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Post by peasandthanku on Feb 7, 2023 15:24:13 GMT
As a store owner....I have to weigh in. First off, I am friends with Paper Bunny's owner and am also sad she is closing. I love the comments that say to avoid the box stores - it is a constant fight for store owners against them. The worst part is that many customers will go there to buy products and then head to an LSS to ask how to use them. For those of you that say you would support an LSS if you had one....please find one!! Find one that will take good care of you - one that calls when they know they have received your favourites, one that will tuck away your little orders until you have enough for free shipping, one that is trying hard for your business. We have many customers this way - customers that no longer have an LSS so they shop online until they find the one that takes good care of them. There are so many great shops out there and if you aren't sure where one is, please feel free to ask me as I have several friends thru both Canada and the US that are store owners. Lastly, I assure you....scrapbooking is not dying. Our business has likely tripled since Covid. But in saying that...it is HARD work and not for the faint of heart. There are two of us that own my store and I don't know how just one owner does it. The one thing about this industry is clients want NEW....which means that we are ordering at least twice a week. And online presence...well that is a whole other job all in itself. The reason our business is still working is hard work and social media - I am not a fan of facebook but it's how it works. Daily videos, instagram, and lots and lots of posts talking about the new stuff received and the new stuff coming. Have we made mistakes, most definitely! We are all human and we are all learning as we go along as well but the best part, the kind customers teach us what they want and what they love. Every time someone posts about how great their LSS is, a scrapbook store owner smiles  |
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Post by cmpeter on Feb 7, 2023 16:01:44 GMT
We still have a few in my corner of the PNW. But, I don’t shop at them often because I’ve transitioned to PL and Cardmaking. Their supplies of products for those two is very limited. My local store has a great inventory for traditional scrapping.
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craftywendy
Full Member
Posts: 116
May 29, 2018 14:56:21 GMT
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Post by craftywendy on Feb 7, 2023 16:50:41 GMT
As a store owner....I have to weigh in. First off, I am friends with Paper Bunny's owner and am also sad she is closing. I love the comments that say to avoid the box stores - it is a constant fight for store owners against them. The worst part is that many customers will go there to buy products and then head to an LSS to ask how to use them. For those of you that say you would support an LSS if you had one....please find one!! Find one that will take good care of you - one that calls when they know they have received your favourites, one that will tuck away your little orders until you have enough for free shipping, one that is trying hard for your business. We have many customers this way - customers that no longer have an LSS so they shop online until they find the one that takes good care of them. There are so many great shops out there and if you aren't sure where one is, please feel free to ask me as I have several friends thru both Canada and the US that are store owners. Lastly, I assure you....scrapbooking is not dying. Our business has likely tripled since Covid. But in saying that...it is HARD work and not for the faint of heart. There are two of us that own my store and I don't know how just one owner does it. The one thing about this industry is clients want NEW....which means that we are ordering at least twice a week. And online presence...well that is a whole other job all in itself. The reason our business is still working is hard work and social media - I am not a fan of facebook but it's how it works. Daily videos, instagram, and lots and lots of posts talking about the new stuff received and the new stuff coming. Have we made mistakes, most definitely! We are all human and we are all learning as we go along as well but the best part, the kind customers teach us what they want and what they love. Every time someone posts about how great their LSS is, a scrapbook store owner smiles Thanks for posting this, I can attest that LSS work really hard to take care of their customers - something you wont get by shopping at big box stores. Big box has its place in our industry but these specialty stores are where most people go to get knowledge and inspiration. |
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Post by Linda on Feb 7, 2023 19:02:00 GMT
There are so many great shops out there and if you aren't sure where one is, please feel free to ask me as I have several friends thru both Canada and the US that are store owners. I'm in north central Florida and would love if there was one somewhere in the area? Thanks for the owner perspective |
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Post by lanena on Feb 7, 2023 22:01:13 GMT
I'm in Raleigh, NC, and I can no longer find an LSS anywhere within driving distance. It used to be such a treat to try to find a scrapbook store whenever we were on vacation, but the last time I went to San Diego, I couldn't find anything. Even big stores like Archivers closed down. I also don't know anyone in real life who scrapbooks. My old Creative Memories consultant does everything digitally these days. Most people I know don't even print out their photos. I miss the days on in-person crops where I could walk around and see what everyone else was creating. If an LSS were to crop up anywhere withing a three-hour distance from me, you bet I'd be there buying something!
