A former Nottingham craft shop is being cleared out after owners took the 'highly difficult decision' to close due to issues including rising energy bills. The Craft Studio on Derby Road sold a variety of fabrics as well as hosting regular craft and sewing workshops.
But the owners announced last year that they would be closing at the end of November, with the gas bill for the premises over three months in the winter having increased to £4,000 from £600. A statement on the business' Facebook page at the time said: "The retail side of the business hasn't returned to any kind of normal since the pandemic and now due to the cost of living crisis we are seeing a huge downturn in workshop bookings.
"The non-existent footfall on the road and the rising costs of maintaining a retail premises compared to the income it is generating means that it is no longer sustainable... Our sale has made a slight difference and it's clear that people love a bargain, this is human nature and totally understandable but again, not sustainable."
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Pictures now show the shop empty with a sign on the front of the shopfront reading: "This shop has now closed." People were seen clearing out the Derby Road premises on Monday (March 6).
The statement from the business last year added: "It has been a hugely difficult decision as this has been my life for nearly 15 years and what a joy it has been to sell beautiful things and to pass on my passion and skills for making and creating... Behind the facade of a beautiful shop, and this Facebook page, there is a real person with a real family, enduring the same struggles as everyone else."
As well as the closure, other new businesses have opened on the street in recent times.
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