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We are a family owned and operated fabric store with locations in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1970 by Richard Megrian, our fabric store has spanned 50 years and 3 generations. We offer 1,000’s of fabrics for garment making, quilting and home decor and carry dozens of selections for notions, trims, and patterns for seasoned sewists or beginners. Everyone here at Fabricana is enthusiastic about sewing, fashion, quilting and creating and have the experience you’re looking for.
Thank you for supporting us during our first 50 years! You stuck with us while we turned a dream into a reality. You’ve provided invaluable feedback that has helped to shape our supply and we are delighted every time a customer shares what they have created with our fabrics. It’s a pleasure to play a part in your lives and this journey has been a truly humbling experience.
Best of all, we’re not going anywhere! With your support we are eager to see you in our stores and online for another 50 years or more.
Scroll down the timeline below to take a visual tour through Fabricana’s history.
The Start of our Journey
In the 1950’s, Richard Megrian immigrated to Montreal from Cyprus. In Montreal he met the love of his life, started a family, and joined the growing textile industry in Montreal. But his journey was just beginning.
Beauty of the West Coast
After making a trip to British Columbia in 1968, Richard was dazzled by the beauty of the West Coast and decided this would become his home with his young family. So, he left everything behind in 1969 and moved his family across Canada to Vancouver. It was here that he opened his first fabric store just like his own father had in Cyprus many years ago.
A Store is Born
In 1970, Richard opened the first Fabricana in Richmond BC across from Richmond Centre with his wife Karen by his side. Karen was his only employee and they ran the tiny 800 square foot shop tirelessly to ensure they could help as many people as possible find the perfect fabric.Richard's ability to know so many of his customers on a first name basis and what their fabric tastes were led to a growing loyal customer base. This meant, slowly but steadily, Fabricana was able to grow.
Alderbridge Way
In 1980 Richard's two sons (Mike and Greg) joined the business and they were able to lease a larger store front for their little fabric store.The 8,000 square foot store on Alderbridge Way allowed them to quadruple their selection, including fabrics direct from Europe and brand name Quilting lines from the USA. Fabricana truly was growing and the future looked bright.
Passing of the Torch
In 1984 as business was booming Richard suffered a stroke and was forced to step away from Fabricana to recover. To fill the large void left by Richard, Greg and Mike stepped up to handle management of the business, and a new era of Fabricana was born. Greg started travelling to Europe and Asia to bring exclusive fashion fabrics to the Vancouver market, to ensure Fabricana had unique fashion fabrics that could not be found anywhere else.Richard recovered but largely stepped away from the business to focus on his health and left the day-to-day operations in the capable hands of his sons. Richard stayed on to consult and was constantly checking in on his beloved staff at Fabricana, many of whom stayed with the company for over 30 years and only left once retirement came calling.
Hazelbridge Way and Fabricana Home
Fabricana continued to develop under the direction of Mike and Greg and by 1986 had outgrown the store on Alderbridge Way. Fabricana moved once again to a larger store on Hazelbridge Way, where the main floor was 15,000 sq. ft. of designer fashion fabrics, and the second floor was 6,000 sq. ft. exclusively for quilting fabrics.It was at this time that a separate Fabricana Home division was created which focused specifically on window coverings, upholstery and outdoor fabrics.
Surrey Fabricana
Business continued to grow throughout the 1980's and in 1988 Fabricana opened a Surrey location to help serve customers in the Fraser Valley.The 16,000 square foot space allowed the Surrey Store to mirror our Richmond location and provide excellent fabric selections from Europe, Asia and the USA as well as a separate Fabricana Home store.
Coquitlam Fabricana
Expanding again Fabricana saw the request for Fabrics in Coquitlam and a store was opened off of United Boulevard with our grandest location yet. With over 20,000 square feet for Quilting and Fashion fabrics and a 10,000 square foot Fabricana Home department.
Richmond Garden City Road
Coquitlam’s success allowed for Fabricana Richmond to move once more into our largest location with 25,000 square feet for fashion and quilting and over 16,000 square feet for Fabricana Home. This beautiful location on Garden City Road allowed for a dedicated Warehouse and thousands of fabrics to come in and out of our doors. Fabricana could not be prouder!
The Next Generation
In 2016 Mike decided it was time to retire, followed shortly thereafter by Mona (Richard's daughter) in 2017. Greg was left as the only family member active in the business and was pondering the future when an answer came in Greg's son-in-law Jaysen.Jaysen's accounting background working with successful businesses combined with Greg's experience in textiles was a perfect match. With all the dedicated trusted staff still wanting to serve the sewing consumers of BC, plans were made for a 3rd generation to carry on the Fabricana name.
New Warehouse and Head Office
With the cost of doing business in Richmond jumping dramatically, the difficult decision was made to close the Garden City store. The head office and warehouse were relocated to a beautiful new location in Delta. With the additional warehouse space, the groundwork was being laid to launch an online presence.
Fabricana Richmond Re-opens!
Shortly after announcing the closing of the Richmond location, the outcry of support from our loyal customer base was overwhelming. The store was renovated and reopened to the public with a smaller 14,500 sq. ft. footprint. Unfortunately, there was not enough room for Fabricana Home, but with some new fixtures and more efficient layout, we were able to stock most of our Fashion and Quilt fabrics.
Fabricana.com
With fewer sewers in and around greater Vancouver, but with pockets of creative, dedicated sewers in smaller communities all over Canada, the decision was made that Fabricana must develop an online store in order to offer our unique fabrics to sewing enthusiasts all over Canada.The future looks bright, this fantastic opportunity will help spread our love of Fabrics farther than Richard could have ever dreamed of!
Moving to Coquitlam
Our Richmond store closed permanently in March, 2024 after 4 wonderful years in our new space. It was difficult to say good bye to such a wonderful community that supported us for 53 years. We're excited to be moving our operation to our Coquitlam location where we will fulfill online order and in-person fabric shopping! We hope to see you there.
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