to any and all costumers......

[gypsymichaella.livejournal.com]

Hi,
I just found out that in their infinite wisdom JoAnn Fabrics has decided to remove all of their stores from the Northeast, due to lack of sales because of the suposed purchasing at Walmart of fabric and craft supplies. I Am Pissed!!!!!!!! I've done shoping at JoAnn Fabrics for most of my fabric for my costuming projects, because that's all I have for a place to get decent fabric supplies. I have a Walmart...it sucks for supplies. Target doesn't have fabric for sale.... AC Moore doesn't carry fabric...and neither does Michaels..... And Rag Shop ran with it's tail between it's legs when they found out that Michaels was moving into the same shopping complex as them. This really does piss me off... Because except on line, I have no place to get fabric.... and once JoAnn's closes, I will have no place to get my Viking Sewing Machine repaired as well.

I don't buy fabric on line....and the quality of fabric at Walmart is so limited, it's laughable.

So, the point of this post is this, maybe the costumers of the Northeast should make a Large Letter of protest about the fact that JoAnn fabrics has decided to shoot themselves in the foot by removing the only decent fabric store in the northeast from us.

Now I don't know how the rest of the costumers buy their stuff for their costumes, but still, it's wrong of them to deprive us of one of our few resources that is available to us.

Maybe we should pass this on to any one interested in costuming and make the point, we need JoAnn Fabrics.

Jeanette Healy
Eclipsos Armoury

Comments

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

Or maybe, we could support local fabric shops instead of protesting the withdrawal of yet another big chain store with bad quality and high prices... just sayin'.

[gypsymichaella.livejournal.com]

I don't have one...that's why i'm so pissed...

trust me, if i had one, I wouldn't be as upset...but all i have is joanns

I also have a Viking Sewing Machine that i live on when i'm costuming and the only place for stuff for it is Joann fabrics...and i'm sure not going to trust it to the fly by night repair shops in this area.

j

[yagol.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Hancock Fabrics is another chain store that has at least some presence in the Northeast, and I don't know where you are exactly, but Massachusetts is littered with independent fabric stores. Sewing machine repair is a bit touchier. Some small stores have really experienced repair people that do an amazing job... and some, I have to wonder if they just have the repair manual in the back and whoever has time tries to follow it. So you'll want to get personal recommendations, or test them with a less important sewing machine if you have a second one.

I don't think a letter of protest will matter. If they are losing money in the northeast, it doesn't matter if people like having them... they still can't stay open.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_opus_/]

Dunno where you're located, but if it's convenient, try Nashua Sew & Vac (http://www.nashuasewandvac.com) in southern NH for Viking repair.

And I second the recommendation for the Fabric Place (http://www.fabricplace.com).

[nchanter.livejournal.com]

Yep, don't know exactly where in the North East you are... that might help us fabric-a-holics in this forum help you out, but Fabric Place is a NE chain that carrys lots of shiny stuff. Also, If you're boston-ish I know a *ton* of discount fabric places that have lower prices, better selection, and WAY better quality than jo-annes. Jo-annes is only one step up from walmart in terms of quality, and that ain't saying much.

[donnad.livejournal.com]

Fabric Place does have lots of nice stuff, but they are consistantly more expensive on just about everything. And I know of only two of them in Massachusetts, Framingham (which is a PITA to get to because it's downtown and the traffic is horrendous) and Worurn, (which is small).

It will be pretty sad if JoAnn's goes away. There just aren't places like that where one can get inexpensive yet good fabrics.

[jedilora.livejournal.com]

And Randolph. We're there too. Also, to get the Framingham one, take the commuter rail in-we're visible from the station we're so close. And if you come up Franklin St instead of Rt 126 for driving, you don't hit the traffic until actually crossing onto Howard, where the store is.

