I left the UK in 2015. My only regret was I didn’t get to visit Guthrie & Ghani. I had a colleague that worked there part-time as a sewing tutor, and told me to come and visit. She said I would love it there. She knew I love all things haberdashery and fabric. She knew me too well! On my recent trip to the UK, I made sure to pay a visit to Guthrie & Ghani when I was passing through Birmingham.
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Situated on the edge Moseley Village High Street is this chic independent fabric and haberdashery shop. I thought it was worth a visit just by looking up the products and the shop front on their website. Turning up at the door was a totally different story. I couldn’t wait to get inside. I was through the door with the baby before the husband had parked up!
I thought I might get to meet the boss lady herself, Lauren. Unfortunately, she wasn’t there on the day when I visited but my old colleague from work was. Claire greeted me with a huge bear hug! I met Claire when she worked at the college. I supported her lessons, and we got on well together. Since leaving the college, Claire had been working here at Guthrie & Ghani and teaching on the sewing workshops. Which is conveniently just up in the roof of the shop.
OMG, this place is gorgeous!
As soon as you entre into the premise you get an exciting feeling because you know once you open that shop door you will feel like a kid let loose in a candy store!
OMG, this place is gorgeous! Located on the ground floor of a Victorian terrace is this haberdashery shop. With its high ceilings, brightly lit room with natural beaming sunlight flooding in and wow décor, this is a must place to visit if you love to sew. The shop floor was just the right size. Spacious but not empty looking, if you know what I mean. There was so much to look at on all 4 sides of the room without it looking too cluttered.
The shop had an array of gorgeous fabrics, trimmings, haberdashery, and crafty items. It’ll be a shame not to pick up a few useful items before I leave Birmingham. Everywhere I looked, something caught my eye. Claire and the staff just left me to it! With the baby fully occupied by the staff and the husband, I took my time checking out the shop.
The great thing about this shop is, there’s a range of sample clothing on a rail next to the fabric bolts. The garments are also made with the clothing patterns they sell in the shop. You can really see the final product before you purchase your pattern. Great for showing how the fabric will behave once made into a garment, which I find lacking in a lot of big High Street Department Stores. They are usually just cloth wrapped around a mannequins. This is extremely useful if you haven’t used a pattern before and know what to expect.
EXTENSIVE FABRIC RANGE FOR AN INDEPENDENT SHOP!
The fabric range was big for an independent shop but not so huge you end up lost and not knowing what to buy. There’s something for everyone, whether it is a casual top or a formal jacket, you are bound to find something you will like. There is also a secret fabric stash, which they are not allowed to advertise. Yes, you heard me! These are the designer end-of-line fabrics. Mostly linnings but if you are lucky you might find some material. This is usually limited stock, hence the end-of-line tag. Located on the bottom shelf and to the side. Just make sure you whisper your request to the assistants since they are not allowed to advertise it.
You will find a range of fabrics, brushed cottons, soft jerseys, and denims, on one side of the shop floor. There’s also a small range of Liberty fabrics if you look closely. I was to tempted to purhcase a few metres but I resisted temptation. The prices are roughly the same across the country so no bargains were found here.
In one corner of the room you will find knitting wools and accessories. Sewing notions, embroidery and haberdashery section in another corner. Everything is nicely organised, arranged and presented in a neat and inspiring manner. You could tell you’re not in any ordinary haberdashery shop. Dotted around the shop were Fat Quatre fabrics, fabrics for furnishings, craft fabric to fabric with popular seasonal prints. They stock popular haberdashery brands such Prym and Clover for the sewing enthusiasts. Whether you are into bag making, making purses, sewing clothes, making cushions or baby bibs, they probably stock something the notions you need.
The workshops seem reasonably priced if anyone is interested in trying them out. If that’s not your cup of tea, there is always the bundle packages you can grab and go, with all the sewing haberdashery and fabric all prepared in advance.
I was so glad I manage to visit this place. Definetly a unique shop compared to all the High Street clones I have seen up and down the country. I did buy the new Prym Vario pliers for setting press studs and eyelets. The new colour pliers are lightblue rather than the horrible old royal blue, which I already have. As for the Liberty fabrics, I held back. Not because of the price of the fabric, more because I didn’t know what to make if I bought the fabric. I tend to wear a lot more plain fabric clothing. Later on in my blogs I will be showing you some of the notions I have purchased. Hopefully I get to introduce you to some new equipment for your sewing room.
See you in my next blog!
Shan x
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