As I explain in my latest column, I’ve always had an unusual relationship with fabric stores. My mom dragged me to the Joann Fabrics stores in Virginia and Hibbing when I was a kid. The store in Virginia closed a few years ago, but my mom and my wife both continued to drag me to the Hibbing store until it closed just last month. Now that it’s gone, I actually miss it.
Joann Fabrics declared bankruptcy. All its stores will close by the end of this week. It’s not the only retail chain to suffer this fate, just the latest. And it’s not like you can’t find fabric, but I know my family members are bummed because it’s a lot harder to find fabric on the Iron Range now.
My mom sewed the clothes I wore to kindergarten in 1985, which was unusual even for the time. We were broke and she was a crafty young woman who didn’t work at the time. “Doing it yourself” is a laudable goal for most things, but it’s getting a lot harder to do. Costs of supplies keep rising and the know-how seems to be dying on the vine.
As individuals, we’re a lot more profitable to the powers that be if we just keep buying stuff. But we get tapped out eventually, and it feels like that’s where we are in the modern economy. So much is changing so quickly that a little “DIY” spirit might be in order.
Read more in “As old retail models tear at the seams, the DIYers must sew our economy back together,” in the Tuesday, May 27, 2025 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist and member of the editorial board for the Minnesota Star Tribune. His new book about Hibbing Mayor Victor Power and his momentous fight against the world’s largest corporation will be out soon.
