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Super Collaboration!

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I saw this post in the Fire Diva’s blog and had to help spread the word. First off, the Fire Diva’s blog is a great place to get info about what some of the lampwork world is up to. Cool new beads everyday…check it out. And today’s piece is outstanding! It’s a collaboration between Melissa Vess of MelissaBeads and Daniel of CatherinetteRings. Such a cool bracelet and an excellent combination of the glass beads and the amazing wireworking. I love to see artists working together. This is something they do occasionally. Check out another piece of their work here…

These two are etsy artists. I too sell on etsy and as I may have mentioned I love it. It’s such a great way to get your handmade goodies into the marketplace. Do you etsy? If so, let me know. I’d love to see your store. And are you a glass worker selling on etsy? There’s so many talented glass artists selling there. I want to know that too. I’ll share it with the crafting world. Because they need to know!

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What’s Next for Joann?

Now that all the Joann stores have closed, a mysterious message has appeared on the company’s website:

For generations, Joann has been honored to be part of your creativity: your quilts, costumes, school projects, and handmade moments of love. It has been our joy to serve markers and dreamers across the country.

We’re stitching up something new behind the scenes and we can’t wait to share what’s next.

Stay tuned for exciting news about the future of Joann.

To quickly recap, Joann filed for bankruptcy in January for the second time in less than a year. In February, in the hope of making the company more attractive to potential buyers, it petitioned the court for permission to close about 500 of its 800 stores. The company was put up for auction, with Gordon Brothers set to buy the company, sell its assets and close all the stores if no other buyer materialized.

In the end the winning bidder was GA Group, but the result was the same: all stores were to be closed by the end of May if not sooner.

Once store closure sales started the company quickly stopped selling on its website, and now all that remains is this jpeg image hinting at new ventures.

I’m sure there will be a tone of speculation in the coming days and weeks (or as long as it takes for them to announce the meaning of the message) as to what sorts of plans Joann could be cooking up.

My theory based on nothing but my gut is that they will transition to an online only storefront, probably with much reduced inventory, sort of like Herrschners (which had previously announced that it will be carrying Big Twist yarn, the beloved private label yarn brand sold at Joann). I also think they will use whatever retail sales they do to support CreativeBug, the digital learning platform that Joann purchased in 2017. That could mean producing kits for projects that already have classes, or developing classes based on products they want to sell, or both.

As of this writing the CreativeBug website seems to still be functional and there’s a full slate of new classes planned for June. I’ve got my eye on both the Joann website and the Joann restructuring website and will let you know as soon as I see changes.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear your speculation as to what the next chapter might be for Joann.