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Lambertville hobby store closing scrapbook: Shop last of local independents
(Blade, The (Toledo, OH) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 10--These are bittersweet days for Mary Miller and the employees at the business she founded on happy recollections.
After more than a half-dozen years, Magical Memories -- the last independently owned scrapbooking store in the Toledo metropolitan area -- is about to close.
The store, in the Kroger Plaza in Lambertville's central business district, soon will become another victim of a sagging economy, Mrs. Miller said.
"When you have a choice to put gas in your car and go back and forth to work, or do your hobbies, that plays a role in it," she said.
"There are a lot of little things that turned into one big thing that made business go slow. It's still an area with a lot of scrapbookers, but the hobby stores play a role in it. We can't discount product like they can."
Just four years ago, the Toledo area had five independent scrapbook stores: Magical Memories, Paper Magic, Scrapbook Place, Scrapbook Treasure Shoppe, and Skrappaper.
Mrs. Miller said she's unsure if the closure of her store will occur this month or next. In the meantime, she has been liquidating her inventory, hugging her loyal customers, and shedding some tears, she said.
Scrapbooking evolved from a popular hobby into a big business that chewed up novice retailers.
The Craft & Hobby Association in Elmwood Park, Ill., estimates that scrapbooking in the United States was a $2.6 billion-a-year industry that suffered a 1 percent decline in 2007 because of the slumping economy and growing popularity of all-inclusive online design sites, said Victor Domine, a spokesman for the group.
"For small, independent shops, the competition also includes crafts chains like Michael's and big retailers such as Wal-Mart. But many smaller outfits are competing effectively by focusing on education and higher-end [scrapbook] papers that are unavailable at the chain stores," Mr. Domine said.
Mrs. Miller left a job as an accountant with The Andersons seven years ago to try to make a living from her hobby.
She said she was quickly overwhelmed by the time requirements of running a small business, even one where she was working with other enthusiasts.
Other independent stores in the region -- including ones in Fremont, Monroe, and Wauseon -- still sell scrapbooking supplies, but Mrs. Miller said the economy creates very difficult conditions for such businesses.
Contact Larry P. Vellequette at:
lvellequette@theblade.com
or 419-724-6091.
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