MEMORY LANE: FIBRECRAFTS

FIBRECRAFTS was founded by Anna Bowers. She trained as a Physics and Maths teacher, learning to spin on her great grandmother’s wheel when her two children were ‘at that stage’. With others in the village in West Essex she set up a Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. The difficulty of finding good quality reliable supplies at the end of the 1970’s led to seeking out suppliers and, by default, becoming a ‘table-top’ retailer.

The first, typed catalogue was sent out in the Spring of 1982 to 1,000 names bought from Tim Willcocks at Hedgehog Equipment (who still exist). Later the Textile Book business developed by Miss Whittaker was acquired to support the product range. You can click here to see a potted history of how the catalogue evolved.

A family move to Godalming in Surrey shortly after was greeted with “well, I’ll give it a year, and if it doesn’t work, then it’s back to teaching!”

In 1986 a merger with Barnhowe at Elterwater in the Lake District was agreed, bringing in weaving and dyeing skills. The business progressed and during this time Anna spent 5 years as Chairman of the National Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers.

In 1994 Anna died suddenly of Legionnaire’s Disease. After a short period her husband, Ian who was also hospitalised by the same illness, took over the full time running of the business, and bought out the Barnhowe partners.

The ‘cottage’ industry from their home at Style Cottage has continued to grow incorporating a number of other businesses including George Weil & Sons Ltd, Suasion Ltd and the Papershed and FIBRECRAFTS is now run from a warehouse in Peasmarsh just outside Godalming.

The Warehouse & Showroom in Peasmarsh Surrey

MEMORY LANE: George Weil & Sons Ltd

FIBRECRAFTS, as it is today, has taken more than 115 years to create. The story is the blending of two distinct family businesses set up by George Weil & Sons in 1891 and Anna Bowers in 1982.

George Weil was a Silk Merchant from Alsace in the border region of France and Germany, who moved to London to set up business trading in silk fabrics as linings to the fur trade. We still have his original copperplate hand written order books and cash book. The business was based around the fur auction rooms by the river Thames near St Paul’s Cathedral. It thrived, being handed from father to son and becoming a prosperous limited company in 1934.

In the 1970’s public opinion began to turn against fur coats, and the business first adapted by moving to the West End of London into the ‘rag trade’ area and selling a wider range of lining fabrics to the fashion shops. Later the Weils noted that they were making more fabric sales to individual artists as silk screen printers and then to silk painters. They extended their product range to include the DEKA silk, fabric and glass paints. DEKA were one of the first makers of these items, and the business still holds the UK distribution agency for these products. They also added the Sinotex silk fabric agency.

Recognising that London was an expensive base, and that mail-order was becoming increasingly popular the main part of the business moved to a warehouse in Reigate, leaving a fabric shop in London.

Do you remember George Weil & Sons Ltd before it became part of FIBRECRAFTS?