As JOANN closes Keene store, New England Fabrics sews up the market

Long before the likes of Gap, Old Navy and Amazon, people made their own clothing — and a downtown Keene store made their lives a little easier.

When New England Fabrics and Decorating Center, formerly known as The Keene Mill End Store, first opened for business, it sold fabric remnants at discounted prices to those who sewed.

The advertisement for the store's grand opening urged shoppers to check out "all kinds of cloths," from ginghams and percales to corduroy and flannel.

That was 88 years ago on Oct. 23, 1934, when Ronald Parody's grandfather and great uncle started The Keene Mill End Store, purchasing fabric from manufacturing mills to resell.

Today, the 17,000-square-foot Ralston Street store has nine departments under one roof — including sewing, quilting, yarns and knitting, home decorating, upholstery and window treatments — and is in its third location. Its first was on Federal Street; its second, the entire first floor of the former Colony Mill (which two years later in 1984 became the Colony Mill Marketplace). The store moved to its current location in 1982.

Parody's father, David, and mother, Marcia, took over the family business and were operating it along with Ronald and his brother, Scott, who runs the upholstery department. David Parody died in 2018, and Marcia Parody continues to do the company bookkeeping.

Up until the mid-1960s the store carried only dress fabrics and "notions," which in sewing terminology are items attached to a finished article of clothing such as buttons, snaps, patches and ribbon. The store still carries a large selection of these items.

By the ’70s and into the ’80s, the store's inventory expanded into bridal fabric, but soon after it was replaced with an expanded quilting department.

"Quilting is now a hobby, not a necessity," said Parody.

Fabric for home decor (pillows, cushions) and upholstery were added to the mix, and today the store draws customers from all over the tri-state area.

During the pandemic, Parody said sales of cotton quilting (from primitive to hand-dyed batiks) and sewing fabrics (silks, linens, flannels, wools the store still carries) increased as well as home decor fabrics because home improvement projects had surged in popularity.

"We couldn't keep fabric in stock," he said.

In 2020, there were 10 to 12 million quilters in North America with 12 percent more new quilters popping up compared to 2019, according to Craft Industry Alliance, a trade association for craft industry professionals.

Sometimes, entire quilter groups will come from outside the area to spend the day shopping, he added.

Parody said he does anticipate an influx of customers when the JOANN fabric store in the West Street Shopping Center closes in January. The closest JOANN store to Keene is in Leominster, Mass., while the nearest stores in New Hampshire are in Nashua and Concord, according to the company's website.

JOANN is a nationwide crafts and fabrics retailer based in Hudson, Ohio. The Keene store opened in the 1980s, and while it does carry fabric, its focus is also on crafting supplies.

In addition to maintaining a diversified line of products, Parody attributes his store's longevity within a world of online retailers to its focus on customer service.

Of its 14 employees, several have worked there for more than 30 years: They include Parody as manager; his brother, Scott Parody, master upholsterer; Andrew Wilder, upholsterer; Amy Jeffrey, home decor manager; and Susan Whitbread and Gayle Szczygiel, sales associates.

Not only can customers purchase fabric and sewing machines (the store also services the machines), they can also bring in a project in progress and receive guidance from staff.

"If someone is having problems with a zipper or is making cuffs or a collar for a shirt, we can help them," said Parody. "We know our customer base by name because they come in and talk about their projects with us."

The same goes for a home decor project.

"We’ve taken furniture down to the bare frame, rebuilt it and re-upholstered it," he said. "Or if someone comes in and needs draperies and has (unusual) windows, we’ll go to their home and measure them before fabricating the treatments and then we install them. We do everything in store. We’re very hands-on."

Parody's plan is to continue his family's legacy that has kept the store in business for nearly nine decades. "It's always been about adapting, not spending money we don't have, and working hard," he said.

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