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Mitchell Fabrics closed in 2017. It was described in the media at the time as “a destination for serious sewers”. I am not in that category but had, in 1980, visited with a friend from the wardrobe department with the Manitoba Theatre Centre.
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Chris Dugas and staff, Mitchell Fabrics, Main St Winnipeg Mb
Customers at Mitchell Fabrics, Main St Winnipeg Mb
Cutting fabric for customers, Mitchell Fabrics, Winnipeg Mb
Bolts of fabric, Mitchell Fabrics, Winnipeg Mb
Customers at Mitchell Fabrics, Winnipeg Mb
Bolts of fabric, Mitchell Fabrics, Winnipeg Mb
Cutting fabric for customer, Mitchell Fabrics, Winnipeg Mb
12 Responses
You could find fabric for anything you wanted to make at Mitchell’s. The selection was mind-boggling, as some of your pictures show.
I remember that day, after Mitchell’s we went to Kelekis’s for lunch … two wpg institutions that closed down (Kelekis in 2013)
I loved that store! It alone was a motivation to get sewing! And the staff were really helpful and efficient! How they could find what I wanted in all those stacks and shelves of bolts of fabric always amazed me! And I could spend hours at Mitchell’s enjoying the look and feel of the fabrics. 🤭Those were the days! 😂
P.S. Shamefully, I still have the lovely green herringbone wool I bought that day, carefully stored (for posterity no doubt) in a cedar chest. 🫢
You can bring it out for the 50th anniversary !
Amazing quantity of bolts! Huge! The odour of sizing (I think that’s it) coming off the fabric must have been overwhelming at first! Went to many a fabric store with our mom in our early years!
Great photos, Rob. I wasn’t a “serious sewer” or a sewer at all for that matter but I always enjoyed a visit with my sewing friends to MF. Their stock of cloth alone was astonishing and worth the trip, and the place had such a great creative energy. Definitely (was) part of the heart and soul of Wpg.
Thank you Robert…
I forgot to mention how well your photographs capture the spirit and industrious vibe of Mitchell’s. They’re true ‘documentary’ photographs in the full sense of the word. Wonderful. Thanks a lot for sharing. Cheers!
Thank you Joanne
my sister Marilyn and I both worked at Mitchell’s in the 70’s. It was a cultural experience as many of the staff were Mennonites who had immigrated from South America and of course customers from every ethnic group. we also served many of the surrounding Hutterite colonies. And yes MTC wardrobe scouts were always searching the isles. It was a great experience and I learned a lot about sewing while there and amassed a huge collection of fabric which I carted across Canada with each move. Many stories to tell.
Thank you for your comment, fun to hear your fondness for the place. They certainly served a wide community.