crafts with materials from Joann, however once the pandemic came out of lock down, the sales seemed to plummet. Inevitably, this year all 800+ Joann Fabrics stores will be shutting down. Now the competitors for Joann, Target and Hobby Lobby, are going to be flooded with loyal Joann customers. However, there are many smaller businesses that could benefit from more publicity and more customers.
One of the big ones that is quite cool is called MAKE SOUTH BEND, which is a crafting place. Not only are you able to buy a day pass and use whatever materials they have, but there are also classes that you can sign up for to learn how to use the materials. They have everything from fiber arts to clay to paints and it’s all open use if you pay a day fee. They also offer memberships which is really helpful, especially for artists who are less fortunate, because rather than paying for all the materials, all they have to pay for is the day pass.
Overall, Joann’s closing won’t be the end of the world, even though it seems like it, and there are plenty of ethical shops to buy yarn and other craft supplies from.
