The final yard for Fabric Place

Economy, lifestyles tear at family business


Annie Isaacson and her twin sister were children of the Great Depression. As early as age 11, they picked blueberries in the woods around Framingham and sold them door to door, carefully guarding every penny earned. Their childhoods were spent moving from one foster home to another, and working, always working: babysitting, housecleaning, and, eventually, sewing.
The lessons they learned helped them create Fabric Place, which became a beloved institution in downtown Framingham before spreading across the region. At its peak, the family-owned company had seven New England stores earning $33 million in annual revenue, with 550 employees. But that was a few years ago, before the economy started to slide.

Now, much to the dismay of its loyal customers, the original store, which opened in Framingham in 1946, will be the last to close, sometime in the next month or two.

"I can't believe it," said Isaacson, now 90, in an interview last week in her Framingham home. "It makes me very sad.". . . more