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Linley Mills (CQ), of Provo, shops with her daughter Kylie (CQ), 3, at the new Hobby Lobby location in Orem Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald

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John and Suzi Oakley, of Ephraim, shop for mirrors while browsing the isles at the new Hobby Lobby in Orem Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald

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Jadyn Neztsosie (CQ) browses the shelves at the new Hobby Lobby in Orem with an armful of purses already picked out while shopping with her mother Friday, Oct. 15, 2010. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald

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Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby is celebrating the opening of its new Orem store just in time for those holiday crafts and sewing projects. While it technically opened its doors for business earlier this week, the official grand opening celebration will be Monday at 9 a.m.

The 58,609-square-foot facility at 400 W. University Pkwy. is the fifth Hobby Lobby in Utah, and is one of more than 458 stores nationwide.

“We are pleased to be able to continue our reach into, and share our unique store with, the community of Utah’s sixth largest city,” said John Schumacher, assistant vice president of advertising.

Hobby Lobby offers crafts, hobbies, picture framing, jewelry making, fashion fabrics, floral, scrapbooking, cards and party, baskets, wearable art, home accents, holiday supplies and much more. Store hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and all Hobby Lobby stores are closed on Sunday. The Orem store will employ nearly 50 full- and part-time employees.

Hobby Lobby has been called the Walmart of the hobby world. It runs on a unique mixture of business and Christian principles established by its founder David Green. They are closed on Sunday and pipe Christian-based music through their stores. Store leaders say that they saw that Orem has a niche Hobby Lobby can fill.

“We feel that the market is underserved and that we can bring a very unique shopping experience to the area. There are many factors that go into opening our stores and location is definitely one of the many aspects that are considered before putting a store into a new market,” said Vincent Parker, national director of training and customer service.

While Orem and surrounding cities have several hobby and crafting stores to choose from, Parker said Hobby Lobby is unique compared to other stores in its selection and variety.

Hobby Lobby was founded in Oklahoma City, in 1972 with 300 feet of retail space. With Green’s Christian ethics and Bible teachings incorporated into his business, Hobby Lobby is now in 39 states and operates a 4.1-millionsquare-foot office, manufacturing and distribution center. Green is on the Forbes top 400 wealthiest business leaders list.

The Orem store’s grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony is open to the public. For more information visit www.hobbylobby.com.