I am really into crafts…and I miss Hobby Lobby and Michaels! After several months of living in Germany and not being able to find many of the craft selections that I am accustomed to in the States, I began to look for craft stores in the nearby Kaiserslautern area.
After many hours of searching, I finally came across a very large craft store in Trier. It has FOUR floors and over 2,000 meters of home goods and creative paradise! Need I say more to any of the crafters out there?
The name of the store is Bastel Stube. It’s an easy 1-hour or so drive from Kaiserslautern on the autobahn and is well worth the trip. They even have their own large parking lot, which they share with a Bio Market and Bistro, so you can make a day of it and break for lunch.
Make a list of all of the stuff you miss about the craft stores in the US, and I promise you will find most of it here. Honestly, it doesn’t look that impressive when you drive into the parking lot, but it does have a very impressive collection of crafting supplies and ideas.
The front of the store is dedicated to household decorations and kitchen gadgets (think Hobby Lobby or Bed, Bath and Beyond). There is a fairly large area for all of the cake decorators out there as well!
As you continue to move around the store, you will discover a complete frame shop and a very nice selection of scrapbook supplies.
The staff is well qualified to assist you with whatever you need from paint supplies to decorations for weddings and baby showers. There is even a small selection of model cars and kites!
If you are into knitting or sewing, they have plenty of items for you as well. An entire section is devoted to your sewing needs, complete with fabric and an entire wall of ribbon selections.
Personally, my favorite room is the one dedicated to paper mache, mosaic tiles, ceramics, clay, and literally every type of paint supply you can imagine.
Bastel Stube also offers a variety of workshops and classes for children and adults, including sculpture, paint, gold leaf, and calligraphy. Bastel Stube is open Monday – Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The address is Saarstabe 6-12, Trier 54290. The telephone number is +49 (0) 651 71 680.
How to Get There
Trier is 1 hour and 13 minutes northwest of Kaiserslautern, 2 hours southwest of Wiesbaden and just over 3 hours northwest of Stuttgart. Click on DB Bahn for train details.
Author’s Profile: Cheryl Koller is a native of Georgia. She is a DOD spouse, mom of 4 daughters (2 adults, 2 teens), thrill-seeker, avid traveler, and lover of food and wine. She is a self-proclaimed Freedom-Preneur and Blogger currently living in Ramstein with her family.
