The Willy Wonker of the Art and Craft World! (Hobbycraft)

Member Name: dee778

Product:	Hobbycraft
Date:	22/07/09 (128 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Huge choice, bright and modern store, great ideas

Disadvantages: None - if there is not one near you, then order online...

I only discovered Hobbycraft 2 years ago, and since that time I have used it frequently; to support my son, who has just finished an A level in Art; for gifts; and to improve my home.

Hobbycraft is a specialist arts and crafts shop - rarely found these days - which is crammed full of paper, glue, thread, beads, cards, rubber stamps, soft toy making kits....... I could go on all day!

I visit the Hobbycraft in Watford, but also make good use of their fantastic website. I am going to review both the online and the offline shopping.

~~The Website~~
The website address is www.hobbycraft.co.uk and even if you live close to a Hobbycraft superstore, it is worth taking a look.

The best thing about the website is that it gives you ideas for projects, and very clear visual instructions on how to carry out a project. I will give you only one example of this - but there are many more!

~~Example - Jewellery Making~~
I am interested in jewellery making, so I clicked on the 'Jewellery Making' tab at the top of the page, which took me to the correct and beautifully illustrated home page. The page is full of colour photos of the jewellery that could be made with the products on sale. On the left of the page is a brief resume of all of the jewellery making equipment on sale, including over 2,500 beads, loom thread, cutters, stringers and memory wire. In the middle of the page is a photo and price of some new items in the section (chunky wooden beads), and the special offer (a portable lamp).

~~The Jewellery Inspiration Section~~
At the bottom of the page is the Jewellery Inspiration Section - which in my opinion is what makes a visit to the website a useful prerequisite to a personal visit to the shop.

The first section of the Inspiration section has an introduction to jewellery making - a basic guide on how to get started. This guide contains: a history of jewellery, a great guide to the tools used (with large colour photos and an explanation of how to use them), preparation necessary before you get started, a list of knots used, with illustrations and instructions on how to tie them, and useful tips for jewellery making in general.

The second section of the Jewellery Inspiration Section shows you a very pretty blue glass bracelet. Clicking on this section gives you step by step instructions on how to make the bracelet.

The third section of the Inspiration Section takes you to the Ideas Library. You can see Hobbycraft's five top ideas, or you can search the skills library using 'Skill Level' and 'Occasion' to identify the best idea for you. Once you have found an idea that you like, one click takes you to the instruction page, which gives you the time it will take to make the item, the products you need to buy, and step by step instructions.

There are similar pages to Jewellery Making for many, many other hobbies, including needlecraft, framing, seasons and celebrations, weddings, and many more.

~~Online Store~~
In addition to the ideas and inspiration sections, the website gives you the opportunity to buy all of the items on sale in the superstore store online. There is free delivery on orders over £25, and you can search the online store by using the search box to shop by brand (eg Airfix), by using the A-Z browser, or by clicking on an activity (eg Wedding). Standard delivery is £4.95 and next day delivery is £9.95.

~~Offline shopping~~
My nearest Hobbycraft supermarket is in Watford - part of the huge Century Park retail development. There is ample parking outside the store, and the store itself has recently been refurbished, and is bright and modern. This is a Hobbycraft Superstore, and I am not sure if all of the stores are this big. The store itself seems to stretch back forever, with aisles and aisles, and shelves and shelves of every colour and brand of art material you can imagine.

Once inside the store you are greeted with enticing and colourful shelves of hobby materials. I have always been excited about stationary in general, and this is stationary gone wild! There are shelves stocked high with wrapping paper, paints, pens, glues, pencils, paints - everything you could possibly imagine!

The first thing you see is an attractive display of dried flowers. Although this was not what I expected to find in Hobbycraft, I could not resist the huge variety on offer, and put a couple of bunches in my trolley immediately. The second thing I noticed was that Hobbycraft sell helium balloons, inflated for 50p. I did not buy any - but I am bearing it in mind for the next special occasion.

As I walked further into the store, I was very impressed by the tapestry section. I have done a lot of tapestry in the past - but have never seen such an array of different coloured threads, canvases and frames before.

~~Fine Art Supplies~~
The main reason for visiting has been to buy supplies for my student son. Over the past few years I have found absolutely everything he needs there, from a portfolio case, plastic inserts to go inside the portfolio, acrylic and oil paints, watercolour paints, brushes, paper and card. The choice of paints and brushes could not be faulted - Hobbycraft have all the major brands including Bob Ross, Winsor & Newton, Derwent, and Chroma.

He often needs a specific colour of paper and card to mount his work on for presentations - in this respect I feel that Hobbycraft really excel! We had an enormous range of paper in several different weights and every colour on the spectrum. There was also a choice of mounting board.

~~Price~~
An A3 black portfolio was £18.99, I think the A2 card was about £3.60, and the A2 paper around £2.65. I always come away from the shop feeling as if I have spent a lot of money - but I never feel as if I have been overcharged. Hobbycraft is probably the only place in my area where I can get good quality art supplies, and I am delighted to find such a huge range of material in such pleasant and inspirational surroundings.
~~~
Disabled access is good, with double automatic doors at the top of a ramp to enter the store and wide aisles all on the ground floor.
The address of Watford Hobbycraft is:
Century Park,
Dalton Way,
Watford,
Hertfordshire.
WD17 2SF
Tel: 0845 051 6538

The opening Hours are:
* Monday: 9am - 8pm
* Tuesday: 9am - 8pm
* Wednesday: 9am - 8pm
* Thursday: 9am - 8pm
* Friday: 9am - 8pm
* Saturday: 9am - 6pm
* Sunday: 10.30am - 4.30pm

Summary: A fantastic collection of hard-to-find materials