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Post by papersilly on Feb 7, 2023 22:17:33 GMT
i really miss brick and mortar stores. all of the ones within 30 miles of me have closed. maybe further.
i think the rising rents and online shopping have killed the B&M business. hard to pay $2,000 in rent selling a sheet of paper here and there. with sales and shipping incentives, people find it just as easy to shop online. at least that's my theory.
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msupea
Full Member
Posts: 419
Aug 21, 2020 13:12:25 GMT
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Post by msupea on Feb 7, 2023 23:25:57 GMT
I have two stores within 10-15 miles. I try to go and buy stuff there periodically. I don’t know anyone local to crop with - they both have regular events.
I love shopping at the stores locally, but I rarely go in their direction so I have to make an effort to stop in. Maybe I’ll try and hit one this weekend.
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Post by 950nancy on Feb 8, 2023 4:10:42 GMT
As a store owner....I have to weigh in. First off, I am friends with Paper Bunny's owner and am also sad she is closing. I love the comments that say to avoid the box stores - it is a constant fight for store owners against them. The worst part is that many customers will go there to buy products and then head to an LSS to ask how to use them. For those of you that say you would support an LSS if you had one....please find one!! Find one that will take good care of you - one that calls when they know they have received your favourites, one that will tuck away your little orders until you have enough for free shipping, one that is trying hard for your business. We have many customers this way - customers that no longer have an LSS so they shop online until they find the one that takes good care of them. There are so many great shops out there and if you aren't sure where one is, please feel free to ask me as I have several friends thru both Canada and the US that are store owners. Lastly, I assure you....scrapbooking is not dying. Our business has likely tripled since Covid. But in saying that...it is HARD work and not for the faint of heart. There are two of us that own my store and I don't know how just one owner does it. The one thing about this industry is clients want NEW....which means that we are ordering at least twice a week. And online presence...well that is a whole other job all in itself. The reason our business is still working is hard work and social media - I am not a fan of facebook but it's how it works. Daily videos, instagram, and lots and lots of posts talking about the new stuff received and the new stuff coming. Have we made mistakes, most definitely! We are all human and we are all learning as we go along as well but the best part, the kind customers teach us what they want and what they love. Every time someone posts about how great their LSS is, a scrapbook store owner smiles I will buy the designer papers at JoAnn's for 20 cents and have spent more than enough money at Tuesday Morning, but I always hit up my LSS for stuff I just can't find anywhere else. My local store is really awesome. She's pricier, so I get stuff I can find cheaper elsewhere and get the cool stuff at the LSS. |
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Nov 27, 2024 0:43:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2023 18:00:08 GMT
I have an inkling that some of the people who used to record memories are now just using their social media feeds to do the job. It's like the ultimate in no-frills digital memory keeping, isn't it? Photo, caption... moment recorded.
I'm a big believer in the therapeutic benefits of making time to sit and create and get the feelings down, so think it's kind of a shame.
My hubby is a minister and I think I see the same happening with church: people are still every bit as spiritual... they're just not rushing to give up great chunks of their weekend anymore.
Sorry - off topic there, but in both cases what you miss out on is community and the joy of those real life interactions, even if it is just a quick chat about how pretty a paper is.
