The arts and crafts supply retail sector has faced store closings over the last five years for a variety of reasons, ranging from ownership retirements to severe financial distress.
Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, regional crafts retailer Beverly’s Fabric & Crafts, which operated about 40 stores in California for 48 years, closed down all its stores in late 2020 when the chain’s owners decided to retire, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported at the time.
Crafts and fabric retailer Joann started this year by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2025 for a second time, suffering from declining sales and inventory challenges. It eventually revealed that it would close all of its stores, numbering about 815.
Joann’s demise affected crafts suppliers, including IG Design Group Americas Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 3, 2025, seeking going-concern sales of its business divisions and a wind-down of its operations.
Joann’s decision to shut down all operations severely impacted IG Design Group’s business, making it difficult for the company to maintain historical operating results and adapt to market conditions despite turnaround initiatives.
Economic challenges are also affecting another longtime arts and crafts retailer.
40-year-old arts and crafts supply retail chain Artist & Craftsman Supply has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize, facing economic headwinds and tight lending restrictions, which severely strained the company’s finances, according to Bondoro.
The 18-store, Portland, Maine-based chain’s parent Artstock listed $10 million to $50 million in assets and liabilities in its petition, filed on Dec. 21, BankruptcyObserver reported.
The debtor owes Cambridge Savings Bank about $1.5 million on a $4 million revolving line of credit, Bondoro reported. It also owes the Small Business Administration about $1.9 million in debt on an SBA loan and about $65,000 in claims on credit card processing sales.
Artist & Craftsman Supply, which was established in 1985, was founded as a small art supply store when the arts and crafts retail industry was dominated by the independent “mom and pop” storefronts that sold a combination of arts, crafts, stationery, hardware, and office supplies, according to its website.
Catalog sales were a top competitor in the beginning, as internet-based companies and e-commerce were still about 10 years away from getting started.
