ROCHESTER, N.Y. — With over 30,000 craft stores across the country, Dan's Crafts and Things has continued to stand out for the past fifty years. 

“It's for kids old and young,” employee Jessica Stevens said. “It's got something for everybody.”

"It’s Dan’s Crafts and Things, but basically anything hobby related, you can't find other places,” employee Tamara Kelley said.

“I actually have been coming here since I was a little girl,” employee Keturah Arico added. “I'm just a little older than the store.”

Celebrating Rochester's longest-running family-owned craft and hobby shop, Dan's Crafts and Things has served the community for five decades. 

“I was born and bred for this,” Dan’s Crafts and Things vice president John Donalies said. “There was nothing as fun as having parents that own a toy store.” 

Originally founded by Dan Donalies in 1974, the store continues to be operated by the family, passing the torch down to his two sons, John and Curtis Donalies. 

“Definitely as a youngster and in high school, having time to do homework and that was always the problem or whatever it is, you know, you'd get home from school and do some chores around the house and go right to the store and then work until the store closed. It was a great childhood,” Dan’s Crafts and Things president Curtis Donalies said. 

Mixing work and play.

“We got to test everything to help decide what would be the right product mix for our customers and really find the best products," John said.

Celebrating their milestone alongside both its staff and customers with giveaways, raffles and even vendors that have flourished within their own careers thanks to Dan's Crafts and Things. 

“I was just starting out and I was just trying to get, you know, my books here and there and see if I could just do locally, I didn't even try to go, you know, out of the state or anything,” the Greatest Dot-to-Dots Books Owner David Kalvitis said. “And Dan’s was the first one that actually picked it up and said, ‘yeah, we'll carry this.’” 

From connecting the dots with their own coloring page and with their long time customers, the owners celebrate the generations of crafters who have continued to make the store a traditional go-to destination.

“It's a warm feeling and that the people, you know, I happened to meet some new people or whatever and Dan’s Crafts and Things comes up and then suddenly they're like, ‘oh my gosh, I love that store,’” Curtis said.

“Just the relationships,” John said. “They're still small retailers like us that want to get to know people. It's really about the people more than anything else. And making that connection.”

And despite many of its customers and staff feeling like their childhood is over, the store continues to serve as a reminder that playtime never is.  

“I have to do the math again, like, yeah, it's been 50 years,” Curtis said. “Wow. It's wonderful that they are celebrating with us or whatever and that, you know, we've made it 50 years and we're still doing what we do and they still like coming into the store. So it's wonderful.”