Author: Teresa

Quilts, good books and dogs. Plus a cup of tea. Life is good.

Musings on what happened to Joann

February 22, 2025

Out of curiosity, I’ve been skimming through the court docket. Know what I think? Joann’s has been badly mismanaged for years by executives who: (a) didn’t know their target customers as well as they should have and (b) were out to siphon off as much money from the company as possible. Follow the chain of ownership. The number of different LLCs that own Joann is dizzying. Too much intermingling among executives, members of the board of directors, suppliers, financiers and outside consultants. Lots of lawyers, accountants, consultants, rent-a-executives with four figure hourly rates all have their fingers in the pie. They’ve all filed paperwork with the court to make sure they get paid. What about the employees and unsecured creditors?

Joann has too many stores and no one was willing to be the bad guy and close the unprofitable ones until now. Gordon Brothers is taking care of that. Apparently, the remaining stores have garnered the interest of several suitors in an auction. It’ll be next week before we hear anything about that. Hopefully, the new buyer will revive the remaining Joann stores – returning the company to its fabric and textile roots. Keep the fabric, notions, yarn and needlework categories. Maybe some plastic storage. Have a carefully curated selection of sewing machines, accessories and staff who know how to use them. Offer classes again. Adults are looking for in-person beginner sewing classes because you can only learn so much from YouTube.

My unsolicited advice to the successful bidder who plans to keep the remaining stores open: Invest in your stores and people. Offer quality merchandise that’s priced fairly, with clear coupon/discount policies. Customers will return.

Alternatives to Joann’s – ATL edition

February 20, 2025

This post examines brick & mortar alternatives to Joann’s in the Atlanta area for sourcing fabric and sewing supplies.

Garment/Bridal/Cosplay
Gail K. Fabrics (Decatur) and Fine Fabrics (Norcross). Gail K’s Cheshire Bridge location is my personal favorite.

Home Dec Fabric/Trims
Fabric & Fringe Warehouse (Marietta) plus any of the showrooms in the Chattahoochee Industrial area (Lewis & Sheron Textiles, Forsyth Fabrics, etc.). Some of the home dec showrooms at ADAC in Buckhead (wholesale vendors) have warehouse sales. Get on their mailing lists.

Quilting Cottons
Any of the quilt shops in greater ATL/north Georgia can source your cotton fabric needs. Tiny Stitches in Marietta is one of the largest shops in the area. Like to treasure hunt? Check out Thread Bear Fabrics in Cumming. Sew Senoia does monthly pop-up shops at the SQTM in Carrollton.

Atlanta Sewing Centers in Marietta and Duluth have an assortment of quilting cottons, canvas and the occasional dressmaker fabric. They are also a Bernina/Baby Lock dealer.

Sew Sew Studio (f/n/a Discover Sewing) in Bogart and Duluth have an assortment of quilting cottons and bag making supplies. They are also a Janome, Brother, Pfaff and Viking dealer.

Tip #1: There are a number of recently closed quilt and fabric shops that still appear in search results as open for business. Always verify the company is still in business before you head that way.

Tip #2: Attend the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo at the Gas South Convention Center (Duluth). This show comes to ATL every March. If you are a garment sewer, there’s usually a vendor or two selling quality knits, wools and other apparel fabrics at good prices.

ATL is also home to several Hobby Lobby and Michael’s stores. Sewing supplies and fabric selections are available and vary by location.

Most Wal-Marts still have a sewing/craft section – some even have cutting counters. If you need a zipper, thread, scissors, batting, stuffing or interfacing late at night – here’s a source of supply.

Last, but not least – as of now, we’ll still have Joann stores in Kennesaw and Decatur once the bankruptcy dust settles.

Geographically speaking: Other than Gail K. Fabrics and the home dec warehouses on the Westside, the majority of independent fabric and sewing machine shops are located OTP (outside I-285) in the north ATL suburbs. Chain stores such as Michael’s, Hobby Lobby and Joann have at least one location ITP (inside I-285).

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

Good communication is key

February 20, 2025

Right now, I’m a little miffed, but I’m seeking first to understand instead of automatically blasting the company on social media like so many seem to do nowadays.

We hired a local handyman service to complete some odd jobs around the house. The service has mostly good reviews and is backed by a local consumer watchdog group, so I felt comfortable having them do the job. Work was completed on Monday and I received the bill this afternoon.

I have zero issues with the handyman or quality of his work. The handyman was punctual, personable and did good work. The office manager initially estimated 5 hours of work time. She communicated that this estimate included time to secure materials needed to complete the job and that we would be billed cost + 20% for said materials needed to complete the work. Okay, fine. We have 3 hardware stores within 10 minutes of our house. I already had the garbage disposal, power cord and any screws needed to relocate some door guards in the garage.

The loose tile project became more involved once the handyman discovered the cause of the loose tiles on the curb of the shower. We had a similar experience in our first house, so I knew it could result in 2-3 extra hours of work to fix. The handyman had completed the garbage disposal installation in less than an hour, so I mentally adjusted our estimate for about 6-7 hours of billed labor plus about $125 for supplies.

The final bill was for 8 hours of handyman labor (which included 2.5 hours of shopping time because I tracked the time away from the job) plus materials – which leftover materials the handyman took with him.

Any other contractor has left surplus materials that we’ve paid for when the job was completed. Painters leave paint. Tile folks leave extra tiles, grout, sealer and caulk. Porch repair folks leave extra lumber and screws. Is it different with handyman services?

I’ve asked about being charged for so much shopping time (especially the 2nd trip) and to see itemized receipts for the materials purchased as my recollection of what was purchased doesn’t even come close to what we were billed (even with the 20% markup). We’ll see how the office manager responds.

Don’t worry, the bill will get paid as the work was done.

The question is: will we hire them again in the future? Adjust the bill to what I think is fair? Yes. Explain why the bill stands as is so that I don’t feel like I’ve been taken advantage of? Maybe.

UPDATE: The office manager explained their policies and reviewed the materials purchased to complete our job. An adjustment was made for both time billed and materials charged, which I consider a satisfactory resolution to the matter. I paid the revised bill upon receipt. So yes, I would hire them again.