I just got home from Michael's where I bought a couple piping tips, powdered meringue, and a bottle of gel food color - all Wilton brand.
Is Cake Craft Michael's store brand?
While standing in line waiting to check out (2 open registers and 6 closed registers) I joined a conversation about the long line and agreed with all the grumpy women complaining about the wait. When it was my turn to check out I asked the cashier to pass a message to the store manager: People waiting 5, 10, even 15 minutes to checkout aren't thinking about how much fun waiting is; they're thinking about where they'll go next time. I told her I knew it wasn't her fault and that I wasn't trying to give her a hard time but I was serious about her passing on the message. Cashier gave 25% off the entire purchase! Now I'll feel bad when I shop somewhere else. 
That's interesting because whenever I go to Michael's I also have the same problem! Long lines with only one or two open. Whenever I go I always expect a long line. I've never heard of cake craft though, it's always been Wilton products so I'm not sure.
lyndim, the Michaels closest to me is in Florissant, MO on N. Hwy 67. Most Wilton items can be purchased online from other sources at noticeable savings.
I went in this morning because none of the three local grocery chains carry powdered meringue and I was driving by on my way home. Next time I'll buy from Amazon.
Lyndim, my family and I lived in Concord in 1988 after returning from Japan. Commuted to Alameda every day until we moved to San Diego a year later. Small world. 
Maybe some business owners are arrogant enough to treat customers poorly simply because they can, but they are few and far between. Michael's, however, is a corporation with publicly traded stock, so Carl Rubin, CEO of Michael's and who makes more than $5 million per year, spends more time working to make a profit for stock holders than he does figuring out how to better serve the customers that make profit possible. Long lines are the norm for retail business today. Reducing employees is a tried and true method of decreasing costs to increase stock prices and, hence, "profit". You'd be surprised at the number of companies who lose money hand over fist, yet are considered successful because they "take action to reduce costs" by closing stores, laying off or outright terminating employees or finding other ways to reduce their personnel costs. I don't think I've ever heard of CEO telling his board of directors to reduce her/his compensation to no more than the highest paid hourly employee (those are the people who do the actual work).
I hope no one thinks I'm opposed to making money. I'm not. I do, however, believe it should be done the way I did it my entire working life by working and improving, not by finding ways to reduce compensation or service for others.
Grumpymike, I agree. Fortunately there is a JoAnn's here and their pretty good about calling cashiers when the line gets too long.
So do you miss California? I used to live in Southern Illinois way back when. I would never, ever move back! I do miss the lighting bugs though.
Lyndim, I don't miss CA but I miss the people who became friends. My older brother lives in Sausolito and at 68 still works full time as a yoga instructor. Southern IL is better because it has lots and lots of trees. I live near St Louis, MO, now, and worked on the other side of the river in Granite City, considered by most to be "southern" IL, but that's not saying a lot - others think anything not Chicago is "southern" IL. 
Grumpymike, I lived near Carbondale. It was really pretty, lots of lakes and rolling hills. Granite City sounds familiar. I still have a few friends that still live in Carbonadale. You can't beat the spring or fall weather. The summers were stifling, with humidity so high. The winters could be pretty brutal too.
Your brother lives in a beautiful place. Sausalito is a great place, a little pricey though. Always a nice day trip.
Lyndim, Granite City is where granite ware got it's start in the US. Two brothers built a tin works in the middle of corn fields where the city now stands. They laid out and built the city for their employees. The company was renamed Granite City Steel when the investment was made to turn the tin works into an integrated steel mill producing hot and cold rolled steel. Long story short, the works is now owned by US Steel and almost completely idled; just one department still running. Iron Making (Blast furnace, coke ovens) and steel making (BOF and casters) have been shut down due to competition from low price/low quality steel from overseas. The remaining department runs specialty steels none of USS's other works seem to get right. Enough soap boxxing!
Brother lives in a teensy tiny apartment above a retail space - he's been there for close to 30 years. He's had the same PO box for about 40 years. He scrapes by, but has a grand view of the waterfront.
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