ONE of the best-known shops on Downend’s high street has closed suddenly.
Fabrics Plus had been a fixture on Badminton Road since moving from Keynsham in 2012, with crafters buying wool and other materials, and meeting up in groups to make creations – and friendships.
Owners Robin and Sarah Honeywill announced the closure with “great sadness” on August 6, posting a message on social media thanking customers and staff for their support.
They took over the shop in 2018, when predecessor Brigitte Parker sold up. Sarah had been a customer of the shop for years and the couple, from Keynsham, bought it to keep it open.
Robin said the main reason for the closure had been a family emergency involving a relative, which meant there was no chance of being able to keep the business going.
He said: “It’s a real shame but one of those things we had to do. At the end of the day, family always comes first.”
Robin said the current economic situation in the retail sector had also “helped make the decision”.
In particular the reduction of business rates relief, brought in during the pandemic, from 75% to 40% in April had meant their bill “almost trebled overnight”.
Robin said they had tried to sell the business as a going concern but had been unable to find a buyer.
The shop is now expected to go onto the letting market, while Robin said he and Sarah are not retiring, but would have to think about the future later.
Robin said it was “really hard” to tell the shop’s three part-time staff they no longer had jobs, adding: “They have been brilliant through all the years we’ve owned the business, and helped us learn the trade when we took over – we’ll miss them especially.
“We will miss our customers enormously. We’ve been very lucky over the last seven years to have got to know some really good friends in the shop.
“We wish them well in their future crafting adventures.”
The shop had been through three Covid lockdowns, during which it made home deliveries, and a flood in 2021, which had forced it to close for six weeks.
It also provided a space for crafters to meet, work together and form communities.
Suzzie Belcher, a leading member of the shop’s Knit & Natter group, said they began meeting almost as soon as Sarah and Robin took over the shop and, as word spread, ended up splitting into two groups to accommodate everyone who wanted to get involved.
Suzzie said: “Its popularity has always been driven by Sarah, and in many ways it has become a true community hub, filled with lively chatter about Downend and the surrounding area.
“Over the years, we have taken on plenty of charity knitting projects: from helping to yarn bomb Christ Church Junior School’s playground, to making premature baby hats for Bath Maternity Hospital; from creating post box toppers for Downend Post Office, to knitting hats for homeless veterans in Plymouth—always led and encouraged by Sarah.
“This knitting group has forged friendships that have lasted for years—connections that simply wouldn’t have existed without it.”
The next charity topper, for the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, is due to be placed on the post box nearby in September.
Suzzie said: “Fabrics Plus was never just a haberdashery—it was a glorious gem in Downend. A place where you could find wonderful fabrics, every imaginable piece of haberdashery, a kaleidoscope of knitting yarns, and a haven of knowledge.”
Fellow group member Tina Jefferies “many people are absolutely gutted” by the closure.
Customers who left messages on the shop’s Facebook page described it as a “lovely treasure trove”, with one saying: “This is such a blow to the local crafting world and to Downend High Street.”
Another said: “You created more than a fabric shop, you created a kind and caring community which has been invaluable to so many people.”