If You Love Making Jewelry, Don't Go To Joann's

So.  It's been a good 3 weeks since I've been inside a Joann's or Michael's.  Usually, I'm in those places one to two times a week for this and that.

Last night I get a special request from a customer, but I don't have the finding they need (a very large metal ring), so I head to Joann's after work knowing they had many styles of plain Jane key chains, clasps, etc.  What do I find?  I find a jewelry 'findings' department that has been completely ransacked and one entire wall of an aisle is nothing but pre-made jewelry!

Say what?  Apparently this new findings/jewelry maker called "hildie & jo" is now giving Blue Moon a run for their money.  The real shocker, though, is that they are peddling pre-made items.  Hair bands, bracelets, rings, necklaces, you name it.  Like they are some Forever 21 store!

Now, I know there are a lot of crafts people who like using the pre-made pendants and what-not, and that is perfectly fine.  But, finished pre-made jewelry and hair decorations in a store where they are supposed to be selling you the items so that you can make your own?  What the heck Joann's?  To make matters worse, the bags of earring posts, ear wires, butterfly backs for posts, key chains, pin/brooch backs, head pins, are all gone.  Yes, they do still have the Blue Moon selection of these, but not the Joann's brand of these items, which I relied on for some of my items and which was sold in larger quantities. :(

I also noticed hildie & jo being mixed into the Blue Moon section.  So, if you have some findings that you always get made by Blue Moon, run, don't walk to your local Joann's and stock up while you still can!  Blue Moon will probably disappear next.

Look, I still whine about the loss of the Plaid brand of jewelry findings, which were superior to what you are offered nowadays...

And this on top of them almost completely phasing out all of their Swarovski crystals.  Oh, that reminds me, the only Swarovski crystals they still had were white, light siam, black, and light blue in the flatbacks and still a great selection of biconal crystals.  Well, guess what?  Those are gone now too!  Again, what in the heck are you thinking Joann's?????

I don't believe there is much left at Joanns' for me.  Maybe some of the beads and some wire, but that is all there is.

In swoops Michael's, to deliver a knock-out punch to Joann's.  Not only does Michael's still sell all of the jewelry findings, but they recently increased their bead section.  And, they have greatly expanded their offerings in the Swarovski crystal department.  I went gaga there about six weeks ago dropping nearly $200 on all of their newest offerings.  Then, today, I take a gander and they have added even more!  Super-tiny sets of crystals in the 105 quantity range.  These are used for nail art, but I like using them on my shrinky dink creations.

So, yeah, Michael's it is for me.