Salon.com: Fabric and crafts retailer Joann is shutting down all of its U.S. stores, leaving cosplayers, seamstresses and small Etsy business owners in the dust.
The Ohio-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, the second time in a year it’s done so, according to The New York Times. The company said at the time it planned to keep its stores open.
6 comments:
What a sad day. When they first filed for bankruptcy and we thought they were going to close, I was quite sad, but then they didn't announce that they were actually closing. And then this news came out and I think that's a very sad development for a lot of crafty people. I suppose the pre-closing sales will be nice, but Joann's has always been around and been reliable. It will be really sad to see it go. Maybe it'll make a comeback someday like Toys-R-Us did. One can only hope.
It says that they're only closing 500 of 800 stores, so maaaybe they'll recover and reopen more locations. But in nay case, time to stock up. Hopefully when I go back home I can go buy a bunch of yarn or other supplies for a good deal, assuming they're still open at that point. Maybe I can even go to one up in Pittsburgh while I'm here.
I will be joining Sam in chaining myself to the front of my local Joann’s to keep it from closing. This is actually so incredibly upsetting. I have been going to Joanns since I was 6 or so years old in order to get stuff for my sewing projects, and now that it’s closing I genuinely have no idea where I will be able to get fabric. I could go to the hobby lobby, but I don't really want to give them any of my money, and I personally am not aware of any local shops that sell fabric. Joann’s has been such a staple of my life, and I am so sad to be losing such an icon. Though, to be fair I was at my local Joann’s over break to stock up on a bunch of fabric while it is just a five minute drive from my house.
I was saddened to hear about the closure of the remaining 300 JoAnn locations. Although JoAnn’s prices are admittedly steep, it is one of the only major fabric retailers that operate in small communities. While this may not come as a blow in major metropolitan areas like New York or Chicago, this will surely hurt many small professional and educational theaters that rely on JoAnn’s to acquire fabrics dyes, trims, and notions for their productions. In high school, at least 50% of our raw costume/craft-related materials were purchased from JoAnn. Had we been forced to buy the same materials from its competitors in Manhattan, we would have wracked up massive amounts of additional spending in travel alone. Although some big-box stores like WalMart have fabric sections, there are very few other businesses that are solely dedicated to sewing needs. If nothing else, at least this offers some potential support for small, family-owned fabric businesses—but overall, the closure of JoAnn is very worrisome.
While Joann Fabric didn’t have the most variety and wasn’t exactly affordable, it was still an accessible option for people who lived in smaller cities or more rural and suburban areas. I’ve made dozens of trips to Joann over the past 5 years, and without it I would never have been able to build my costuming skills. Joann Fabrics made it possible for me to apply to Carnegie Mellon and get in, and it deeply upsets me to watch the stores prepare for closing. I went to the Joann near my house over spring break to stock up, and it felt like the end of a chapter in my life as I walked down the half empty aisles. I’m concerned about the lack of alternative fabric stores to shop at in areas like my hometown, and the livelihoods of those who have relied on Joann to run their businesses. In a time when artistic expression is being censored, this seems like another nail in the coffin.
This is very sad news. When I went home to San Francisco over break I went to the Daly City Joann for what may very well have been the final time. (I could have gone to the one in Pittsburgh but I have only a small bike and that one is too far away for me). When I got there clearly everyone else had already had the same idea. The yarn section was barren. It was also more populated than I had seen in ages. I didn’t buy any good yarn. It was all incredibly cheap 100% acrylic stuff (mostly Big Twist). But they had all the colors I needed for my new blanket project, so I got $40 of yarn for just $30. Sadly my younger sibling was unable to redeem the gift cards they got for Christmas at the cash register, as apparently all of them were unredeemable now and we were told to contact customer support. Anyway I will miss Joann deeply. It made crafts that would otherwise have been very expensive at the other yarn stores in town incredibly affordable.
I grew up going to Joanns long before I even began to think about being a costume designer. I would go with my mother and just wander the aisles upon aisles overflowing with fabric samples, touching the materials and staring at the pretty colors. It was such a foundational part of my childhood that I truly think impacted my decision to become a designer in the first place. In my hometown, there are so few small businesses that sell fabrics at prices comparable to Joanns, making me nervous about future costumes or clothes that I want to make. You can get so inspired by Joanns, walking around and seeing things that you wouldn’t have originally thought of and how they could fit into a specific vision. I intend on going again very soon to find more discounted fabric and try to stock up on some materials while I still can. RIP Joanns.
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