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Post by epeanymous on Feb 8, 2023 18:09:59 GMT
We still have a few in my corner of the PNW. But, I don’t shop at them often because I’ve transitioned to PL and Cardmaking. Their supplies of products for those two is very limited. My local store has a great inventory for traditional scrapping. Can I ask where (generally) you are? I am in Seattle and we used to have so many great stores, which have closed; even Ben Franklin, which used to have an amazing scrapbooking section, has cut back on inventory. I'd love a LSS to support if it is at all drivable! |
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Post by peasandthanku on Feb 8, 2023 18:57:49 GMT
We still have a few in my corner of the PNW. But, I don’t shop at them often because I’ve transitioned to PL and Cardmaking. Their supplies of products for those two is very limited. My local store has a great inventory for traditional scrapping. Can I ask where (generally) you are? I am in Seattle and we used to have so many great stores, which have closed; even Ben Franklin, which used to have an amazing scrapbooking section, has cut back on inventory. I'd love a LSS to support if it is at all drivable! Urban PaperCrafter is in Edmonds WA - you can tell Brooke (the owner) that I (Cori-Lyn) says hi |
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Post by epeanymous on Feb 8, 2023 20:04:12 GMT
Can I ask where (generally) you are? I am in Seattle and we used to have so many great stores, which have closed; even Ben Franklin, which used to have an amazing scrapbooking section, has cut back on inventory. I'd love a LSS to support if it is at all drivable! Urban PaperCrafter is in Edmonds WA - you can tell Brooke (the owner) that I (Cori-Lyn) says hi Excellent -- I didn't realize that place still existed! |
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Post by aj2hall on Feb 9, 2023 0:07:59 GMT
I'm lucky to have 3 stamp stores within 50 minutes. One offers classes, another has an online store. Honestly, I'm not sure how the 3rd stays in business but they also sell art supplies, that probably helps.
They key to a successful scrapbook/ stamp store might be to diversify. I think Scrapbooked Generations does this really well. They have a brick and mortar store as well as an online one. They offer sketch books, layout kits, you tube videos, on-line classes and they recently started selling their own paper collections. They offer on-line crops and they also host a big in person crop every year. Their business has also evolved over the years.
I think a lot of factors already mentioned contribute to the decline in scrapbooking. Back in the 90's, pre-digital, I think there was more interest when people returned from vacation with rolls of film and loads of pictures that they needed to do something with.
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Post by marg on Feb 9, 2023 0:55:52 GMT
I have an LSS that is about 45 minutes away from where I live, and they have very short hours, so I only go once or twice a year. They're only open a few days a week until 4, and Saturdays for a few hours. I do try to support them and really enjoy going there, but working full time makes it difficult. I'm in Canada and I am so pleased with the online shopping here - there is a good variety of scrapbook stores throughout the country, including ScrapAddics ( peasandthanku), and I can find everything I need at them. There are probably half a dozen stores that I shop at regularly. Most offer free or discounted shipping if you purchase a certain dollar amount. I have to thank Scrapbook and Cards Today because I found most of them through their back page as well as through the offers for the Crop and Create Event. |
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Ryann
Pearl Clutcher
Love is Inclusive
Posts: 2,643 
Location: PNW
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Post by Ryann on Feb 9, 2023 1:21:26 GMT
Urban PaperCrafter is in Edmonds WA - you can tell Brooke (the owner) that I (Cori-Lyn) says hi Excellent -- I didn't realize that place still existed! There's also a store in Silverdale, WA - Scrapbook Zone. From what I see on their FB page they do classes that sell out regularly, so the interest to papercraft is there. |
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Post by lisae on Feb 9, 2023 13:13:06 GMT
Scrapbooking is not nearly as popular as it once was. Are new people coming into the hobby? Cardmakers, yes, but scrapbookers? You need new people coming in to buy the higher dollar tools. Those of us who still scrap have a lot of stash and all the basics.
Add to that the number of places to buy product online and there is really little hope for stores. I haven't been to a scrapbooking store in years now.
