Michaels

There aren’t many huge craft places left in Greater Vancouver. You need to travel far far out of town.
Michael’s carries a little bit of everything. Great for almost every type of craft /​art there is.
All stores are set up almost the same way, so it’s not confusing when you go to each different Michael’s store.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the discount coupons that come via flyer or phone app or to my inbox.
being an avid knitter, crocheter and seamstress … I wish the yarn section was bigger and offered a bit more variety. they carry almost no fabric at all. I’ve seen quilting squares, but that’s about it for fabric.
my go to place for just about anything craft!

This is a large quiet very organized store. I come here because it’s close to my work. Lots of parking out front and way less busy than my home location!

I’ve become a bit obssessed.
I was homebound for a couple weeks, so I decided to get a new hobby: knitting. I bought some needles and two balls of yarn. Since then I’ve bought hundreds of dollars of yarn to make scarves for Christmas presents. I can’t stop. Even though my normal MO is to give people food or alcohol gifts, I am having so much fun. Lucky for me, they always have yarn on sale. Plus, if you sign up for their emails, you get a coupon for 25% including sale items. A lot of times, at checkout, I get a coupon for 50% one regular priced item… but everything I buy is on sale.
I really like this location. It’s in a huge complex, so there’s lots of free parking. I know where everything is… I haven’t really had to ask for help yet, but the cashiers are really friendly and chatty. One let me know that she had used the same yarn I had bought for a really chunky scarf (like the one I was making) so she knew it would turn out beautiful.
While Michaels might be a little more expensive, if you have a fluid definition of what you want, you can find something on sale. I bought a huge box of handmade cards for half price… way less per piece than buying cards at the dollar store.

Date of Visit: July 24, 2014
Time of Visit: Early evening
Purpose of visit: Décor ideas for baby shower event styling.
I have a problem…
And I will be the first to admit it…
I am ADDICTED to Michaels Craft Store.
I honestly can be found inside a Michaels Craft store at least once a week. I might as well just take my entire paycheque there on Fridays as I know I am going to spend a good amount of money.
With that being said, you can imagine that I have frequented many of these locations over the years. I primarily visit the Port Coquitlam location, and while it is a fine location to shop at, I get very excited when I visit the North Vancouver store on Main street.
Being the crafting ninja that I am, I tend to have ideas in my head of what I want to try out as a new project so I will start to peruse the isles of Michaels. To avoid posting something on Pinterest Fail*, I tend to ask the customer service reps for help on what is the best products to use, execution, where to find the products etc… I find that many Michaels stores tend to have less enthusiastic employees working there, except for the North Vancouver location. I love how helpful everyone is in this store, and just how willing they are to go that extra mile to make their customers happy!
The selection of this store is also better than most, and I find they have much more products on sale (I always check the sale section as Michaels can be pricey!).
If you are ever in the area and all of a sudden have an urge to emboss paper, make your own personalized event bunting**, or want to sign up for a new class, visit the North Vancouver Michaels***. I’m sure I will see you there. I am the girl with the shopping cart, and my 40% off coupon on my mobile phone!
*
**Bunting is an english thing, and I love it, so for those who don’t know what the heck I am talking about, visit this page:
)
***

Just can’t say enough good things about the staff helpfulness. Even at nearing the generous 60day return policy deadline, no attitude just gracious behavior. Other stores could do with staff field trips to visit Michaels for pointers.

I haven’t visited all the Michaels locations for yarn, but out of the ones I have been to, this one seems to have the best choices; especially for Vanna’s choice and Wool Ease. The staff are also quite friendly, and they are always willing to help.
For my fellow knitters out there, this location always seems to be well-​stocked for needles of all sizes. I find other locations a bit sparse for the bamboo needles, but this spot seems to have them all.

Love DIY and Craft projects and Michaels has a great selection of tools and items you may need or want!
Both locations (w broadway and downtown) are well stocked, but staff could be more lively and pricing could be a bit more competitive– in comparison to the pricing at Walmart (Crafts).

This craft store is amazing. They have a huge selection of items, and the prices are insane. They had a sale on acrylic paints, and they were each 30 cents. They were beautiful colours too! I bought a bunch of black canvases and a paint brush set, and so much stuff and the entire bill was $ 50. I went to an art store before and paid more for a sketch book and a few pencils and pencil crayons. I’ll be shopping for art supplies at Michaels from now on.

I grew up with a super crafty Mom. in the prairies. where winter is long and there is NOTHING to do… soooo…crafting became my favorite part time… this could explain the torment I received at school.
While these days I don’t have a lot of time to craft. I still enjoy a little project now and then and I can always count on Michaels! They do tend to be a little spendy. but can you really put a price tag on homemade crafts???
I personal love everything Martha Stewart. I know loser right… and was very excited that she partnered with Michaels to sell her own line of crating supplies… a lot of the projects she features in her magazine can be made with the supplies from Michaels. genius!
I was in this weekend looking for some materials for a light fixture that my partner id making. the store was very festive.clean.and easy to navigate. I found what I needed and was in and out in 5 mins, The cashier was quick and pleasant.
I also was looking into taking some of the cake decorating classes which they offer for free! You just need to sign up and of course purchase some supplies. I may be a cake decorating machine in no time!

I like Michaels, because I know what to expect from them.
#1 Prices are a bit high– if you can wait for the item to go on sale (as much as 50% off) or wait for a coupon.
#2 Staff is hourly– don’t expect to have any experts in the store. Michaels pays about as much as McD’s, so plan accordingly. Do you research before you come.
#3 Coupons, coupons, coupons. It used to be that every Sunday there would be a 40% off coupon in the newspaper. Not sure if they do that anymore– but they do often have coupons on line. Just do a google and print it up before you head to the store. Can save you a few bucks.

My crafty friends had talked up Michaels into a heaven of glittery goodness. For beading, scrap-​booking, knitting, I was told it was the greatest spot.
But it really fell flat for me. Foremost, the staff provided miserable customer service. When a group of people are in the midst of spending triple figures at your store, don’t usher them out of the way to stock shelves Ms. Manager. When my friend asked the same lady for help in buying some jewelry-​making items, we were met with a further unfriendly and snippy response. This was when the store was as empty as a nuclear disaster zone — I could have understood it had the staff been run off their feet trying to help everyone.
The product here is particularly good for scrap-​booking. The beading section is a little higglety-​pigglety in its organization. Generally, the goods are a bit over-​priced. Head to Dress Sew for a much better deal, or to Country Beads for better selection. All in all, Michaels, I’ll be taking my tendencies to spend exorbitant amounts on craft supplies elsewhere.