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

I don't know where you're from, but if it's from VT or NH chances are I've got a local store for you :) I keep a pretty extensive list of them. One of my favourites is Martin's House of Cloth, in Bedford; they've got a huge range of fabrics, and they specialize in formal fabrics and upholstery. It's a costumer's heaven.

[paper-crystals.livejournal.com]

Do you have any info on places near Saratoga Springs, NY?

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

I don't know how far you're willing to drive, but Google Local claims there's a couple nearby (5-10 miles?) Here's a link to the search. (http://local.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&q=fabric+store&near=saratoga+springs+new+york&ie=UTF8&z=10&om=1)

[paper-crystals.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

What about Fabric Place? Better prices and selection than JoAnn, anyway. And it's locally-owned.

Also, there are a BUNCH of absolutely AMAZING fabric stores in Chinatown. And several other independent ones.

If I was JoAnn, I'd pull out of the Northeast, too, because I just couldn't compete with the stuff that's locally available.

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Just wondering, what's your source for that info? I've been searching around, and haven't been able to confirm the closings anywhere.

[gypsymichaella.livejournal.com]

the closings are confirmed by the customer care line that i called...they are closing 3 in the north east... I think the newburg ny people are panicking because their store is closing...but i'm still concerned.
especially as they couldn't tell me what they were doing with the middletown ny store.
i'm hoping they plan to upgrade it instead of close it..but they won't know what they are doing until next quarter.
j

[tfarrell.livejournal.com]

You're by Middletown? I grew up near there, used to go there often for shopping.

I just went to google maps and typed in "fabric near middletown, ny" and it found me a number of fabric shops in the area, including some in Middletown, one in Monroe, one in Port Jervis, and a few others in Vernon, NJ. And I'm excluding the Joann and Rag Shop from consideration. (Is there still a Rag Shop in the mall in Middletown? Does it still suck?) I know personally that none of those places are all that far away from Middletown, so I suggest that you should try the same search. I hope it'll be helpful to you... and clearly I need to update my list again. :-)

[xdaemon.livejournal.com]

In looking around online, the closest I've found is a few articles that imply that WalMart may be getting out of the fabric business (at 80% of their stores, they deny this entirely). Around me there is a local chain as an alternative, but the only place to get the Husqvarna serviced is the JoAnn...

Umm... I think you're misinformed.

[charmingmuse.livejournal.com]

Wal-mart is closing all of their fabric departments across the country. This has been known industry-wide since around June. They will be keeping most of the crafting section, but cut goods, like fabric, ribbon and trim, will be gone.

Not so with Jo-Ann's. Jo-Ann's is actually expanding into the area, most recently with the opening of a Superstore in Warwick. They company has decided to focus on Superstores, not the small, what they call 'traditional', Jo-Ann's.

It is true that the Jo-Ann store located in Holden, MA is closing but that is due to low sales, general suckage on the part of the landlord and neighboring Big Y, and the close proximity of a larger Jo-Ann's which they are hoping to turn into a Superstore in the next 2-3 years. Holden will close for good in late January.

Get your facts straight. As this post was the equivilent of "deep kissing causes babies" in the real information department.

Re: Umm... I think you're misinformed.

[immortalessence.livejournal.com]

I was about to make a similar comment. :) gypsymichaella, I don't know where you heard this information, but from what I understand, it's Wal-Mart that's closing up their fabric department (though I heard they're keeping their craft section).

Jo-Ann's is in fact expanding; I talked with some of the staff just the other day. They're definitely doing too much business in most cases to shut down.

Re: Umm... I think you're misinformed.

[gypsymichaella.livejournal.com]

i hope this is true..but right now i am faced with the closing of one of the only two places where i get fabric...i'm hoping they don't close, but if they do...well...

actually i am waiting for their corp office to call me back and let me know what exactly is going on...i found the phone number and gave them a call...

j

[tfarrell.livejournal.com]

I provide a list of fabric shops and sewing machine dealers (http://www.tomfarrell.org/textiles/stores/index.jsp?state=MA) for most of the 50 states. (Content varies by state. The link goes to the page for MA, select your state using the form at the top of the page.)

