Michaels

I am a huge fan of Michael’s. The staff, although sparse, is quite helpful if you need to find something specific or just need some craft or cake decorating ideas.
There are kid’s craft classes held every Saturday morning for $ 2, and each class has a theme. There are also a ton of other classes (cake decorating, painting, etc) that are held throughout the week so be sure to check out the schedule online.
With EVERY purchase, you receive a coupon for 40% off one regular priced item. There is also always a similar coupon online. It’s typically 40 or 50% off one item.
During the holidays, I’ve noticed their seasonal items go down to 60%. For example, when I went they have Christmas items 60% off. Halloween items were also 60% off during the weeks leading up to the big day. Something to note :)

Why are there always only 1 – 2 cash registers open at a time with a line 7 people each deep? Why are the aisles so thin that only one person can shuffle through them at a time? Why is it, when I asked an employee where an item was, that she asked me if I had «looked over there» while pointing randomly to the other end of the store?
So many questions, not worth my time to find the answers.

I found this store very disorganized and found myself wandering to find someone to help me. I found one person who gave me an aisle number in the far back corner of the store. After a 30 minute search, I found what I was looking for and went to check out. Turns out people were working that day, they were just all hanging out up at the front. My cashier was really sweet, and she’s the reason I’m giving this as high of a rating as i am. This is truly a self serve store. Don’t anticipate any help. Having said that, they have some really pretty christmas things out if you’re willing to hunt.

I LOVE the evening staff here, and the early morning crew on Saturdays. Because of my full time college an full time job schedule, I’m always in a rush… But No matter how in a rush I am, I can ask ANY of them a quick question on where to find a specific item or just ask for their opinion they always have a smile on their face and help me as fast and as efficiently as possible. Also I love around the corner so I basically walk there, and am there verrryyyy frequently :) love this store location!!!

This Michaels is always very disorganized and overwhelming; the Michaels in West-​U seems to provide better service and to be more customer-​friendly.

Michael’s greater than Hobby Lobby.
Because it’s open on Sunday.
Because it’s cleaner and more organized.
Because they have better prices without needing coupons or sales.
Because the staff knows the store.
Michael’s is just awesome. I went in for ribbon and came out with ribbon plus about 25 project ideas: Maybe I should make jewelry? What about a nice silk floral arrangement for my dining room table? My garden has too many plants and not enough garden art! And forget about that diet because I’m decorating cupcakes and cakes this weekend!
Oh, and then I found a glass beverage dispenser on sale for $ 14.99. Take that Crate and Barrel.

If you aren’t a full fledged arts and crafts person like I am, try stepping into one of these stores and look around from corner to corner. You get all of these ideas in your head on what you can do to kill spare time but on a smaller scale than going inside a Home Depot/Lowe’s and making a much bigger mess.
Inside you will find things to redo little touch ups on your home like trim, make those boring glasses come to life, make shirts for those special outtings that you don’t have time to find a sports store to embroider for you.
What will you NOT find in here? A lot of little loud kids in here running up and down the isles, pretty much every Michael’s and arts and crafts stores I have been too never have had this peace injustice. You will see that the kids that frequent these places are kids, adolescent, family, friends all in a wholesome walking around discussing about what things they can get to do to their time together.
Having a 6 year old daughter I never thought to myself I would be in here until I looked at the paint section where one can get a shirt with paints to spray, wooden houses with paint accordingly and easiness of the age as well as paint for glasses that will make her feel that her pink glass will be hers and forever in her memories of the times a father and daughter have spent together in her youth, you get the picture right?
This particular store does not seem to have a section of lighting like specialty lamps, l.e.d. novelty lights etc, but I might have the store mixed up with another chain, possibly Hobby Lobby.
The name does not look appeasing to the regular shopper that has never ventured out of Walmart, Target, Malls, etc but give these stores a try, they will activate the ideal module in you and even when you leave you will rethink down the road on something that you have seen here and want to return to see the options you have to change the interior of your home.
\ — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
A tip to new Unilocal’ers — Separate some of your reviews with paragraphs as much as you can so that it is much easier for everybody to read. Very hard to read is one clumped paragraph together with 1000 words, just a little help that’s all.

