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Crafts becoming more popular during pandemic

If you're still looking for hobby, Newswatch16's Chelsea Strub shows us a new place in Luzerne County that might have some inspiration for you.

HAZLETON, Pa. — There's a lot to see at the new Hobby Lobby at the Laurel Mall near Hazleton.

Julia Jennigen and Hayley Porieca say that makes it easy when looking for some crafting inspiration.

"We just weren't browsing, you know, we were following the map that we got like in the front. She handed us a nice paper, pretty explanatory, and we're just looking through the aisles. We found some nice charms, and we're like, let's make some bracelets to match," Jennigen said.

Rocco Aruzzo, the mall property manager, says the store was scheduled to open in October but was delayed because of the pandemic. He says it's been packed since the soft opening on Friday.

"They have been packed," Aruzzo said. "We didn't advertise it. They didn't want it advertised. They just wanted to do a soft opening, and I will tell you it was jammed all weekend, Friday and Saturday."

Shoppers at Hobby Lobby say now is a perfect time for this place to open because their crafting at home is now at an all-time high.

"I didn't really get into painting and stuff heavily until the pandemic started because I just didn't have enough time, so then we started doing that together and like got better at it, and then it just expanded through there," Hayley Porieca said.

"I've done crafts all my life, and now it's like you're bored at home, you want to do things take up more time. What else you going to do?" asked Jane Malinowski.

They say if you feel like you're stuck in a rut at home in isolation, this may be a good place to come for a new creative activity.

"Look around. Anything that catches your eye, like just grab it, pick it up, see what we can do," said Porieca.

"Now that we have the extra time spending at home, and maybe if they're just at their wit's end and they don't know what to do, like trying new things is always a good motivation booster," Jennigen added.

The new Hobby Lobby is open Monday through Saturday at the Laurel Mall in Hazle Township.

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