Today, all current crafters and artist mourn the loss of Joann Fabric and Crafts as the chain begins to close locations and shoppers are left with one of their top fabric and art stores gone.
Now that Joann is gone, crafters must find a way to fill the void that she filled. Below are five craft stores in Fort Collins that remain top-tier craft stores in the area as well as a variety of stores that specialize in many different forms of art and shopping preferences.
Scrap 2 It
Scrap 2 It is a paper craft store. It has tools and materials for scrapbooking — as the name implies — mixed media and stamping. Scrap 2 It has a wide variety of stickers, paper and ink pads, ensuring you are never lacking in paper crafts. They host classes and crafting nights twice a month for a very reasonable price. They also host weekly meetings on Mondays to learn new techniques. Scrap 2 It has stuff for all levels of paper crafters and scrapbookers.
My Sister Knits
My Sister Knits is for the more dedicated yarn artists, as it specializes in knitting and offers a wide variety of classes for all skill levels. It has a wide, cycling variety of yarns that change out regularly. My Sister Knits changes its yarn weekly, providing their customers with new and exciting colors and textures of yarn. Its yarn comes in many different brands and blends. I suggest My Sister Knits for the yarn artists who want high-quality yarn and knitting advice.
Jerry’s Artarama
Jerry’s Artarama, like Michaels, has a little bit of everything but focuses mostly on drawing, painting and printmaking, as well as custom framing. They have a large variety of painting materials, screen and printmaking materials and drawing tools. Jerry’s Artarama is a great spot for all sorts of artists, especially those who specialize in drawing and painting.
Lambspun of Colorado
Lambspun of Colorado is a yarn and fiber store, selling everything you could need as a yarn user. I recommend it for artists who are experienced in yarn art, as their products are a little pricy. They also offer kits, books and classes to learn new stitches and try new projects. The coolest thing they sell is wool to spin your own yarn, which is a good way to advance your skills and further customize your projects. Lambspun is for the more experienced fiber artist who wants to expand their portfolio.
The Fig Leaf
The Fig Leaf offers everything you could need for a sewing project, specifically quilting, as they have many patterns and colors of fabric. They sell special quilt kits that are pretty expensive, though that does make sense due to the large amount of material required to make a quilt. They also offer many types of sewing machines. If you sew a lot, specifically if you quilt, The Fig Leaf is the store for you.
Rest in peace, Joann. Gone, but not forgotten. Best wishes to all the crafters in finding your new craft shop. Happy creating!
Reach Audrey Weishaar at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
