Hello again,

I want to take a minute to reflect on something that hit close to home—the closing of JoAnn Fabrics. After decades of being a staple in the sewing and crafting world, they’ve closed their doors for good. And while I’ll miss the convenience of running in for a last-minute spool of thread or browsing fabric aisles on a Saturday, what I’ll miss even more is something harder to replace: community.

Just to be clear—I wasn’t a JoAnn’s employee. But I’ve lived this before. I was part of the team at Hancock Fabrics when they closed in 2017, and earlier in my journey, I worked at So-Fro Fabrics, which shuttered back in 1993. These weren’t just jobs. These were places where people connected, shared, supported, and inspired one another. And that’s what makes this loss so personal.

JoAnn was what’s called a "creative market retailer"—they sold products for makers. But here's the hard truth: creative retail isn’t just about selling fabric, thread, and glue guns. It’s about understanding and fostering the community that creates with those things.

From my own experience—years in the industry, in stores, leading teams—I know creative retail is unlike any other. It's not transactional. It's relational. And I believe the reason stores like JoAnn go out of business isn’t just economics. It’s a disconnect from the people they serve.

Somewhere along the way, the folks in the top seats lost their view of what matters most. They stopped listening. Stopped connecting. The focus shifted to profits over people. To market share instead of customer care. And that’s a formula for failure. I’ve had an incredible mentor, Tony, who used to say, “If you take care of your people, your people will take care of the business.” And he was right.

We need to get back to that. Because here’s what I know for sure: this community is powerful—especially women-led, women-supported creative spaces. Women have always carried the heart of the creative marketplace. We bring the joy, the stories, the skills, the love. At JoAnn’s, we found more than supplies. We found connection. We found each other. Even if you only saw your “stitch friends” in the aisles once a week—it mattered.

But here’s the good news: the creative community is still here. You’ll find it in your local quilt shops, yarn stores, art supply boutiques. These small, independent shops work hard to know you by name, by project, by passion. They see you—and that’s the heart of it all.

That’s why I started Cloth Continued—to make sure we never lose that sense of community. To give us a place to keep learning, sharing, growing, and yes, laughing over tangled thread and finished quilt tops. 

So, if you’ve felt this loss like I have—join us. Let’s build something together that no big-box store could ever replace. Let’s keep the stitches going—and keep showing up for one another.  Watch for more from me and how I am re-building my  stitching community.

And the Cloth Continued with Citizen Stitchers.