I Heart JoMar

I used to be such a snob. I've lived in the Philadelphia area for over 30 years and I never went to JoMar. At one point, there was a JoMar location about a mile and a half away from me and I was too much of a snob to ever go there. But lately, it seemed every sewist I know raved about JoMar. I felt left out because I'd never been there. Actually, I did go once. In the Summer of 2008 I think, I was early for a lunch date so I ran in and out in about 15 minutes – hardly enough time to form an impression.

At the PR Weekend Planning meeting, my colleagues talked about the JoMar in Norristown and I decided to make that location my first "real" visit. I was very pleasantly surprised. I found two really nice pieces for 20% off the regular price. That was 20% off $2.00! $1.60 a yard!!! Even the fabric buyer/department manager complimented my selections. I left with 10 yards and I felt great!



I couldn't wait to try the South Philadelphia location. It was closer to me and I hoped the fabrics and selection were just as good. When I finally I went to the South Philly location I found two more pieces to make a nice summer outfit.


Five yards of fabric and a zipper came to about $11.00! I was so happy I could have cried. There is a down side to JoMar, however. Every roll of fabric is not a gem. As is the case in every fabric store, there are rolls of cheap, ugly fabric, but they can be avoided with careful shopping.

Discovering and loving JoMar is really about changing the way I shop for fabric. I used to believe JoAnn, with it's one-stop shopping, was the only place to buy fabric. When I wanted to sew something, I went to JoAnn, chose a pattern and bought the fabric and notions all in one trip. JoMar is not conducive to that type of shopping because you never know what you will find there. I still buy an occasional piece of fabric from JoAnn, but it's become the exception rather than the rule. Now that I've finally found JoMar, I'm going to take my newly evolved attitude there as much as possible.