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Founded in 1964 and located in Brentwood,
Tennessee, Hobby Lobby International closed its doors a couple years ago. Born in
an era when many - if not most - products used by aircraft, boat, and car modelers
were manufactured here in the United States, Hobby Lobby served the entire spectrum
of modeling. Hobby Lobby did offer many hard-to-get foreign kits as well, though.
It was the first mail-order hobby shops that I remember using. There were not any
"real" hobby shops near my Mayo, Maryland, home as a kid, so unless I could whine
enough to get my father to drive me the 20+ miles to the nearest hobby shop, the
only alternative was to cut out the order form, fill it out, have my mother write
a check (from money I earned on my paper route), stuff it all in an envelope, and
put it in the mailbox. Three to four weeks later (after the check had cleared),
the much-anticipated box would arrive in the mail. For me it was like with
Ralphie Parker
waiting for his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring. Watching the slow demise of Hobby
Lobby in the 2010s was a sorrowful thing.
In 2014 the New York Times ran an article entitled, "A Small Brand Tries to Escape the Confusing Shadow
of a Big Brand," which talked about the identity crisis created by the existence
of another unaffiliated Hobby Lobby Stores company that sells craft items. It followed
up with, "How Hobby Lobby International Resolved Its Trademark
Dispute." The Nashville Business Journal in 2013 ran a story entitled,
"Hobby Lobby Stores Buys Brand Name from Nashville
Company," that introduced Hobby Express as the company's new name. RC Groups
forums ran a piece at the same time entitled, "Hobby Lobby International to Become Hobby Express."
Finally, in 2015, this article appeared on the RC Groups website, "The End of an Era - Hobby Lobby Building Torn Down."
Hobby Express,
I just discovered, has fallen to the level of selling pot on their website.
See also my
Hobby Lobby
International Postcard Notice from 1972.
Hobby Lobby Advertisement
Posted April 19, 2019
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