The history of Darice begins with Pat Catanzarite, an entrepreneur who returned from military service and settled in Cleveland. According to company histories, he identified an opportunity in the department-store display sector, as retailers required materials and decorations for window displays used to attract customers.[4]

In 1954, he launched a small business with approximately $200, initially supplying props and display materials to department stores. The business subsequently expanded into materials for manufacturing artificial flowers and other decorative products. This gradual shift towards craft materials laid the foundation for the company that became Darice.[5]

The company’s retail operation eventually became associated with Pat Catan’s, while the wholesale division adopted the Darice name.

Darice was established as the wholesale name of the Catan family business in the 1970s. Contemporary accounts describe the name as being derived from the names of Pat Catan’s children.[6]

This origin is significant because Darice was not originally conceived solely as a consumer-facing craft brand but was fundamentally a wholesale and distribution business. This distinction explains why Darice products appeared under the same name across various types of retailers rather than being limited to dedicated craft stores.

During the 1970s and subsequent decades, Darice expanded from decorative materials into a broader range of arts-and-crafts merchandise. Its business model combined several functions:

• Product sourcing
• Manufacturing
• Importing
• Wholesale distribution
• Product development
• Private-label and branded merchandise
• Supplying independent retailers
• Supplying large mass-market retailers

By the 2010s, Darice described itself as a premier wholesale distributor serving channels including craft, mass market, party, toy, drug and grocery stores.[7]

The scale of operations was substantial. Depending on the year and source, Darice’s assortment was described as containing roughly 31,000–56,000 SKUs, illustrating the breadth of the catalogue.[8] A 2018 industry profile noted that Darice carried more than 45,000 products and served independent retailers, grocery stores, hardware stores, non-profits, teachers, and makers.[9]

Darice became known for its unusually broad assortment rather than a single signature product.

Craft basics

The basic craft assortment included items such as:

• Craft sticks
• Foam products
• Googly eyes
• Wooden shapes
• Wooden letters
• Beads
• Cords and strings
• Embellishments
• Adhesives and accessories
• Basic crafting components

Jewellery making

Darice developed a substantial jewellery-making assortment, including:

• Beads
• Findings
• Jewellery components
• Wire
• Clasps
• Cords
• Tools
• Decorative elements

Paper crafts

The paper-crafting business included products associated with:

• Scrapbooking
• Card making
• Paper decoration
• Stickers
• Embellishments
• Albums
• Specialty papers

Floral and décor

A major area of focus was floral and decorative crafting, including materials for:

• Artificial floral arrangements
• Wreaths
• Seasonal decorations
• Home décor projects
• Event decorations

Fine art

Darice also sold a variety of general art supplies, extending the brand beyond traditional craft components.

Children’s crafts

Children’s creative products were a significant category, comprising activity materials and craft kits. The assortment included the FOAMIES® line, among other children’s craft products.[10]

Wood products

Wood was particularly important to Darice. Products included:

• Letters
• Shapes
• Plaques
• Dowels
• Turnings
• Birdhouses
• Other unfinished wood pieces

In 2015, the company stated it manufactured more than 50,000 craft products in the U.S. and abroad, identifying wood products as one of its major categories.[11]

Historically, Darice functioned as a major B2B supplier rather than merely a craft-store brand. Its customers included:

• Independent craft stores
• National retailers
• Mass merchants
• Grocery stores
• Party stores
• Toy retailers
• Drugstores
• Schools
• Teachers
• Non-profit organisations
• Professional makers

This distribution model made Darice familiar to consumers even if they were unaware of the company itself. Shoppers often encountered small packages of Darice beads, wooden shapes, craft eyes, or floral accessories without realising these were backed by a large wholesale operation supplying thousands of products to retailers.

Darice and Pat Catan’s originated from the same family business. The distinction was broadly defined as:

• Pat Catan’s: Retail craft stores
• Darice: Wholesale craft distribution

Pat Catan’s grew into a regional chain of arts-and-crafts stores, particularly in the American Midwest and surrounding states, while Darice operated as the wholesale arm. This structure gave the company a unique position in the industry, allowing participation in both retail and wholesale craft markets.

A significant turning point occurred in 2016, when The Michaels Companies acquired Lamrite West, the parent company associated with Darice and Pat Catan’s. The transaction was reported at approximately $150 million. At the time, Lamrite West comprised the Darice wholesale business and 36 Pat Catan’s stores.[12]

Following the acquisition, Darice became part of the Michaels corporate ecosystem. Strategically, this was notable because Darice already supplied products to Michaels; thus, Michaels gained control of a large sourcing and wholesale operation that could complement its retail business. Under Michaels ownership, Darice continued operating as an international wholesale business.

During the Michaels era, Darice sourced products from domestic and foreign suppliers and distributed them to retailers globally. Regulatory filings described Darice as an international wholesale business that both sourced products and developed Darice-branded merchandise.[13]

Filings reported varying SKU counts: one document cited approximately 55,000 SKUs, while a later filing reported approximately 31,000 SKUs. This difference reflects changes in assortment and reporting periods rather than a fixed catalogue size.[14] This period represented the peak of Darice’s development as a large-scale craft wholesaler.

The most critical event in Darice’s modern history occurred in 2020. After reviewing its strategy, Michaels announced in May 2020 that it would close the Darice wholesale operation, citing declining sales and a lack of viable long-term profitability.[15]

The closure was completed during Michaels’ fiscal fourth quarter of 2020. The 2020 annual report recorded a $45.2 million charge associated with the closure, primarily related to inventory liquidation, intangible-asset write-offs, and employee-related costs.

