HouseMart Ben Franklin Crafts – Market City

Not a joke, I’m here at least once a week. I always have some project or another I’m working on. The staff here are super friendly and always help me figure out if I’m in the right direction of my project. My only problem coming here is half the time I get so inspired by something I see while walking to what i originally came for that I completely space on what I was planning on doing and start a completely new project! This is a huge reason of why I have a dozen half finished projects in those under the bed storage containers!
Pro tip: if you are able to come during the day on a weekday-it’s so much easier to shop around. Weekends and after work are always a little crazy!

I’m glad I found this place. It reminds me of hobby lobby from the main land. Prices aren’t too bad. Just look around and be a bargain shopper and you can find a pretty decent deal for a place to buy art supplies in Hawaii. I read other reviews about shopping at wal-​mart better deal. Maybe true but wal-​mart doesn’t offer very many things you may need. If you want to silk screen or buy massive canvas they have it here.

We’ve all been here, it’s way more expensive than buying online but when you’re in a pinch and need to get something right away, they have you by the balls.
Most of the employees here are somewhat friendly but the managers… here’s a tip: if your product is defective, the correct thing to do is apologize and try to make it right. These grouchy ass ladies barely look you in the eye or have anything at all to say to you all while trying to make sure their bottom line isn’t affected.
You’d earn more business and money by treating your customers nicely and fairly and charging the defective item back to the manufacturer.
Learn some business sense, or perhaps you don’t have to because we will keep having to spend an arm and a leg when we need supplies immediately.

This store can be a lot better. It has enough floor space and many of the basic craft stuff, but my over all experience was not great.
When you walk in, you just feel like they would not have what you are looking for because of its disorganized appearance. It is hard to find what you are looking for.
There was a long line at the register, but the cashers were very slow and stop their hands to chat with the customer s who are their personal friends.
We don’t have much options for craft store here in hawaii. I wish we had Michael’s.

I visited the day before Halloween and on Halloween day. Some inventory was missing… I even heard an employee telling a customer that «we don’t know what comes in our shipments, I can’t tell you what will be in the box»…
I actually didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, or anyone to help me however; I did find a satisfactory supplement and parking was reasonable (with patience and right up front… remember it was Halloween).
I was so impressed at how quickly the checkout line moved. WOW! Seriously, with 8 people in line on Halloween and 6 people in line the day before, it never took more than 8 min. Prompt and courteous service; nice. Thank you Ben Franklin Crafts!

This is one of the smaller Ben Franklin on Island, but it’s still a great place to go shopping for your art supplies! The people there are always helpful and in a great mood. They have a great paper section for those who like to scrap book. Right now they all the supplies you’re need for graduation! They have material to get your poster ready, and they do custom printing as well. They have all the list of school colors for leis, and you can buy pre-​made lei’s too if you’re running out of time.
They also have great craft ideas with list of supplies that you’ll need to recreate any of the ideas. Right now they have a lot of ocean inside crafts. They also have a section where they have local artists sell the things they make, most of them are shell jewelry. They are sold at a reasonable price, so if you’re looking for new bangles or earrings or necklaces this is a great place to go. Artists are constantly restocking what they have too, so you can almost always guarantee they’ll have something that you’re looking for. They also have great deals on picture frame and canvases which is nice. They also have baking supplies like, different colored food coloring for cakes and fondant.
They have a large parking lot as well. The only thing I wish they had was a fabric selection. They have the padding for making quilts which is cool.

This place has a lot of stuff ! Doing home projects, You need some weried thing. You may find it here! LOL
When I travel I try to pick up small things to fit in a shadow box to remember my trip.
good prices. good location !

