HOBBY LOBBY! HOBBY LOBBY!

[insert visual of crowds chanting and picketing…..Hobby Lobby! Hobby Lobby!  Raleigh, NC needs a Hobby Lobby!]

I visited my first Hobby Lobby the other weekend while visiting friends in Charlotte, NC.  Now let me just say, I’ve been hearing about Hobby Lobby for years but I had no idea how life-changing the experience would be.  They have everything……it’s JoAnn Fabrics meets Michael’s meets Homegoods.

Check out my Peddler Find – penny farthing bikes to make my shop signs……I see maybe mounting them on a wood pallet or corrugated tin.

I hear we have Hobby Lobbys all around the outskirts of the Triangle area but none in the Triangle.  Mebane, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Charlotte…..why?  why do we not have one???  Never, I repeat never, pass up the chance to visit a Hobby Lobby!  I really felt like me not having a Hobby Lobby was a real dilemma…….so I did what any desperate person would do……I came home and immediately emailed Hobby Lobby to tell them I need a store in the area.  They actually wrote me right back.  Here’s what I said.

From: theurbanpeddler@earthlink.net
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2014 8:54 AM
To: Hobby Lobby Customer Service
Subject: Top 10 Reasons we need a Hobby Lobby in Raleigh, NC

1. We have Garage Brothers, the stars of Garage Gold on the DIY channel.
2. We have the Vintage Village, specifically Suzanna’s Antiques, soon to be featured in HGTV online.
3. The Vintage Village sell both Annie Sloan Chalk Paint & Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. These are famous Home Décor bloggers, if you are not familiar with them.
4. There is a large and growing population of bloggers that blog about crafts, DIY, and Home Decorating.
5. We have a fast growing population of craft and vintage/antique stores.
6. People are driving all the way to Charlotte (a 3 hr trip) and Fayetteville (1.5 – 2 hr trip) to shop in your stores.
7. In the area, we only have Michaels and AC Moore for crafts which have limited selections. Neither of these stores have the stencils I want or cool drawer pulls.  Please don’t make me drive to Fayetteville.
8. We only have 1 JoAnn fabrics serving all of the Triangle area.
9. Sorry, I forgot a few Wal-marts in our area sell fabric but really?  Please don’t make me buy fabric from Wal-Mart.
10. I know, I know, our area is saturated with Homegoods and Kirkland stores but see items 7, 8 and 9.

I look forward to hearing when I will get a store in my area.  We love you.

Kwane Neely,
The Urban Peddler
http//www.theurbanpeddler.net

Here’s what They responded ……

From: “Nancy G. Franco” @hobbylobby.com
To: “‘theurbanpeddler@earthlink.net'”
Cc: “Nancy G. Franco”
Subject: RE: Top 10 Reasons we need a store in Raleigh
Date: Jan 20, 2014 1:11 PM

Hello Kwane,

Thank you for your interest in Hobby Lobby.  We are glad to hear that you enjoy shopping with us and desire one of our stores closer to your area.  Your comments are appreciated and will be forwarded to our Real Estate department for consideration.

Our plans this year are to open 25 additional stores within our operating area.  Keep checking our website for new store updates.

In the meantime, Hobby Lobby is presently offering specialty items on our website http://www.hobbylobby.com or by going directly to the catalog site at shop http://shop.hobbylobby.com/  Check out our “Online Shopping Cart/Catalog”.  Our stores carry many “send-out” items that are purchased only one time and are sent out directly to the stores. These items make up the bulk of our home decor and seasonal selection and are not available online, as they are not stocked in our warehouse.

Thank you for visiting our website.

You are very funny and I signed up to follow your blog.  [….just kidding, they didn’t really write that part….hee hee]

Sincerely, Nancy Franco
Hobby Lobby Corporate Office
Ph: (405) 745-1835 • Fax: (405) 745-7316

I’ll keep you posted when Hobby Lobby is coming to Raleigh.
Surely they will listen to me.
-the urban peddler-