Financial Times
It’s unlikely you’d ever stumble across Joel and Son by accident. Nestled in a run of unpromising shop fronts on a busy market street selling everything from fruit to fake Juicy tracksuits, it would be easy to scuttle by without realising what you were missing. But Joel and Son, founded 22 years ago by father and son team Joel and Gary Bull, is a treasure trove of material. ‘It’s 5,000sq ft of floor-to-ceiling fabric. There must be thousands of rolls. There’s no space left,” says Gary. ‘When we started, the shop was a fifth of the size it is now but slowly we’ve bought up shop, after shop, after shop.” The result is a fabric collection that’s sought after by amateur dressmakers, Savile Row tailors and those working in the fashion and costume industry. “About five times out of 10, if it’s on television or in a film, we’re involved somehow or another with fabric supply,” says Gary. And though they won’t name names, they fulfil the cloth needs of many a celebrity both at home and abroad. They even recently received their Royal Warrant to the Queen for supplying her couturiers with fabric. “For a little shop, it’s not a bad achievement,” says Gary. But every pocket is catered for here – prices range from £3 a metre to £1,800. Whatever the end result you’re looking for, the Bulls have the fabric. Taffeta, lace, organza, silk, satin, cotton and even suit fabrics from labels such as Emenegildo Zegna and Loro Piana. Each season they stock all – or most – of the fabrics, prints and colours in use. “Most of the things you see on the catwalk we have or can get you something very similar.” Copies of the latest magazines are not on hand as evidence but to inspire customers. If what you want isn’t on the shelves, it’s very likely that it isn’t far away. New deliveries are received two to three times a week. For the really unusual, Joel and Son offers a bespoke service and can create hand-beaded or hand-embroidered fabrics on request.
