One of Toronto's original knitting studios has closed after 13 years

Hits to Toronto’s brick and mortar retail sector continue as a mainstay in the knitting community shuts its doors.

Leslieville’s The Purple Purl billed itself as a place to “enjoy great yarn, a nice cuppa and good company.” But as of Aug. 29, the physical shop has closed.

The shop owner Jennifer Campbell announced the closing on the shop’s website.

“It is a very emotional process,” Campbell wrote. “I have loved this adventure for so many years, but it is simply time for me to move on.”

The shop opened 13 years ago and Campbell noted how life was becoming busy this Christmas and she thought it would be great to have “a long break to reset, to knit, to refill that creative well.”

Then, of course, COVID19 happened.

View this post on Instagram

And here we are heading into our final 2 weeks! Our final day open will be Saturday, August 29th. So we have set the storewide automatic discount to a whopping 40% off! . We have found some wonderful wooly treasures in the "Archives" of The Purple Purl! When you pop by to pick up your order you may want to have a peek at our Clearance Bins with amazing partial skeins, bundles, odd-balls, and other fun items for just $5 or $10 as marked! . Thank you so much for all of the love so far in this process, we feel so grateful to be part of such a supportive and loving community 💜💜💜 #closingsale #shoponline #shopinstore #knitters #yarnsale #40off #wool #cotton #linen #yarn #knittersoftoronto #torontoknitters #canadian #canadianyarn #woolshop #sweatersworth #onlineshopping #slowfashion #yarnnevergoesbad #purplepurl #purlknits

A post shared by ThePurplePurl (@thepurplepurl) on Aug 15, 2020 at 8:27am PDT

The closure is not because of the lockdown, she said.

“It is really not about the COVID slowdown, although it has probably sped up the time line a little,” wrote Campbell. “The shop is weathering this storm quite ok.”

The lease is renewal was approaching and she decided it was time to move on to focus on other goals.

“It will never be a good time to make the leap as this decision comes bundled up in a great deal of emotion. But ultimately, it is simply time for this change,” she said.

She thanked the community for the long-standing support.

“We have had just under 13 Fabulous Years of creating wonderful projects together! And the strong friendships that have been forged in this wonderful community are an absolute treasure.”

by Karen Longwell via blogTO