She saved $24,000 to launch a craft festival in an old Joann store
A former Joann fabric and craft store is getting new life, if only for a weekend: Hundreds of Southern Californians are expected to visit for new art, clothing, decor and an afternoon of communal crafting.
This is the mission behind Lauren Tetef. Open House Creative FestivalIt will be held June 27 and 28 at the former Joann’s location at the Del Amo Fashion Center shopping center in Torrance, California.
The event is part artisan market, part workshop series, where guests can learn new skills directly from the makers behind the product they purchase.
“As an attendee, you get a little taste of what someone has done,” says Tetef, 40, a longtime event producer. “You sit down and figuratively break bread with them, you chat with them, you get to know them. And by doing that, you become much more invested in their business.”
A weekend full of shopping and crafts
Admission to the Open House Creative Fest event is free to wander around and shop from approximately 25 vendors; Each of these will also host their own craft workshops. Creativity enthusiasts can purchase an event passport starting at $40; this allows them to realize the effectiveness of each stand.
For example, a participating florist plans to host sessions in which he or she will guide visitors on arranging dried flowers on a greeting card that people can keep; Another clothing retailer plans to show people how to make keychains by upcycling old fabric materials.
The event pass will also give shoppers free use of the event’s “activity garden,” which features tables stocked with fabric, paper, paint and other art supplies to create their own projects.
“This is my dream come true,” says Tetef, who attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles and was inspired by the campus’ library of free materials. “I want to go to a place where everyone just sits around and does something.”
Approximately $24,000 savings after layoff
Similar to the temporarily revived Joann venue, Tetef’s creative festival is a comeback of sorts.
In March 2025, Tetef started a corporate marketing business but says the import-heavy business was affected by the Trump administration’s new tariff policy; Tetef said he was laid off in August, just six months later. Despite the unexpected turn of events, “This was a good opportunity for me to understand something: What do I do next?” he says.
He started brainstorming ideas for Open House Creative Fest and sees it as a blend of everything he’s done in his career.
Tetef previously worked as an events director, producing dozens of meetups ranging from large-scale pop-up markets to intimate influencer events. About two years ago, she also started her own business, Flourish Locally, which hosts networking events for small businesses and creative workshops such as charm-making sessions.
Tetef says she and her family are living off severance checks and her husband’s income. She took on event clients through her own business and put all her earnings aside to go to the creative festival, saving nearly $24,000 in just a few months.
‘It was a very special place for all of us’
While Tetef was looking for a location, she says a leasing agent at the Del Amo Fashion Center offered her the former Joann fabric and crafts store space.
In February 2025, the company announced that it would close almost all of its branches. After 800 fabric and handicraft stores failed to find buyers to continue their business.
Tetef paid $3,000 in rent plus a $1,000 deposit to rent the Torrance mall space for a month and received the keys on June 1. Tetef says he spent several thousand dollars on top of expenses like a cleaning crew, some store fixtures, a construction crew to work on decor and rugs, vinyl to cover the store’s front, a photographer, event garden supplies and more.
Tetef says the event saw about 500 RSVPs across Eventbrite and Partiful and 70 pre-sale passport purchases, and he hopes foot traffic to the mall over the weekend can attract other visitors.
The importance of advertising Tetef’s event in a former Joann store was not lost on him.
“It was such a special place for all of us, a place where you took your shopping cart and walked around the aisles and it sparked your imagination,” Tetef says. “If [people] They were in a creative block, they could come here and find a solution to it. Everyone is impressed by this area.”
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