Shops / Shop of the Week
Shop of the Week: Flo-Jo Boutique
Nestled in the middle of the bustling Gloucester Road independent shopping district, Flo-Jo Boutique is a quirky little sewing shop and workshop packed with colour. Inside, the shelves groan with sewing kits for all ages, haberdashery items and a huge range of fabrics in all sorts of colours and prints.
Flo-Jo started 15 years ago when owners Delia Adey and Erika Peto met at pattern-cutting class and began selling clothing in interesting and unusual imported fabrics. As their knicker-making parties became more and more successful and companies such as Liberty started stocking their sewing kits, they decided they needed their own place, moving to their current home six years ago.
Flo-Jo Boutique’s owners used to run successful knicker-making parties
Inside, the main part of the shop is filled with sewing goodies. There’s a healthy selection of sewing kits to help beginners create their own projects, ranging from knickers to lampshades, on the shelves. Rows of fabric lawns in bright colours and vibrant prints fill every space. It’s a Thursday afternoon, so there’s a group of schoolgirls chatting in the workshop area – as well as being a shop, Flo-Jo also functions as a workshop, running regular and popular workshops for children and adults.
is needed now More than ever
Flo-Jo offers sewing classes and creative workshops to people of all levels
Co-owner Erika Peto is keen to develop the workshop aspect of the business. As part of the Gloucester Road Bristol Independent District, Flo-Jo’s aim is to promote and improve the area and build a vibrant and inclusive community, with plans to make the workshops more accessible for older people and try to reduce isolation by encouraging skill swaps with their younger creatives.
The counter is busy with customers either bringing in pieces for repair or buying sewing kits for their children, as gifts for relatives, or fabrics for personal projects. People seem to want to stop for a while, which Erika says is normal. “We have a lot of people come in who want to chat about their project,s” she says, finishing up a chat advising a regular before heading over to the workshop to assist their teacher Sabrina.
Flo-Jo Boutique, 36b Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8AR
www.flo-jofabrics.co.uk
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