Visiting Columbus - any great crafty stores to visit?

[psyche]

Hi guys, I know this board is a little quiet, but I'm giving it a shot!

I've taken a peek at the threads already, but there doesn't seem to be too much info... are there any great little (particularly independent) crafty stores to visit? I'm coming from Canada April 27-May 2 - I might even visit Hobby Lobby or Joann's, as we don't have them and I've never been, but finding some great local places would be awesome!

[sweets4ever]

Oooh, fun!  Welcome in advance!

Are there certain areas of the city you'd like to visit (preference to suburbs or downtown?)?

MmmMmm... Hobby Lobby!  There is one not too far from my house.  Come see me!   Jo-Anns & Michaels, too.

http://www.whollycraft.net/ -- Clintonville
http://www.yarnshoponline.com -- Columbus or Pickerington
http://www.wexarts.org/bks/ -- Downtown
http://www.ursusartspace.com/ -- Upper Arlington
http://www.northmarket.com/ -- Downtown; Awesome indoor public market for all sorts of indie merchants, crafters, food, etc.
http://www.bookloft.com/ -- Downtown (German Village); 32 rooms of books!
http://www.bigbead.com/ -- Downtown

http://www.shortnorth.org/ -- Downtown (Short North)  Short North is our art district.  Lots of fabulous little shops live there.  First Saturday of every month is Gallery Hop, so you'll actually be here for it, too!  http://www.shortnorth.org/news.asp?n=124  4 PM - ?... galleries open their doors, have wine tastings, special exhibits, music, etc.  Go there.  Do it!

Not really shops, but crafty spots & happenings you might want to consider:
http://www.ohiocraft.org/museum.html
http://www.fpconservatory.org/ -- Permanent Chihuly exhibit!

Check http://events.columbusalive.com/sp?aff=1000&skin=800 for events during that timeframe, too!

[psyche]

That is one fabulous list. I'm going for a reading & writing convetion (and I'm pitching my novel to agents and editors. Eep!), so I'll be at the Hyatt Regency, which I assume would be downtown. I will have my car, so I technically could drive wherever, but will probably stick to the area relatively near the hotel. 

I still have to check out a bunch of those links, but the Gallery Hop especially sounds great! I've got something like that in my city (Art Crawl, in this case), and I love it. And since my workshops at the convention are all Wed-Fri and Saturday's bookfair is 11-2, it means I have Sat aft/evening and however long I want to hang around on Sunday to poke around the city.

Thanks for the input.

[sweets4ever]

Ah!  I know exactly which convention you're attenting!  VERY cool (and good luck!)!

Yep!  You're smack dab in the middle of downtown at Nationwide Blvd & North High, so you have ridiculously easy access to everything downtown.  We had visitors for a long weekend last week & hit up most of those.  I was bummed they weren't here for Gallery Hop, tho!  Here are a few more ideas I had bookmarked from their visit.  Hope the list doesn't overwhelm you, but at least you'll have lots of options.

Within walking distance of your hotel is Buca di Beppo (nummy Italian -- family style portions, so best for 2+ people or lots of leftovers) and BD's Mongolian Barbeque (buffet of items to make your own stir-fry & then they cook it on a giant grill in front of you; all you can eat).  Then if you keep walking past those, there is a pretty little park called Union Station, which has a little history to it http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/multimedia/history/Union_Station_Arch/index.html

North Market, a few little diners and brewing companies are just a short drive (or semi-long stroll) from you, over the bridge.  Goodale Park (lots of green, pond, relaxing...) is part of Short North and in the same cluster, too.   I think you'd really like Short North, North Market, etc.

If you're looking to take a quiet stroll, you're fairly close to the river and there is a lovely stretch of trail along it (great for photography of the fountains, river, train tressels, etc.) leading from North Bank Park and down to Battelle Riverfront Park & the Santa Maria replica.

The Topiary Park is downtown, too.  We haven't been yet this year, but when the topiaries are full, it's fabulous.

[psyche]

Yay, thanks so much! I will definitely be using a good chunk of that info.

[psyche]

Ah, I've been here for a few days, and I have to say I'm quite enamoured of the city. It's similar to mine in terms of age of buildings & ratio of tall buildings to smaller.... but there's more green space, the older buildings are well kept up, and the homeless don't outnumber the shoppers (yeah, pretty serious affordable housing/unemployment problems in my city). :S

I've been to the North Market a couple of times for lunch now (love it!), and I'm going to do the Gallery Hop tonight. Also hoping to perhaps hit the Santa Maria replica this aft, and maybe the Byzantium Bead Store pre-gallery hop!

[ohiodiygirl]

Oooh, fun!  Welcome in advance!

Are there certain areas of the city you'd like to visit (preference to suburbs or downtown?)?

MmmMmm... Hobby Lobby!  There is one not too far from my house.  Come see me!   Jo-Anns & Michaels, too.

http://www.whollycraft.net/ -- Clintonville
http://www.yarnshoponline.com -- Columbus or Pickerington
http://www.wexarts.org/bks/ -- Downtown
http://www.ursusartspace.com/ -- Upper Arlington
http://www.northmarket.com/ -- Downtown; Awesome indoor public market for all sorts of indie merchants, crafters, food, etc.
http://www.bookloft.com/ -- Downtown (German Village); 32 rooms of books!
http://www.bigbead.com/ -- Downtown

http://www.shortnorth.org/ -- Downtown (Short North)  Short North is our art district.  Lots of fabulous little shops live there.  First Saturday of every month is Gallery Hop, so you'll actually be here for it, too!  http://www.shortnorth.org/news.asp?n=124  4 PM - ?... galleries open their doors, have wine tastings, special exhibits, music, etc.  Go there.  Do it!

Not really shops, but crafty spots & happenings you might want to consider:
http://www.ohiocraft.org/museum.html
http://www.fpconservatory.org/ -- Permanent Chihuly exhibit!

Check http://events.columbusalive.com/sp?aff=1000&skin=800 for events during that timeframe, too!

hmm, a few stores I haven't heard of and will have to check out, thanks!

So I take it you live by Sawmill Rd since you have all 3 craft stores by you? I used to live near there, the only thing I miss is being able to hit all 3 stores if needed without going to far!

[sweets4ever]

Actually, Pickerington/Reynoldsburg!  Hobby Lobby & Michael's are on Bryce and then Jo-anns is over on 256 near Wal-mart.  I hope Hobby Lobby doesn't decide to leave Bryce since it's basically dead over there now, but I guess time will tell.

[TracyLee22]

My personal favorite is european paper co. (http://www.europeanpapers.com/) , they are close to german village and schmidts sausage house is not to far away, also a great place to stop if you are ever back in the area!

[sweets4ever]

My personal favorite is european paper co. (http://www.europeanpapers.com/) , they are close to german village and schmidts sausage house is not to far away, also a great place to stop if you are ever back in the area!

Oooh, I'm going to check it out!  Thank you!!