I enjoy scrapbooking and if it wasn’t for Michael’s, I wouldn’t have all the stuff I need to do it. My son loves the toys, I love the framing department, my mom loves the flowers! We are at Michael’s a LOT and for the price, it’s a good place to go!

I will write this review in the form of the letter I will never send:
Dear Michaels,
Hi, how how are you doing. I’m mostly cool, thanks. One thing though, and I think you can help me with this. I always get roped into the room mom thing at school (yeah, I know, I won’t even bother you with that story) and that usually involves driving around town to get school and project supplies. I think you must be aware that part of your clientele is buying supplies for their personal arts and crafts needs and then part of your clientele is buying classroom stuff (aka, multiple items). My class is small this year and you couldn’t even cut it. I know you know this because I’ll see whole displays of stuff for the classroom. So I guess my question is why you, and every Michael’s on the planet, keeps such a low stock of things and nothing in the back. Would it be so painful to keep extra wooden stars in the back? You’re charging .99, they must cost you .10. I cannot count how many times I’ve had to go to multiple Michaels to get all of what I need. Yesterday i went to two and still didn’t get it. I will commend you on your staff (they are nice, as nice as Bissonnet and I-​10 wins the award for rudest ever) and I like the little wireless inventory tracker you have that lets you scan the item and know what’s out there so I don’t think you’re lying to me. But still, use your imagination as to what I’m talking about that a class might use and keep more than 10 of these things in stock. I’m only going to return the punishment to you in the form of returns when I end up at the third Michaels and return half of the «just in case I never find the last three of these» I bought. In conclusion, inventory. It’s a good thing to have, and it’s been an issue just as much as an individual crafter as a room mom so it would make everyone happy
Yours,
Brandy

To me, this will always be the new location of Michael’s; the original having been up Voss, across from Randall’s. You know! Next to the good, newer Antone’s. It moved roughly ten years ago, but that Michael’s had a special place in my heart. Right. Moving on, changing veins, but not arms…
I like the layout of this store better, as well. In a previous life, it was a grocery store (Kroger’s, I believe). It’s sizable. I also like the layout of Michael’s now. Perhaps it was the aimless wandering around the old design for longer than tolerable, but this layout is a bit more logical. Sticatto, short aisles, but logical.
There are a number of housewives that frequent this Michael’s. I know that’s the nature of Michael’s and it’s whole «let’s get crafty» mentality, but I always find this locale has a few more than the Bissonnet location. The plus side to all of this, is that if you can’t find what you’re looking for here, there is a fantabulous art supply store just a few short blocks away. Texas Art Supply.
Still, being mildly artistic and always searching for a cheap fix to «shopping for presents,» I often find myself at either this Michael’s or the one on Bissonnet. For example, I’ve made etched wine glasses and coffee mugs. I didn’t like their pre-​cut stencils, so I bought a sheet here and cut my own design. I again made my own stencils (mimicked a china pattern) for a pair of cheap end tables that I repainted. I learned to macramé a plant holder (don’t fault me for surviving the 70s and 80s). I found the supplies to embellish my most recent tacky Christmas sweater. I bought the supplies for the ten year old knit scarf I am now wearing.
The list of crafts goes on, but I’ll prattle on incessantly. My point is that there are quite a number of crafts you can accomplish by shopping here. You won’t find the best of what you need, or at the best price in a big city. But, it helps with the one stooping dilemma, especially for the novice and intermediate craft er. For example, anything involving beads would send me to the Bead Shop in the Village. Yarn, I’d go to Yarns 2 Ewe. Painting or drawing? Texas Arts Supply. Then again, I’ve also found that wandering the aisles at Michael’s is a good brainstorming session.