Joann Fabrics closed the doors of all it’s stores nationwide on May 30th. In the months leading up to the final closing, many of us who’d shopped there for years had time to reflect on what went wrong. A book could be written about it, and probably best done by an analyst of failing brick and mortar retail in the post internet economy. That’s not my specialty, and although I’m a long time patron of theirs with plenty of my own opinions about it, I won’t give them here. Everyone who’s shopped there for years has their own take on what went wrong and why. This post is focused on my observations of my local store’s final days and what I bought before they closed.
The Downward Spiral
I’d stopped in several times in the months before the closing, before the official announcement was even made. From the way the store looked a few months ago, it was clear that they were struggling. They’d cut their staff’s hours and as a result the store was unkempt looking: unpacked boxes in aisles, messy shelves. 1 fabric aisle smelled like vomit, and had a plastic fast food drink cup with some drink left in it sitting on the floor. At the time I assumed it was going bad and causing the smell. I was wrong (more on that later). That same aisle had some nice fabrics, called “Platitudes”, that I wanted to browse but couldn’t.
Here’s what my local store looked like on April 18th:
The jewelry findings aisle picked clean
Here’s the Platitudes fabrics I mentioned. The drink cup on the floor was gone, but the aisle still smelled like vomit. Nice fabrics, not worth the health risk.
If there’s 1 thing that can be said when looking back at Joann’s, it’s: They had a helluva a lot of polar fleece. That’s all polar fleece on the back wall.
And, a short clip from that day in April:
They had a lot of fabrics on sale that didn’t interest me. They held out to the very end to discount things like denim and knits. And honestly, I became annoyed with them. I wrote them off right then and there. I didn’t care if I missed out on the deals anymore. Sure, I’d go back during the final week to see what was left and how it looked and to say a final goodbye, but I just couldn’t get caught up in it. That was it.
Returning On May 23rd
When we arrived and stepped out into the parking lot, we saw a woman walking towards her car with a cartload of fabric bolts. Some of them were the dreaded “Platitudes” fabrics. She had a crabby look on her face…..she must’ve been holding her breath?
How the store looked:
There really wasn’t much left in the way of fabrics, but I did (surprisingly) manage to find something good:
It’s a wool blend suiting, and I bought what was left on the bolt, which was 2 yd, 23″ , approx. 2 5/8 yds. This translates to 2.4 meters roughly. I paid under $10 dollars for it and it was originally $30/yd. Not bad. It’ll be great for the autumn/early winter season.
Next up is a really quirky canvas cloth:
I bought about 3 yds of this. I need a fabric that can get dirt and paint on it and still be fabric that’s good for making into home tasks work clothing. I paid about $5 for this piece! I’ll pre-wash it and see how it turns out.
Alright, so that was it. The end of Joann’s and the end of having that sewing/knitting/craft supply store nearby. It was sad to see it go, and I’m glad it’s over. Farewell Joann Fabrics, for all the cool projects you helped supply, and the fun times I and my daughter had shopping there. Hopefully Michael’s will pick up the slack and not go out of business too soon. Time will tell.
Sewcoordinated 