We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (2024)

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Retail

Jessica Tyler

2018-10-07T14:10:00Z

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (1)

Hobby Lobby,Michaels, and Joann Storesallsell arts-and-crafts products like canvases and paint, sketchbooks, scrap-booking supplies, and home decor.
Hobby Lobby is a privately owned company, butearlier this year, it announced it would be continuing to grow, opening anadditional 60 storesand hiring around 2,500 new employees in 2018.
In August, Michaels reported comparablesales decreased 0.4%in the second quarter. The company opened nine new stores, closed one store, and relocated seven stores in the quarter.
Joann is also a privately owned company. It was taken privateby private-equity firm Leonard Green & Partners LP in a $1.6 billion deal in 2011.
We visited neighboring locations of Hobby Lobby and Michaels in Commack, New York, and a Joann in Scarsdale, New York, and found that one of the stores had a lot more to offer than the other two.

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The first stop was Hobby Lobby.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (2)

The front of the store was fully stocked with autumn decor.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (3)

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There was also Christmas decor, much of which was on sale.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (4)

Hobby Lobby carried supplies for all sorts of crafts, like scrap-booking ...

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (5)

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... jewelry making ...

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (6)

... and fine art.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (7)

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There was a huge selection of paint and canvases, with the largest canvases costing $69.99.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (8)

There were also easels and drawing desks, all of which were 50% off. Sale signs were everywhere throughout the store.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (9)

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A large portion of the store was dedicated to fabric and sewing supplies.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (10)

And there was no shortage of fake foliage, flowers, and plants. There were also faux marble columns, fake fruits, and other small home decor products. There were four whole aisles of fake flowers.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (11)

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There were signs throughout the store that had information about its social-media profiles, as well as instructions for how to join the email list, which offers a weekly ad, special promotions, coupons, and project ideas.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (12)

It also offers an app, which includes a 40% off coupon just for downloading it. The app allows for online shopping and offers many of the same services that being on the email list does.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (13)

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There were a lot of open registers and almost no lines. Hobby Lobby accepts returns on products within 90 days of purchase with a receipt, and it only price matches under certain conditions.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (14)

Michaels was just down the road from Hobby Lobby.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (15)

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Michaels was setting up for fall, but it didn't have Christmas decor up just yet.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (16)

Michaels carried supplies for all of the same projects that Hobby Lobby did: scrap-booking, jewelry making, school projects, and more.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (17)

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But Michaels had more in stock that Hobby Lobby did. It also had a greater variety of brands and prices to choose from in each area.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (18)

Hobby Lobby had a lot of great sales and deals, but it carried more low-end products than Michaels, which carried a greater range of high-quality products.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (19)

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Michaels also offered more high-tech products, including instant cameras and photo printers.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (20)

The canvases were more expensive that at Hobby Lobby, sometimes by as much as $10. But there were a lot more brands to choose from in general.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (21)

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The same held true for paint and other fine art supplies.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (22)

Michaels had a massive clearance section that offered up to 70%, but it was a mess.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (23)

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It had just as much home decor as Hobby Lobby did ...

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (24)

... and fall decor was buy one, get one free.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (25)

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Michaels offers in-store pickup for online orders. Like Hobby Lobby, it has a mailing list that offers a weekly ad, special promotions, coupons, and project ideas.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (26)

The store had a lot of small products like candy by the register, and there was a pretty long line. Michaels accepts returns with a receipt within two months of the original purchase date. Michaels will match competitors' prices and beat them by 10%.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (27)

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The Joann store we visited was in Scarsdale, New York.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (28)

Halloween and fall decor were all at the front of the store, and everything was on sale for 50% off.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (29)

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It also had Christmas decor on sale.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (30)

Joann had a ton of supplies for everything from scrap-booking to jewelry making, like Hobby Lobby and Michaels.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (31)

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Joann's prices were comparable to Hobby Lobby. Michaels was slightly more expensive in each department, usually by a few dollars.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (32)

Joann had a lot more supplies for crafts than for fine art. Like Hobby Lobby, nothing was very expensive, but there wasn't a ton of variety to choose from.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (33)

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Of the three stores, it had the biggest selection of fabric and sewing supplies.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (34)

In fact, fabric and sewing supplies took up more than half of the store.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (35)

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It didn't have as much home decor as the other two stores did.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (36)

Towards the back of the store was a massive clearance section, though it was pretty messy.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (37)

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Joann also has a mailing list that offers a weekly ad, special promotions, coupons, and project ideas.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (38)

By the register were small products like hand soap, small toys, and candy. Joann takes returns with or without a receipt.

We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner (39)

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After visiting all three stores, I found that Michaels was the clear winner. Prices were slightly lower at Joann and Hobby Lobby, but Michaels had the greatest variety of everything to choose from.