I love crafting, scrap booking, origami-​ing, baking, etc. For any gift giving occasion, I’ll try to include something home made like a card or a scrapbook or even baked goods; anything that gives it a creative and thoughtful touch.
My bf and I have our anniversary coming up and since we’ve been together for so long I literally had no idea what craft I could make for him this year. Thinking I would make a card, I roamed around in Walmart. But of course, a lot of the craft items were sold out and I was completely uninspired. I decided to check out Ben Franklin to see if I could come up with any good project ideas.
I spent a good hour and a half roaming up and down the aisles because there were so many things I wanted to buy and make. I picked up some cardstock and fancy paper to make a card, which only costed a few dollars at most. Then I decided to make a cardstock photo box because the cardstock choices were endless and cheap (also a few dollars at most). I also came across the martha stewart collection, which should have it’s own store if you ask me. I ended up purchasing a scoring tool, which basically makes folding and creasing a lot easier. I have no idea how I survived years of crafting without this tool. It was roughly $ 7. I browsed the scrapbooking section for a while and found myself wanting to buy ALL of the punch tools: heart shapes, alphabet, lace trim, stars, etc. The selection was endless. I was also going to buy a scoring mat but it was $ 25, which seemed a little steep considering it’s basically a rubber mat with a 12×12 ruler drawn on the back. It’ll make your life a lot easier when you’re terrible at cutting straight lines like I am but definitely was not worth $ 25.
They also have a really excellent selection of wilton supplies. Also a necessity if you like to bake like I do! I was planning on baking cupcakes because I hate working with a full 8″-9″ cake, frosting, transporting, etc. However, they had a nice selection of boxes and decorative tools that has officially made me want to bake a cake instead. If you’re looking for cake boxes though, Walmart has a larger and cheaper selection.
I had to hold back on binge spending on everything in sight. When it comes to craft tools I have a tendency to want to go overboard. This is the convo that went on in my head:
Crafty self: «Look at those super cute and easy punch tools, you should buy them!»
Reasonable self: «Grace, you are so lazy, you can hand draw and cut out those shapes without the tools!»
Craft self: «But it’ll save you so much time and you’ll get the perfect cut everytime!»
Reasonable self: «If you buy one, you’ll need to buy them all and you shouldn’t spend so much on paper punch tools!»
My reasonable side won this time. However, I’ll definitely return to start a new collection on scrapbooking tools. BF has the best selection of paper and cardstock on the island. It ranges anywhere from 69 cents to $ 2.99. If you’re looking for glitter cardstock in assorted colors, BF has it all! Also they have super cute valentines day papers, stickers, baking items, etc. But since BF is a bit expensive, you may want to check walmart to see if they have what you need before heading over.

I came in here recently looking for beads to use in my acrylic makeup case to hold my brushes. When I walked in I was not greeted by anyone but saw one of the workers standing at the counter. I went up to her and told her what I was looking for and she looked at me like I was wasting her time and then proceeded to tell me to look in isle 26. I was thinking, «thanks for the help, b****!» I looked through all the isles with beads and found a few different ones that would work but for the amount I needed they weren’t worth buying, these little packages of beads were way overpriced. I did end up buying beads because it was a large bag for less than $ 10 but they weren’t the ones I had in mind, and I was annoyed by the lack of customer service. Next time I’ll check out another location and see if it’s better.

The store have alot of things and I like that. The workers are not friendly and every time I’m going there, they always has bad attitudes.

I totally love this store! It’s a huge trap though… I go in here thinking I can be the next Martha Stewart and get all the items to be so, but when I put it together, meh. LoL. I still have lots of learning to do when it comes to arts and crafts.

I have a crisis.
I know I’m a girl, but every once in a while, my identity is challenged.
When my girlfriends ask me if I want to learn how to fry eggplant on Fourth of July weekend, I don’t find that exciting at all.
When they ask me if I sew, crochet, or knit, I just shrug my shoulders and add, «But I can tell you ALL the stores that are running a sale at Ala Moana this weekend!».
And ESPECIALLY when it comes to crafts… ugh, I think a sea slug would have more creativity than me.
Imagine my dilemma. Wedding is fast approaching and I need travel themed props for the photo booth. I could have gone online and shelled out $ 60 for 8 digital prints of just ONE country, but I need 15 countries (a total of $ 900). OR… I can create them myself using simple materials from the local craft supply store. Hmm… sounds exciting and challenging!
Ben Franklin’s Kapiolani store is within 0.1 miles from my house, and the parking was never a problem in the lower lot across from Kaimuki High School. I felt like a little lost lamb when I stepped into the craft fortress. Towers of wooden boxes, aisles of paint, and LOTS of favor doo-​dads. Thank goodness I just so happened to bump into the store manager Brandon Ching.
Once I sorted out in my head what I wanted to make, I asked a couple of employees on the floor for help. One of them was Brandon. I said balloon sticks, he said dowels. I said prop material, he said foam board. Brandon was like Google Translate for Craft Dummies! He explained each material that I would need, and which brands were the best for the job. He also showed me how to make my own monogram and offered samples of others’ works for inspiration! I wish I remembered the woman’s name who helped me, because she recommended excellent tools for the photo booth props.
The prices were moderate IMO, but that’s coming from a girl who rarely crafts, so consider your source. The selection was decent and well stocked. It is a bit tricky trying to find someone to help you on the floor, but once you do, everyone is very polite and customer service oriented.
Thanks to everyone’s encouragement and suggestions, we successfully completed our photo prop challenge and monogram! I could not have done it without Denby R. and Iris K. as they worked THREE days straight on the photo booth props. We showcased Italy, France, Germany, Japan, Peru, Argentina, Hungary, and so much more! Take a look at all of the beautiful masterpieces!