Reported sales had fallen substantially prior to closure:

• 2018: Approximately $106.7 million
• 2019: Approximately $79.9 million
• 2020: Approximately $37.6 million

The 2020 figure reflected the wind-down of the business.[16] Consequently, the historical Michaels-owned Darice wholesale operation effectively ended in 2020.[18]

The current Darice.com website presents Darice as an active seller with categories including:

• Arts & Crafts
• School Essentials
• Fun & Games
• Outdoors
• Party Décor
• Hobbies
• Household Items[17]

The site lists a contact address in Hammonton, New Jersey, and offers direct purchasing and wholesale inquiries.

Therefore, descriptions of “Darice” must distinguish between:

Darice, the historic craft wholesaler operated by the Catan family and later Michaels

and

The current Darice-branded e-commerce operation visible at Darice.com.

While historical corporate records confirm the closure of the Michaels Darice wholesale operation in 2020,[18] the present-day Darice.com business should not be described as simply “the same company continuing normally after 2020” without additional corporate documentation.

Historically, Darice’s identity was built around breadth, accessibility, and practicality rather than luxury positioning. The brand aimed to provide crafters with access to a vast selection of reasonably priced components for DIY projects. This made Darice particularly useful for beginners, teachers, children, hobbyists, jewellery makers, scrapbookers, floral designers, event decorators, and professional retailers.

Rather than dominating a specialised niche, Darice attempted to be a one-stop supplier for craft materials. Its importance in the American craft industry stemmed from its role behind the scenes; companies like Darice created the supply infrastructure that allowed retailers to offer enormous product selections. In this sense, Darice functioned closer to a craft-industry infrastructure company than a conventional consumer brand.

Product characteristics

Darice products historically shared several traits:

• Broad assortment: Enormous numbers of individual SKUs.
• Accessible pricing: Many products were inexpensive components sold in packs.
• DIY orientation: Items were typically raw materials or components rather than finished luxury goods.
• Cross-category use: Products like wooden shapes, beads, or ribbons were versatile across multiple project types.
• Retail-friendly packaging: Goods were packaged for display in craft and general retail stores.
• Seasonality: Assortments included products for holidays, weddings, parties, and seasonal decorating.

Cultural impact

Darice became recognisable among regular craft shoppers because the brand appeared on countless small packages. Its products became part of the basic vocabulary of American DIY crafting:

• Beads → Jewellery
• Foam → Children’s crafts
• Wooden shapes → Painting and decoration
• Googly eyes → Children’s projects
• Floral supplies → Arrangements
• Paper embellishments → Scrapbooking
• Craft sticks → School projects

This ubiquity is a primary reason the brand has maintained recognition despite the closure of its former wholesale operation.

Business model summary

Historically, the Darice business model operated as follows:

Manufacturers / suppliers
↓
Darice sourcing & product development
↓
Darice wholesale distribution
↓
Craft stores / mass retailers / specialty retailers
↓
Consumers, teachers & makers

This structure allowed Darice to manage a massive assortment while retailers handled consumer relationships. The company competed less like a traditional single-product brand and more like a large craft-products distributor and category supplier.

Competition

Darice operated in a fragmented competitive landscape. Competitors varied by category and included other craft wholesalers, specialty bead suppliers, floral-supply companies, scrapbooking brands, children’s craft manufacturers, art-supply manufacturers, and private-label programmes run by major retailers. Darice’s advantage lay largely in assortment and distribution rather than domination of a single product category.

Historical timeline

Darice’s legacy is best understood through its evolution:

• 1950s: Local decorating and display business
• 1960s–70s: Craft and floral materials
• 1970s onward: Wholesale distribution
• 1980s–2000s: Large-scale craft assortment
• 2016: Acquired by Michaels
• 2020: Michaels closes the Darice wholesale operation
• 2020s: Darice name appears in a new online retail context

From a $200 operation started in 1954, the business grew into a major supplier with tens of thousands of products across numerous retail channels.[19] While the 1954–2020 history constitutes the core of the brand’s significance, the present-day Darice website represents a newer chapter distinct from the former Michaels wholesale operation.

1. Darice, Inc. | LinkedIn
2. How Michael Catanzarite combines competitiveness and a family atmosphere to keep Darice atop the craft industry – SBN
3. SEC
4. Michaels to Close Darice By the End of November – Craft Industry Alliance
5. Darice Inc. | Craft Items- Explore our vast selection of crafting essentials, from beads and jewelry-making supplies to DIY home décor, scrapbooking, and more.
6. ARTS & CRAFTS | Darice
7. Craft Trend Report From Darice – Craft Industry Alliance
8. Darice | AllFreeJewelryMaking.com
9. I SPY DIY’s Jenni Radosevich Brings Her Colorful Creativity to Darice with a Trendy DIY Lifestyle Line
10. SEC
11. SEC
12. Darice, Inc. to Move Manufacturing of Wood Products to the United States
13. The Michaels Companies
14. SEC
15. SEC
16. SHOP | Darice
17. CONTACT US | Darice
18. The Michaels Companies, Inc. Annual Report 2020 | Quarterlytics
19. Luminara Signs Exclusive Deal With Darice To Distribute Its Real Flame-Effect Designer Candles In The United States