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I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered this at Michaels. I went there to shop last week and the aisles were packed full of ''stuff''....as in party favors, cheap toys etc. No craft or art supply things...just lots and lots of stuff.
Also, they no longer carry dies for Cuttlebugs. Just a very few folders. Do you think the Cuttlebug is being phased out?
I was in a Michaels yesterday that had a whole bunch of the newest release cuttlebug embossing folders...they still had a lot of cuttlbug stuff so I dont think they will get rid of it...maybe just the really old stuff to make space for newer....
blessings.
My Michaels (Patchogue NY) still has a decent supply of craft items. My complaint is that the 3 stores in my area never seem to carry the new products that come out. I always seem to be ordering on line.
I was at a newer Michaels a couple weeks ago, and they had a big new display of the all the new cricut stuff - they gypsy, the new red cake machine - all with a computer monitor. It took up one whole side of an aisle. I didn't see a whole lot of cuttlebug stuff - but then again I wasn't looking. None of the other Michaels I've been to had anything like this set up (we have 5 in the city). Mind you our Michaels here are usually a couple months behind getting any new stuff after its been in stores in other cities.
My Michael's is small and hardly ever has much in the way of new stuff anyway. They have most of their Cuttlebug dies on clearance but still have the embossing stuff, but again, they never had much of a selection in the first place. They cleared out the dies and made room for cartridg type of stuff for one of the other cutting machines (don't remember which it was since I already have a Cuttlebug & a Cricut and wasn't interested in another cutting system, although the new designs for whatever machine it was were cute).
Mine has had the rows of cheap toys and stuff for ages and just change seasonally. I was there today and mine FINALLY had some Tim Holtz paper pads - they've hardly ever carried much at all of his stuff. I'm hoping it's a sign of good things to come but I doubt it since my store is always way behind everybody else. They just recently started carrying some of the Recollections clear stamp sets that everyone else had last year. Unfortunately, there's such a huge difference between the Michael's stores that it's hard comparing one to another, whether it's with the products they carry or the store coupon enforcement policy. It always reminds me of the quote from Forrest Gump and the box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get.
You know how this goes and it makes me sick...new product and it is everywhere. Then after a time it just doesn't make the hit list anymore. It starts to disappear and we are up a creek. So I have bought extras of cuttlebug. I love using this easy machine and all that goes with it...so you might want to do the same....
The 3 Michael's within easy travel time for me NEVER have any of the new dies/folders I see for sale from the online stores. Like some of the OPs are saying, what they do have is sqeezed into a space of about 4-5 ft. (shelf and wall space)
The Michaels in my area seem to be featuring beading more. They have loads of beads and jewelry fixings displayed.
If I want any new CB stuff in hand that day, I have to go to a LSS. There is one fairly close that has the XL plates and new larger folders (there was a Swiss Dots that was 5x7). You can use a 40% coupon from JoAnn/Michael's if you purchase $25.00 of other items.
I hope Provocraft isn't going to start phasing out creating new dies/folders for the CB. I love my 'green machine'. Have a BS but the CB is still my first machine to use for dies/embossing folders/Spellbinders, etc. (It was my first 'big' tool for papercrafting and I just love it!)
Last edited by Crafter 4 Life; 07-08-2010 at 02:36 PM..
Reason: add'l info
Every city has 'test' stores. My closest locale is a test store so if I go to another I may but mainly will NOT find the same merchandise. Since the guy sold it ( a local Dallas guy who was a jerk and only cared about the money--dad had another vision) it seems to be lost in direction. Of course the new owners (whoever they are) only seem interested in what sells in the region...not what the consumer might be looking for. So, if you are 'looking' and not 'buying' then what you 'want' may never appear.
The 3 Michael's within easy travel time for me NEVER have any of the new dies/folders I see for sale from the online stores. Like some of the OPs are saying, what they do have is sqeezed into a space of about 4-5 ft. (shelf and wall space)
The Michaels in my area seem to be featuring beading more. They have loads of beads and jewelry fixings displayed.
If I want any new CB stuff in hand that day, I have to go to a LSS. There is one fairly close that has the XL plates and new larger folders (there was a Swiss Dots that was 5x7). You can use a 40% coupon from JoAnn/Michael's if you purchase $25.00 of other items.
I hope Provocraft isn't going to start phasing out creating new dies/folders for the CB. I love my 'green machine'. Have a BS but the CB is still my first machine to use for dies/embossing folders/Spellbinders, etc. (It was my first 'big' tool for papercrafting and I just love it!)
Slightly off topic but I had a CB first too and once I got the BS I sold it. I could never get it to stick to the table and it would constantly be tipping over...I'm definitely die cutting challenged!
My Michaels is chockful of just about everything artsy-craftsy including several aisles devoted just to paper-crafting. This past winter they revamped a couple of aisles with new Cricut machines and supplies, new scrapbooking papers and accessories grouped by themes, new Cuttlebug folders, new EK success punches, Martha Stewart's line, new Tim Holtz stuff, I don't know what all. They now carry Bazzill cardstock as well as some specialty patterned papers such as Basic Grey and My Mind's Eye. They have been stocking new stamps (both wood-mounted and clear). They revamped their entire paintbrush display this past winter and you can buy most basic art/painting supplies there. They also expanded their jewelry section a couple of years ago and still have an entire aisle devoted to cake decorating and candy making. Plus they have all the holiday stuff when in season, an aisle+ of wedding stuff, all the kids' crafts, frames, custom framing, a small needlework/sewing/yarn section, floral and custom floral, an entire aisle (both sides) of just ribbon.
Maybe because this is the only Michaels in a town of over 120,000 people (the next closest one is 30 miles away), we have no Hobby Lobby, no Dick Blick, no ACMoore, and the Joann store is a joke?
This is not a new store, and it's not as big as the newer stores I've been in. They've made very efficient use of their space. If I had one complaint it's that their lighting is awful. I can't remember what type of store was in there before Michaels, but the overhead lighting is not spaced correctly for the placement of the aisles AT ALL.
Michaels
Totally true! I found that with the Joann's in my town compared to the one in the large city about 45 min away. I asked at that one if they had a coupon in the store as I'd forgotten mine at home and they said that it is against policy to carry current publications with coupons in them - but ours in my town always asks if you'd like to use the coupon! How funny how they differ, huh? (I'm not complaining though b/c in my case it definitely benefits me! 
