This is part of a series on small businesses in San Francisco.
When other fabric stores shut down, San Franciscans in need of sewing materials turned to Fabrix. At least, that’s what Fabrix store owner Keelin Reddy believes has spurred her recent bump in sales.
Fabrix’s experience indicates that being small and planted in one neighborhood can be an advantage. What’s more, e-commerce hasn’t made the inroads in fabric that it has in so many other businesses. There is a strong appeal to physically shop for such products, especially for those who like to see the color or drape of the fabric, Reddy noted. “People want to be in person,” she said.
The Fabrix store, located at 432 Clement St., was founded as “Fabric Factory Outlet” by Bruce Taylor in 1993 at 101 Clement St. Cheryl Rabichev took over in 1995, renaming it “Fabrix.” Taylor regained ownership from 2001 to 2021, and the storefront moved down the street in 2015, when the original location needed earthquake upgrades.
When Taylor was ready to step down, Reddy, a longtime customer, saw the opening as a “nice second chapter” after working in merchandising for Brooks Brothers and Gymboree.
For her, sewing had always been a passion. She took up sewing at 18 and asked for a sewing machine for her birthday. Her father believed she would use it only once, she recalled, and so that gift never came. Instead, Reddy saved up money from her summer job as a lifeguard and bought her own.
While attending the University of California, Santa Cruz, she took sewing classes at nearby Cabrillo Community College.
When Reddy moved to San Francisco to work for Gymboree, Fabrix became her local fabric store.
The store offers “quality fabric at significant discounts,” according to its legacy business application. It sources its material from manufacturers with excess inventory and upcycles it at the store.
Reddy cited a scrap of upholstery fabric that would have cost $400 per yard in a designer showroom. Her price typically falls between $15 and $40 per yard. The scrap, she said, offered the perfect opportunity for someone to make a pillow.
Most of Reddy’s customers are home sewers, but they also include bag makers, interior designers, upholsterers, and crafters. She’s also seen interest from the younger generation, sparked by Makerspace, a collaborative workspace that fosters hands-on creation, and more exposure to sewing.
Even with renewed interest, many fabric and craft stores have been shutting their doors. “I think in general, that maybe there were too many, but I think now maybe there’s barely enough,” she said. “I’m finding new people who are like, ‘Oh, I used to shop at Joann, oh, I used to shop at [Fabric] Outlet.”
Joann, a fabric and crafts retailer, is closing roughly 500 of its 800 locations and recently filed for bankruptcy; California is one of the states most affected by the closures. Fabric Outlet, a beloved option in the Mission, closed in late 2024 after it struggled to recover from the pandemic.
Staying put in Richmond is one of Fabrix’s greatest advantages, she said. Longtime customers “seem relieved we are still around,” she added. The store is open seven days a week, with five employees who work three to four days a week, on average.
“It’d be kind of a bummer if you couldn’t get your thread the day you need it because your project’s due or you want to be able to wear it that night,” she said.
As a business owner, she is the last person to be paid. She only recommends taking on the role if you have a true passion for the work.
In response to recent tariffs, Reddy plans to reexamine the margins of her products, and suspects price increases won’t be felt until September. Knowing she has cost-conscious customers requires this consideration, she explained.
“We’re at an extremely lucky place in the city, in that most people who come into the store come in because they’re in a good mood and ready to be creative,” she shared. “In terms of a retail job, we’re kind of lucky. We’re not denying people their medicines.”
Some of her favorite offerings of the store are the upholstery wool, the swimwear fabrics, and the embroidered linens.
“We get all kinds of people in here, right, which is the other real joy of a fabric store,” she said. “Young sew, old sew, rich sew, poor sew.”
We need shops like this to keep the sucking sound that is Amazon at bay.
Once you lose them they aren’t coming back.
I travel put of my way to shop at this awesome small local indy shop. The selection of cotton and upholstery fabrics and variety of trims is wonderful. The staff rock. Long live Fabrix❣️