Hobbycraft Superstores

I visited this store for the purchase of some floristry products for making a wedding bouquet and was very disappointed. No floral foam holders, empty spaces or single packets only for some of the sparkly ornaments. Small selection of wires mostly out of packs and just found on receipt I paid £10 for a pair of scissors that were on the £6.95 hook! Long queue and one person on, no staff on shop floor (I had to get a person from the tills to try to find bridal holder) and finally wouldn’t it be a good idea to have small paper bags for items like ribbon etc so they didn’t get dirty or lost, no, just a choice of paying 5p for a carrier bag. When i declined I had my few items and 3 metres of ribbon loose and spilling over counter for me to roll up myself. Certainly won’t be back, should of just gone online, and yes, they are expensive!

I never knew Michael’s had expanded to the UK!
But seriously, Hobbycraft is a lovely, but overpriced, craft supply emporium for those of us who truly believe we have talent but do not have the wherewithal to actually properly source our supplies. For those of my readers who live in the colonies (aka Canada) it’s much like Lewiscraft or Michael’s, but slightly better.
I had been looking for cheaply priced yarn, and I admit, I was spoilt by the plethora of cheap yarn at Zeller’s in Canada, one conveniently located near an Asian area (Gerrard Square) where the smell of chinese dumplings permeated the air. Unfortunately in this white suburban land that I live in (Southampton) yarn is as expensive and rare as gold dust. It was either John Lewis or order online — and I am such a yarn whore that I need to molest the yarn before I purchase it. Then I found Hobbycraft.
I found the supplies I wanted, reasonably priced, and the boyfriend had fun frolicking amongst aisles, looking at scalextrics of the Star Wars variety. I think at one point he was eyeing up some children’s jigsaw puzzles, but I digress.
Hobbycraft is a lovely shop which has the supplies you need if want to crotchet, knit, play with beads and jewellry crafting. And if you want to try your hand at making cupcakes/​cakes with sugary fondant icing, this is also a place to come to. Twas a tad difficult to find, but luckily this particular Hobbycraft was sharing retail space with Haskins — a pseudo garden centre/​overpriced cafeteria restaurant.

Although Hobbycraft is very expensive I think it can get away with purely with the convenience factor. Much of what they sel can’t be found easily elsewhere in Southampton so you would have to go further afield or buy online. I could browse in this store for hours and if I had the time, I’m sure I’d take up many more hobbies based entirely on what I’ve seen in this store. I mainly go here for jewellery making supplies when I’m in a rush. They do have a very good selection of findings and beads and it’s displayed in such a way that it’s very easy to find what I’m looking for. The shop is big, open and airy and the staff are always helpful. There’s also free parking which is always a bonus these days!

Hobbycraft Next to Haskins is in a nice location, pretyy accessible from Southampton and the motorways and easy to find.
Its the ultimate craft and home build store ever, just everything you could ever need or want for crafting. What lets it down is you do pay a premium for having it all under one roof and its often cheaper even in Southampton to shop elsewhere if you can find it.
If you’re willing to shop online I’d highly recommend OPITEC in Southampton instead!

This is a nice store with loads of crafting ideas for anyone of any expertise. However be warned it is over priced. I find the same items cheaper on QVC or The Range in Shirley. Still it is a smart shop and they do occasionally have little stands showing you how to do new crafts so good if you have time to stand and watch. They have a good selection of card making stock but again they are overpriced. The majority of the staff are all very young but they have always been very knowledgeable and very helpful. No facilities here though go to Haskins next door. Stays open till 5pm on a Sunday so that’s good!

Good store if you’re into your arts and crafts although some of the stuff is overpriced — but there is a huge range of choice, plus it’s a really easy store to get around, plenty of room and well laid out. Only problem I have with it, is that the staff can seem somewhat unfriendly — that might just be me though!
Free car park outside and is right next door to Haskins which has a café if you need a cup of tea after all that shopping no such facility in hobbycraft itself.

Good place to visit to buy craft items. Some of the things they sell can be expensive compared to other places. You can buy any craft item you can think of and they also have lots of leaflets with craft ideas on and a step by step guide to doing them. They have some great offers on sometimes. There is a big car park outside that is shared with the garden centre.

Hobbycraft do some really good stuff for all different types of arts and crafts. Like card-​making stuff, beads, stickers, painting, absolutely everything.
But, they’re bloody expensive. Although every blue moon will find the odd bargain.
It is a huge bloody place and a word of warning you will lose Granny when she toddles off to the garden centre and you head in the opposite direction. Its also very hard to handle more than about 45 minutes in here as for some unknown reason the whole place seems to suffocate you.