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Post by KikiPea on Feb 9, 2023 23:08:00 GMT
I am so bummed! I don’t live anywhere near Las Vegas, or Nevada for that matter, but I loved shopping there when visiting family. craftywendy, do you know when it’s closing? |
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Shakti
Pearl Clutcher
Troubled, complicated, and constant
Posts: 3,255
Oct 30, 2022 23:42:30 GMT
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Post by Shakti on Feb 10, 2023 0:50:13 GMT
I have a younger (30ish) colleague who scrapbooks -- paper scrapping, so there are certainly at least some younger people entering the hobby.
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craftywendy
Full Member
Posts: 116
May 29, 2018 14:56:21 GMT
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Post by craftywendy on Feb 10, 2023 5:57:09 GMT
I am so bummed! I don’t live anywhere near Las Vegas, or Nevada for that matter, but I loved shopping there when visiting family. craftywendy, do you know when it’s closing? It closed this past Sunday permanently. |
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Post by KikiPea on Feb 10, 2023 6:19:58 GMT
I am so bummed! I don’t live anywhere near Las Vegas, or Nevada for that matter, but I loved shopping there when visiting family. craftywendy, do you know when it’s closing? It closed this past Sunday permanently. So sad. Thank you! |
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Post by nightnurse on Feb 10, 2023 13:27:54 GMT
My local stamp store is open 12-5. I work 9-5. Michael’s stays open til 9 but I don’t buy a lot of scrap stuff there as their selection has dwindled. I’m willing to pay a little more for convenience and selection but as cost keep going up, I have no one to pass that on to. Business owners lament rising costs and how they have to raise prices and cut overhead. So they pass their costs onto the consumers and when they cut overhead, that’s either in stagnated wages, less employee hours or less selection. So we as employees get paid less and our costs go up and we can’t pass that on to anyone. I can’t tell my employee I’m raising my wages. So I have to spend less. And it’s hard to spend less on food and gas and electricity so it’s the luxuries that go first. We are all effectively making less now than a few years ago, unless our salaries have increased enough to cover costs and inflation. So while I’d love to have more local craft stores, we also need living wages
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Post by boymom5 on Feb 11, 2023 14:15:02 GMT
In the past I had so many stores close by and loved shopping in person as the cost was the same/better than online. But they all slowly went away and further away. I just can’t justify drive over an hour each way. If I’m out in the area I stop by.
Though I do have a Joann’s local I typically only pick up solid colored card stock there and the rest I try to do LSS online. I also went to crops of all sorts with friends but now no one else I know scraps.
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Post by sarahbee on Feb 11, 2023 18:45:32 GMT
I don’t know that I can add much to the great points already made here, but wanted to throw in my two cents—and these are just my observations from living in a rural, economically depressed (it’s always been this way, nothing new) area—
I have met exactly three people in my entire life who were as interested in scrapbooking as me. They were all 30+ years older than me as well, just to give an idea of the generational difference.
Around these parts, if you want to “make a scrapbook,” which is something generally reserved for elementary school projects, high school graduation, a baby, a wedding—you go to the local Hobby Lobby, buy some patterned papers, some stickers, maybe a couple of stamps and some diecuts if you’re really feeling wild. Then you slap it all together without a great amount of concern for layout or design, throw it in an album and call it a day. I would bet money that most folks in our local HL don’t even know that you can buy supplies online. A couple of LSSs have existed here over the years, but they quickly folded because the interest is just not there.
I don’t think scrapbooking will ever truly die, but I do think the number of people interested in specialized tools, who are choosy about their supplies, etc will dwindle further and further as time goes on. If my little corner of flyover country is an accurate representation of much of the population, people just aren’t aware and frankly don’t care about any supplies beyond what is cheap and right in front of them when they’re ready to buy.
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Post by Citygirl on Feb 22, 2023 21:47:13 GMT
So I went to the last LSS near me because I want the new Cinch multi tool and all the corresponding pieces. Despite carrying We R Makers products the owner did not know what a Cinch tool was and said they would not be getting it. They won’t do special orders either. I tried.
If there are any small stores reading here who want my money please reach out or link to your online store where I can purchase this product. TIA.
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