A popular specialist wallpaper and decorating supplies shop on Nelson Street in Greenwich has closed after 47 years in business.

On December 23, 2022, Pickwick Papers & Fabrics closed its doors for the final time after 47 years of business and serving the community.

Pickwick Papers & Fabrics has been Julia Johnson’s family business for decades after it was initially taken on by her mother.

Julia, 61, took on the business in the 90s after her mother had taken it over many years before and Julia’s daughter, Kate Rodgers, told of how the business grew to become an integral part of the community.

Kate said: “My grandmother worked there and took it over and it was then passed down to my mum and it’s been in business for 47 years.

“It was like a household name around the area since my nan and mum had worked there for so long.

“A lot of people trusted them if they wanted to change anything in their house, they wouldn’t do anything without getting their advice first”.

Like many businesses, the shop began to face difficulties in the wake of the pandemic when lockdown restrictions forced the shop to close.

Julia was forced to conduct business from home during a time when home improvement would have been a way to pass to time for many during those difficult months.

Kate, 33, explained: “My mum did everything herself because she couldn’t afford to pay other people’s wages and she wanted to make sure the business could stay afloat.

“She was up in the workroom making the curtains, she was in the shop front.

“Then lockdown happened and she then set up from home as such.

“She was getting deliveries done, but directly from the suppliers to the clients”.

The lifting of lockdown wasn’t the end of the business’ difficulties, though, and increasing rent rates forced Julia to make the decision to close the shop’s doors.

Kate said: “Rent rates just got too high towards the end, my mum is in her 60s now, she wants to keep the business going “But how do you do that when you're paying so much on rents?

“So, in the end she had to close, it was a sad day when the shop had to close, and it's no longer going to be a part of Greenwich.

“I'm nearly 33, and I've only ever known that shop”.

For Kate, her mum is more than a business owner, she’s also an active part of the community, taking part in events and projects.

Kate said: “My mum would help make the displays for Greenwich Market, at Christmas time she would always help with the Santa’s Grotto for the children.

“My mum is just very artistic, she’d always make fun and interesting window displays that her customers always enjoyed seeing.”

Kate described the last window display, saying that her mum decided to “go out in style” when she commissioned a six-foot long cut out of herself to display in the shop window to commemorate the shop’s closing.

She added: “For her last window she got a six-foot cardboard cutout picture of herself.

“When I asked her what she was doing she said ‘well it’s my last window, so I don’t see why not’ and that was that”.

However, Kate said that although this the end of an era, it is not the end of her mum’s business.

Julia recently took up residency in a new studio across the street from her old shop and is now taking orders from there.

Kate said: “She’s now got a small studio across the road where she can invite clients in and keep the business going with online orders.

“So, she’ll still be a part of Greenwich, just in a different way.”