Hobby Lobby

YES PLEASE !!! I’m not a crafty type chick… but my BFF is so she dragged me in here. OMG I’m so glad she did. they have everything. not only craft items but material, silk flowers, real COOL holiday stuff, and if you’ve been wanting to redo a room in your home GO HERE just sayin’
TIP… after Christmas deals rock I scored some beautiful wrapping paper for a steal and the ornaments they have are SUPER cute

I have never had the crafty knack. But a visit to Hobby Lobby makes me wish I did. To paraphrase a talented local interior design friend of mine, «There is some good stuff in this store.»
Seriously.
My visit to Bend included a trip to Hobby Lobby only because I needed foam boards to paint house color samples and I didn’t want to drive all the way to Michaels. Now were I still living in Bend Michael’s would be forever in my rear view mirror.
What does Hobby Lobby have going for it?
To start with a bigger, easier to use parking lot (given it occupies the old Sears location in the Bend River Promenade Mall).
Add to that a better lit interior, wide aisles for navigating which are easily accessible to all people, well stocked shelves (and shelves and shelves and shelves) for anything you can imagine from jewelry making supplies and scrapbook materials and children’s art supplies and adult art supplies and faux florals and greeting cards and bath accessories and wrapping paper and «ahhh, sweet» sentiment art for walls (if that’s your thing) and candles and hobby paints and ink stamps and ink pads to go with them and paper boxes and bags of all kinds to tuck in home baked treats for gifts and colorful stickers and marking pens and… The list goes on and on.
Add to that enough staff, even if somewhat reserved in nature folks, to answer questions and point you in the right direction.
Add to that fair prices.
What holds some shoppers back from venturing in?
What I’ve been told by some is the fundamentalist Christian perspective of the overall owners of Hobby Lobby offends them. But let me say this «Yes» and «No» about that.
Yes. You will see evidence of Christian perspective in some of the accessory items, like some wall plaques and greeting cards.
No. It is not proseletyzing. It is merchandising.
Yes. You can look the other way if that offends you. I see vulgar tee shirts in some stores where I shop. I can look beyond that when it offends my senses and understand freedom of expression has many forms.
Yes. They are closed on Sunday.
For my part, Hobby Lobby will be the first store I think of in the future when I need «you know, like this thing you’d find in Michael’s». It made me wish I was crafty. Or maybe a kid again when crafty was a part of my lexicon.
My friend was right. There is some good stuff in this store.