Crafters Mourn the Demise Of Their ‘Little Happy Safe Place’

BY ALYSSA LUKPAT

Joann fans say they’ll never get over closure; ‘I don’t think I’m liking this new world’

Pat Cernansky can’t imagine browsing the internet for the heavy-duty threads and canvases she needs to make cushions for her outdoor furniture.

Art-supply shopping is all about sight, touch and feel, the retired New York nurse said as she perused the aisles of her local Joann store last month. Cernansky was nostalgic as she wandered among bolts and discounted yarn, looking for some final bargains before the craft retailer closes.

“Am I going to go on Amazon?” she asked with a sigh. “It’s a good thing I’m getting old because I don’t think I’m liking this new world.”

Cernansky, 73, and legions of crafters are mourning the end of Joann, saying it will leave a quilt-sized hole when it goes dark this month.

The chain, with about 800 locations across the U.S., has been a one-stop shop for crafters for decades. It was the place to get a feel for a fabric and see how it shimmers in light, to compare an olive green and chartreuse velvet and shop for the best price, to talk to an expert about which needle to use for a project, and to pick up a few sticks of glue— just in case. More than a quarter of Americans who worked on at least one craft project over roughly the past year bought supplies from Joann, according to research firm Mintel.

By the end of the month, all of its stores will have closed after the Ohio-based chain filed for bankruptcy a second

time. Reddit threads, designers and others have suggested alternative vendors. But for many, craft-supply shopping will never be the same.

Stephanie Stone, who works in retail and lives in New York City, said Joann had everything a crafter or designer needed.

“In crafts, sewing, fashion, something creative,” she said, “it’s like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s.”

Stone, who is in her 40s, said customers could build yearslong relationships with employees who were knowledgeable about everything from sewing to grosgrain and horsehair fabrics. “It’s the best trained staff you could find anywhere,” she said.

Julie Montoya only started working at the Joann in Paramus, N.J., last month. She wanted to take advantage of the chain’s 30% employee discount and closing sales.

The 21-year-old, who is also a behavioral technician, had discovered Joann as a shopper—and its vast and often affordable supplies—after seeing a crafting trend on social media. “It was like a little happy safe place,” Montoya said. “They probably don’t experience hangry people. We’re just there for our personal meditation.”

Her experience as an employee has been less Zen.

Montoya said tons of customers have asked her about the store’s closing date (she doesn’t know) and her next job (lifeguarding). “It’s getting really repetitive,” she said.

Employees at some Joann locations have put up signs so they don’t have to keep answering those questions.

“WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN THE LAST DAY IS,” one sign said.

“PLEASE!!! DO NOT say how sorry you are to see us close. We know & we will miss our jobs,” another sign said.

On a spring afternoon, a Long Island Joann store was half full of shoppers looking for clearance deals. Some caressed fabric bolts and held the material under fluorescent lights. Others hoped some of the last remaining thread spools they were hoarding would be the right color for their projects. Most ignored the knitting, crocheting and quilting magazines by the cash register.

Helena Klimon, 26, was looking for discounted fabric to create a birthday banner for her daughter. She said she’s not sure many people know how to do crafts like that nowadays. “Maybe young people use Etsy.”

The stay-at-home mother had brought her now 9-month-old to the store because she wanted to introduce her baby to sewing like her mother and grandmother before her.

Gail Siciliano, 69, was looking for quilting supplies—without much luck. Most were already sold out, which could be problematic for more than her supply cupboard.

“I quilt because it keeps me from smoking,” said the retired H&R Block manager, who was shopping with Cernansky, her sister.

Siciliano said she could get basic cotton online but wouldn’t be able to travel to a crafting store further out. She doesn’t like highways. “I’m going to have to find a new hobby,” she said.

Online shopping won’t cut it for Greg Alvino, either.

“You’ll be buying stuff and returning it unless you know what you want and you’ve seen it,” Alvino said.

The 57-year-old retired teacher from Mattituck, N.Y., isn’t even sure where to look for reupholstery and other project supplies now. “It had everything,” he said of Joann. “It was easy.”

Customers said they appreciated that they could pick the exact fabric they wanted and ask Joann employees to cut a swatch from a bolt. At the Long Island store, customers lined up at a table as a worker sliced various textiles.

Lila Woodbridge, 26, and Jay Peierls, 24, chose a swath of gray fabric with black flowers that they called a “gothic picnic moment.” The college friends had come to Joann to get fabric and props for a photo shoot.

The friends like to shop at crafting stores when they can, but sometimes turn to cheaper options online. “You have to choose between supporting local or saving money,” said Peierls, a freelance artist and painter.

With fewer shops left to measure and feel fabric, crafting will be different. “All our favorite craft stores are closing,” Peierls said. “It’s sad.”

Joann’s closure may just be the saddest. When they found out about its fate, they thought, “Oh my God, evil.”

Shoppers say Joann was a onestop shop where they could get a feel for fabrics, speak to experts and pick up a range of supplies. Now, they are stocking up during clearance sales.