MJ Designs was an arts and craft retail store in the Dallas/Fort Worth and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, areas. The company filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

on December 13, 2002, and went out of business in May 2003.

Products

MJ Designs sold a variety of

arts and crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

products, floral products and arrangements, and supplies for

scrapbooking Scrapbooking is a method of preserving, presenting, and arranging personal and family history in the form of a book, box, or card. Typical memorabilia include photographs, printed media, and artwork. Scrapbook albums are often decorated and freq ...

, custom framing,

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

, and hobbies.

History

Michael Dupey got his start in 1968 when he worked for City Product Corporation (

Ben Franklin Stores Ben Franklin is a chain of five and dime and arts and crafts stores found primarily in small towns throughout the United States, last owned by Promotions Unlimited of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. They are organized using a franchise system, with ...

). He converted one of these stores into an

outlet after his father, James Dupey, purchased it for $72,000 from City Product Corporation. The buyout stated that Michael Dupey had to pay his father back $1.2 million after taxes, with the balance due after eight years. In that period, he changed the name to

Michaels Michaels Stores, Inc., doing business as Michaels, is an American privately held arts and crafts retail chain. It is North America's largest provider of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall décor, and merchandise for makers and do-it-yourse ...

Arts & Crafts and paid back his father's loan. In 1983 his father sold out the contracts to Sam Wyly. James Dupey sold his son's contracts for the stores that were not paid for 100%, along with Michael's cash deposits and his name (Michaels Arts & Crafts). James Dupey told Michael that the store name was registered under Dupey Management Corporation (Michael Dupey's Corporation); however, it was not; James Dupey had registered it to his corporation, Dupey Enterprises, Inc. Michael worked with the new owner, Sam Wyly. He gave Michael the two Michaels Arts & Craft stores in the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

area in return, to help Michael build a public company. Sam operated Michaels from 1983 until 1990 when it became financially difficult. Michael Dupey, who at the time was operating his 24-unit MJ Designs chain, was brought in as a special consultant. The public company was moving forward on all fronts with positive momentum. The Michaels chain comprised 140 stores by the end of 1990, with sales reaching $362 million, and debt down from $34 million to $9 million after one year. Michael worked as a consultant for Michaels public company until 1999. MJ Designs was formerly a part of Michaels, operating as Michael's MJ Designs, before the company split in the mid-1980s. Major disagreements between the father and son caused the company to split. As part of the court ruling, Mike got stores in the DFW area and East Coast to rename MJ Designs. James Dupey held the Austin and Houston areas. The court ruling stated that Michaels and MJ Designs must avoid each other's territory for seven years so both companies could grow without competition. In 1997, the court ruling expired. MJ Designs filed for

in 1999, despite reporting sales of $247.2 million that year. By 2001, the chain still had more than 500 stores across the country. Its eight Maryland stores were sold, mainly to Michaels. They closed all their stores in the Northeast region and several in the Dallas/Fort Worth area around this time. The remaining nine stores were bought out by Cardnell Investors, who reopened the Dallas/Fort Worth stores. MJ Designs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy again on 13 December 2002, and closed its doors in May 2003.

References

External links

www.mjdesigns.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mj Designs Defunct retail companies of the United States American companies established in 1986 Retail companies established in 1986 Retail companies disestablished in 2003 Companies based in Coppell, Texas