In an email dated Tue, 9 Sep 2003 7:33:48 am GMT, "Jean Nathan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>The problem with the word 'craft' is that to most people this means going >into somewhere like 'Hobbycraft' (who call themselves the 'craft superstore' >and you all apready know my opinion of what they sell) picking up a kit, or >loose materials if you really know what you're doing, and completing even >the most complex of their projects within a week. It's something you do to >fill in the odd free hour. Then you go and try something else. > >They tried selling bobbin lacemaking equipment at inflated prices with no >indication of where to learn, no books or other instructions available so >no-one knew what to do with it, and ended up selling it off at half price to >clear the shelves. > <snipped> >Jean in Poole > >- Jean and the spiders, What really hurt me about Hobbycraft (apart from the fact they sold every thing off cheap when they closed our branch and I didn't know about it and they killed off all the opposition ....) Deep breath ... ... sorry, what really hurt me was the fact that the lace pillows on sale there were SMP's with the maker's mark not too well scratched out, put in a box and charging three times the price. >From what I could see, at our local one, all the lace equipment was SMP's (their >bobbins are distinctive) and had been repackaged by a company and sold on. This >annoyed me because anyone thinking of starting lacemaking would have looked at the >prices and shied away from starting - an 16" dome pillow which SMP have on their site >at �4.50 (around $8)(today's prices) was on sale in Hobbycraft, the last time I >looked (2001) at �12.50 (around $20). And all because Hobbycraft and their supplier were adding their markup each time. -- Regards Liz Beecher I'm <A HREF="http://journals.aol.com/thelacebee/thelacebee";>blogging</A> now - see what it's all about - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