Frankly, I only go to Joann for $2 pattern sales: I can get much better fabrics at equivalent or better prices by going to independent fabric stores, of which there are many. Further, I'd *never* consider going to them to buy a sewing machine: I can get a better deal, a better machine, and MUCH better customer service from an independent sewing machine dealer. (Some shopping around may be required, but then, you're a fool if you don't shop around for a sewing machine, it's like buying a used car.)

Why anyone would want to buy fabric at Walmart is completely beyond me.

You write:

Now I don't know how the rest of the costumers buy their stuff for their costumes, but still, it's wrong of them to deprive us of one of our few resources that is available to us.

It was never your resource in the first place, it was and is theirs. They're a big corporation who really doesn't care about the individual customer: notice that they never have any really great quality fabrics. I'm not saying they're any worse than other big corporations, in fact I can rattle off a list of other big corporations I think are much worse, but really, your loyalty to them is substantially misplaced. We do not need Joann Fabrics. If they were to leave us, independent fabric stores would spring up to fill their market niche. If anything, it's my opinion that we'd do better without them.

[gypsymichaella.livejournal.com]

that's a nice list by the way, thanks...except i went through it, the few local places on there are actually yarn shops...i called them.

the rest is so not local to me it's not funny.
j

[gypsymichaella.livejournal.com]

See the problem is, i don't have a local place for fabric..so joann's is it for me...I wish i had a local place. I live in the Orange/Sullivan county Ny area, wich is about 2 hours give or take traffic from NYC and Jersey. So if i want to do fabric shopping i would have to hunt down places in either of those places.

As for the repair places around here...I had an old singer sewing machine i inherited from my mother that i had repaired by one of the local repair places and they only made it worse so that it siezed up. So the viking is my only machine. And the only place i have to get a machine is the major chains, who have machines that i know are not up to the Brian Healy Bulky costumes...Yes my husband is the guy with the Demon Knight and the Headless Horseman...now you can see why i'm concerned...

as for where i recieved the information...the newburg ny joann's is closing and brian's coworker went in there, and that's where they told her that joann's is moving out of the north east.

I can hope that they are replacing them with superstores...that would be nice, i actually like the one i've been in down at the Palisades Mall heading towards jersey. But if they aren't, I'm screwed.
jeanette

well that's almost a relief

[gypsymichaella.livejournal.com]

I just got off the phone with their customer service line...they apologized for closing the store in newburg, but the don't have plans to close the one in middletown...Thank God....

they are scaling down so that they can upgrade to better store quality between next year and 2008. which is a good thing i hope.

they said they are getting a lot of letters in concern nationwide....hopefully that will make the people who manage the finances sit up and take notice. they did hear about walmart scaling down their fabric areas though...

i'm not jumping for joy yet...simply because she couldn't tell me if they were going to change their mind about the middletown store...but i'm not going to stop wondering if they will close the middletown store either.

I know that some of you feel that i would be better off without them...but when they are the only place to get supplies and fabric...a panic attack is warrented. I don't have any where else to go for fabric. that's why i'm concerned. It may not be the best fabric place...i'm sure there are better places..but this is it for me and brian to get what we need for our costumes.

that's why i posted this...not because other people have some where else to go...but because the few places we have are needed.

jeanette

[ayalanya.livejournal.com]

just popped over the the fabric place site - they've got a contact number for a store in warwick (i see you're talking about middletown, and i suspect that's quite a hike, but i'm guessing it's closer to you than the stores up here near boston).

http://www.fabricplace.com/storefront/t-contact.aspx

i hope the joann's in middletown stays open, though. i have a friend near there who's just getting into professional costuming, and while i'm spoiled by having a fabric place and a couple of wonderful small places nearby, joann's really does seem to be the best available in that area.