Michaels partners with Jonathan Adler to give its home decor section an upgrade

Store of the Future // April 9, 2026 Michaels partners with Jonathan Adler to give its home decor section an upgrade By Gabriela Barkho Michaels This month, Michaels is rolling out the first of a series of collections in collaboration with interior designer and potter Jonathan Adler.

The co-branded collection, which hits stores on April 17, features several categories across DIY crafting, home decor and entertaining pieces. The collection features both ready-to-display decor and customizable DIY objects, such as ceramic vases that can be painted by the customer. According to the company, all items will retail between $2. 99 and $299. 99.

The partnership is the latest in a series of programs and initiatives by Michaels as it capitalizes on opportunities left open by defunct competitors like Joann and Party City. In 2025, Michaels launched The Party Shop section at its stores, featuring a balloon bar.

This spring, the company began selling fresh florals to complement its cards and balloons businesses. So far, the strategy has paid off, as Michaels continues to grow even after taking a hit from the various tariffs announced last year. As a whole, the home sector is facing a number of headwinds right now.

These include a decline in home ownership, higher manufacturing costs and an overall drop in disposable income among consumers. In turn, furniture and homeware brands are trying to adapt. However, Michaels says its strategy is focused on assortments that help customers refresh their homes in a relatively affordable way.

For instance, it’s offering seasonal dinnerware and patio accessories that can be used to spruce up gatherings and celebrations. That is where the Jonathan Adler X Michaels collection comes in, said Stacey Shively, chief merchandising officer at Michaels. “Right now, in our world, we talk a ton about the Joann and the Party City businesses,” she said.

But Michaels wants to strike a balance in how it tries to go after the customers those retailers left behind. “We want our home decor to stay under the celebration umbrella,” Shively said. That means that if a customer is celebrating spring or a graduation party, they can purchase a few items from Michaels to refresh their home in a limited way.

“That really differentiates us from other retailers,” she said. “So, for example, we won’t go after furniture in a big way because that doesn’t necessarily fit with the DNA of where we’re going.” In this interview with Modern Retail, Shively broke down the retailer’s approach to homeware and decor.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. In your recent direction to diversify your offerings, where does the Jonathan Adler collaboration fit into this strategy? “Something that many people don’t realize is that we have had decor for a long time. It makes up about 25% of our assortment, including seasonal decor.

As we were evolving our assortments and learning from our customers what they’re looking for, the Jonathan collaboration ended up being the perfect marriage because he has a deep love for Michael’s and everything DIY.

The collaboration was also appealing for Jonathan, who is a creator through pottery and his other art, and is bringing that beautiful aesthetic to our assortment.” The collection is made up of a mix of DIY and finished decor items. How did you decide on the categories to include in the launch collection?

“The collection is all about how you decorate your house to get ready for a party. The twist is: How do you make those products look amazing while also useful? So even if you’re not playing with the giant Jenga set, these are cool pieces to look at while being extremely functional.

As we developed all the SKUs, we had one key VP who worked on it and one key product manager who worked solely with the Jonathan Adler team. Everything had to get the stamp of approval from Jonathan and myself to ensure the quality and the aesthetic were there. I call it democratizing design.

We want that very high-end design, but also make it priced for the masses. We do have another drop that hits May 10. Then later this year, we are doing a cool Hanukkah drop for the holiday. It’s a celebration that is near and dear to Jonathan. The holiday collection is really important for us.

We want to keep [Adler’s] design aesthetic in mind and have it fit with our celebration strategy. Then we will continue into Valentine’s Day and spring.” How does the Jonathan Adler partnership help cater to your customer base? “Our traditional customer is what we call a maximalist.

They don’t want something that everybody else is going to do, and they want to be unique. This is where we have seen the growth, because our customer does not want what everyone else has. For the entertaining pieces, we mapped out what that customer might be celebrating. Let