Michaels and Hobby Lobby are the two biggest craft retailers in the US, and between them they cover most of the country with large-format stores full of art supplies, seasonal decor, frames, yarn, baking, party and hobby products. If you make something in any of those categories, figuring out how to sell to Michaels or Hobby Lobby is a reasonable ambition. It is also a longer road than selling to an independent craft store, because both chains buy at scale, plan far ahead, and expect suppliers to behave like suppliers.
This guide covers how each chain buys, what their buyers care about, the pack and margin expectations you should walk in with, and how to reach the right person without waiting on a submission form forever.
How Michaels and Hobby Lobby buy differently
They look similar from the parking lot, but they are very different companies to sell to.
Michaels is a professionally run chain with a merchandising organization split by category: fine art, general crafts, seasonal, frames and wall decor, kids, baking, party, and so on. Buyers sit at headquarters in Texas, plan assortments in seasonal cycles, and onboard new suppliers through a formal vendor process. Michaels has also expanded its online assortment well beyond what fits in a store in recent years, which opened a second door for smaller brands that are not ready for a full store rollout. Their supplier page has the current specifics.
Hobby Lobby is privately held, family-owned, and runs its buying from Oklahoma City. A large share of what it sells is sourced directly by its own teams and sold under house brands, especially in home decor and seasonal. It buys from domestic vendors too, but it is more selective, less transparent, and less likely to run a public onboarding program. Getting in usually starts with a direct inquiry to the buying office and a lot of patience.
The practical takeaway: Michaels is the more open door for a small brand. Hobby Lobby is worth a shot if your product is clearly a fit and you can meet their pricing, but treat it as a long play.
What a craft buyer actually cares about
Craft buyers are judged on the same things as any retail buyer, which what does a retail buyer do explains in detail, but a few things weigh heavier in this channel:
- Project fit. Craft retail sells projects, not just products. A buyer wants to know what a customer makes with your item and which aisle it belongs in. If it is an ingredient for a project, say which one.
- Price point. Craft shoppers are coupon-trained. Both chains run constant promotions, so your everyday price has to leave room for the discount the customer expects to see.
- Sell-through in their box. Buyers think about how many units a store sells per week per facing. A slow-turning item with big packaging is a hard sell. Sell-through rate is the number to speak to.
- Ease of stocking. Peggable packaging, clear front-of-pack instructions, a hang tab or a shelf-ready case. Craft aisles are dense and store staff restock fast.
- Trend timing. Craft is a trend business. The buyer who missed the last big technique does not want to miss the next one, so a product tied to a rising trend gets a look.
Categories where a small brand can realistically get in
You are not going to displace a major paint brand. Where small suppliers do land:
- Specialty and niche craft supplies with a loyal online following (a specific fiber, resin, stamp, tool, or adhesive people already ask for by name)
- Kits and project-in-a-box products, especially for kids and beginners
- Seasonal and holiday decor with a distinctive look
- Frames, wall decor and small home accents
- Baking and cake decorating tools and ingredients
- Party and celebration items with a clear theme
If you already have Amazon or Etsy traction, that history is your proof. A buyer can check that customers search for your product and rate it well, which de-risks the buy. How to find buyers for handmade products covers how to package that story.
Pack sizes, pricing and the margin conversation
Chains buy in case packs designed for their shelf plans. Expect to be asked for an inner pack (commonly 6 or 12 units) and a master case that ships cleanly on a pallet. Peggable items need a hang tab; shelf items need a case that opens into a tray.
On margin, craft retail sits in the same broad territory as other big-box general merchandise: the retailer expects a healthy markup over your cost, and then wants room for promotions on top of that. In practice, your wholesale price needs to sit well below half the shelf price once you account for their promotional cadence, freight, and any allowances. Run your own numbers before you quote anything; the free wholesale margin calculator shows what a chain-level order does to your profit. What retailer margin buyers expect walks through how those expectations differ by channel.
Also budget for the extras a chain will raise: markdown allowances, freight terms, new-item setup, and compliance requirements like EDI and routing guides. None of these are dealbreakers, but they change your math.
Seasonality: the calendar runs the business
Craft retail is heavily seasonal, and buying decisions happen far ahead of the shelf date. A general guide:
- Holiday and Christmas assortments are typically reviewed the winter and spring before, sometimes earlier for imported goods.
- Spring, Easter and wedding sets are reviewed the previous summer and fall.
- Back-to-school and fall crafts are planned in late winter.
If you pitch a Halloween product in September, the answer is "next year." Ask the buyer when their category review happens and plan to be in front of them a couple of months before it.
How to reach the buyer
Start with the retailer's supplier page and submit through whatever channel they list. That gets you in the system. Then do the thing most small brands skip: find the actual category buyer or associate buyer and introduce yourself directly, briefly and professionally. Buyers move between categories and companies, so the name that matters is the one who owns your aisle right now.
A short email that names the category, the shelf your product belongs on, and one line of proof (sales velocity, reviews, an existing retailer) does more than a long deck. How to write a cold pitch to a retail buyer has the structure. If you exhibit at a craft or gift trade show, ask the organizer which retail buyers are registered; both chains send teams to the major shows.
For Hobby Lobby specifically, be prepared for a slower response and for the buyer to ask for landed pricing early. They are comparing you against direct-import costs from day one.
What to send when they say "send me something"
Have a tight package ready before you make contact:
- A one-page sell sheet with product photos, dimensions, pack configuration, wholesale price and suggested retail. The sell sheet template covers the layout.
- A short line sheet if you have multiple SKUs.
- Proof of demand: ratings, review counts, current retail placements, social following if it is real.
- Samples on request, packaged exactly as they would ship to a store.
- Basic compliance info: UPCs, country of origin, any safety testing for kids' products.
Do not send a huge catalog. Buyers want to see the three to five items that belong in their set.
Common mistakes
- Pitching before you can supply a chain-size order. A test in a hundred stores can be thousands of units.
- Quoting a wholesale price that leaves no room for their promotions.
- Ignoring packaging. A product in a poly bag with a sticker will not survive a craft aisle.
- Assuming one chain's approval means the other's. Their buyers, assortments and standards are entirely separate.
- Going quiet after submission. A polite check-in at the next category review is expected.
A quick worked example
Say you make a resin craft kit that sells for 30 dollars on Amazon. Your landed cost is 8 dollars. A craft chain would want a shelf price around 25 to 30 dollars with room to promote, and would expect a wholesale price in the low teens. At 12 dollars you keep 4 dollars per unit, which is thin, but a test order of 6 units in 200 stores is 1,200 units and 4,800 dollars of gross profit. If it sells through and moves to a full rollout, the volume is what makes the thinner margin worth it. If the math does not clear at that price, you are better off staying with independents until your costs come down.
Getting to the buyer is the slow part of this whole process, and it is the part WholesalePilot does for you: paste your product link and it finds the craft chain buyers and independent craft retailers that fit, verifies their emails, and sends the outreach in your name so the conversation starts while you focus on the pack and the price.
Craft buyers buy projects, not products. Show them what a customer makes and which aisle it lives in.
Paste your product link and see which craft buyers fit it, free.