I’ve been here for almost 3 years and I had no idea there was a Ben Franklin here. Every person I’ve asked said, oh that used to be a Ben Franklin but it closed (referring to the old Price Busters in Hawaii Kai) and the closest one is in Mapunapuna — which to me means nothing because I have no idea where Mapunapuna is. Anyways, I figured I’d google Ben Franklin and low and behold, there it is on Kapiolani. I thought this was a joke and Unilocalers were just reviewing a closed store. I looked through Unilocal and I saw a review posted from 20 days ago. Wth right? You can imagine my frustration! Anyways, I drove over with plans on using the gift card I won from the Unilocal Cookie Swap and as soon as I walked in, my mental Pinterest board went nuts. I had to refrain from buying everything and focused on my one goal. A circle cutter. Yes, there is a machine that cuts circles because people like me need perfect circles. I can’t just use scissors because I’ll see the imperfections and it’ll drive me nuts. I was looking for something very specific, a Fiskars circle cutter but they seemed to be out or stock or the worker couldn’t find it. I asked the worker for other kind and she referred me to this other brand that I’ve never heard of and said its a great cutter. I ended up buying a Martha Stewart because it was cheaper and I honestly wanted the Fiskars.
While I was walking around I found a Project Life Kit and was so excited! This lady told me about a 40% off coupon in Midweek starting next week. Guess who’s going back for that kit?! Lol me, duh. I love craft stores.

This Ben Franklin is great! I was here because I wanted to start a scrapbooking project. Because I was a little clueless on what I should be getting, I asked one of the employees there, Amber, about what I should get. She was extremely helpful and gave me a lot of suggestions.
Parking is a bit tight, so watch out for that. Other than that, I think that this store has a lot of supplies that you need for your crafts!

Fun place to get your craft supplies and Hawaii versions of items for us mainlanders.
It reminds me of Michaels back home, albeit a smaller version.
You can get everything from scrap booking, yarns, felts, beads, floral supplies etc here.
All reasonably priced.

Love this Ben Franklin. Similar to other but a tad bit smaller. Staff is always willing to help you, really show off their aloha spirit. Fun tutorials of craft ideas — even listen to you regarding your own projects!
During Christmas sales, they have the BEST stuff! Bought our poinsettia garland there and fell MADLY in love with it! Parking is right, might want to park in front and walk around.

10.22.13.
Just FYI, parking here can be terrible. Make sure you enter this Market City complex from the Kaimuki HS side… otherwise you’ll be fighting with all the Foodland people. I would also suggest planning to make your trip here doubly worth it by planning to eat here – there are some good places nearby – just be careful, I believe the lot has signs indicating a parking «time limit».
Anyways, this location is small in my opinion… and thus, the stock is kind of hit or miss. In my experiences I haven’t had a problem. I remember asking about a paper punch that they used to carry – the employee kindly told me that it was old stock and they no longer carried that item… there wasn’t really anything else she could do. I did notice that I was not really asked if I needed help at any point in my time in the store though… I guess not all locations can be as awesome as the Mapunapuna one.
I do think that this is a relatively convenient location for those in town/​Diamond Head side. I’m sure I’ll be back if I ever am in the area & am in dire need of supplies.
Unilocal 365 Challenge: #294/​365

SOME things here are a bit overpriced but it really depends on what you’re looking for. I love coming here to be inspired. They are always changing the displays & décor with (I’m assuming) their own craft projects & it’s great to see finished projects before or while you are buying the supplies.

Being a California native, it sure is hard to find a good arts & crafts store on island. Ben Franklin is probably as good as it’s going to get on Oahu… but to be honest, it just does not compare to a Michael’s.
If you have a project, most likely you can find the tools and supplies to make your ideas come to fruition. They oftentimes have really pretty displays in the front of the store. Service is always extremely helpful. Ample, free parking.
If only they had more sales…

I love Ben Franklin but occasionally there is a lady that works here with a little attitude problem. For the most part, the rest of the staff is helpful, courteous, friendly and always point out the great sales when I walk in.
I recently walked in to buy all the 50% off Easter goodies! I save it up for next year! The cute goody bags, cupcake holders, cookie cutters and packaging for little treats!
I love them all!
They have the best selection for arts n crafts for anyone at any age to do! I am a BF crafts member so I enjoy the additional % off my daily purchases!
I will shop here in the near future!

I’m a frequent shopper here. Lots of basic crafts to more advanced.
O.O Christmas just puked in ben franklin! It was like entering another universe. I went here to find glasses for etching. It was PACKED. I decided to go another day.