Monroe mecca for crafts grows

MONROE – At a time when most independent stores face tough competition from big national chains, the Ben Franklin Crafts &Frame Shop is thriving as it marks 30 years in business.

This weekend, the Monroe mecca for craft lovers celebrates its anniversary and its grand reopening after adding 5,000 square feet of retail space.

Michael O’Leary / The Herald Adrian and DeAnna Taylor credit the success of Ben Franklin Crafts to customer service and a unique mix of merchandise.

“We have more merchandise, more space, and we have a new look,” said Laura Geres, manager of the store’s frame shop. With the addition, her employees have twice the room they had before for their custom framing work.

The store’s owners, Adrian and DeAnna Taylor, said the store now has wider aisles, better lighting and more classroom space than before.

All of which helps, but Adrian Taylor credits his employees’ customer service and the mix of merchandise for Ben Franklin’s long-running success.

“We try to be different than the run-of-the-mill crafts store. We try to do things that are unique,” he said.

To help accomplish that, Adrian Taylor co-founded an independent craft store buying group more than 20 years ago. Representatives of the organization travel overseas twice a year to meet with vendors, allowing them to buy from sources other than those used by the national crafts and general merchandise chains.

He and DeAnna Taylor also try to display the merchandise in creative ways, other than rows of shelves and racks. That’s become easier with the expanded space, DeAnna Taylor said.

And there’s lots on display – up to 200 different types of yarn, rows of scrapbook supplies and a newly expanded bead department.

“I love the store. It’s so organized, and they have so much,” said regular shopper Nancy Lewis as she picked up her order from the frame shop.

In the new addition, an elevator takes customers up to classroom spaces, where the shop hosts regular classes on quilting, scrapbooks and other activities.

There’s even a couple of big armchairs in the middle of the store, meant for weary spouses who want to get off their feet or for avid knitters who want to sit down and get started right after buying yarn.

The Taylors came to Monroe in 1975. Adrian Taylor had been with the W.T. Grant Co. but was looking for another opportunity when that company began to decline.

Soon after they opened a 5,000-square-foot Ben Franklin store in downtown Monroe, a Christmastime flood hit the town. But in the following years, the store’s sales grew impressively.

In the mid-1980s, the Taylors agreed to buy land and build a bigger store at a new shopping center site on U.S. 2. The new addition there gives the store 18,000 square feet of retail floor space.

Along the way, the national franchise that owned the Ben Franklin name went from a thriving variety chain with thousands of stores into bankruptcy in 1996. Today, seven stores in Washington operate under the Ben Franklin name, including one owned by the Taylors’ son.

Because it is independently owned and operated, the Monroe store handles its own inventory. So the recent addition includes ample backroom storage. The Taylors also own a warehouse.

By Adrian Taylor’s count, the store has employed about 500 young people in their first jobs over the years and contributed regularly to local causes in cash and merchandise. He now regularly employs about 60 people.

The owners said they’re grateful that they’ve continued to attract customers from Snohomish County and beyond.

“When we first opened, we had pets and underwear and food; we were a true variety store,” Adrian Taylor said, adding that some customers grumbled at first as the store focused more on craft supplies.

Over the years, the evolution has continued to meet customer demands and trends, he said.

“We’ve never stood still.”

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.