When news broke that Joan’s Wool & Crafts will close its doors at the end of next month, it marked more than the loss of a shop. For many in Onchan, it felt like the end of a community institution that has been woven into the fabric of the village for over 40 years.

The closure is not without reason. Current owner Laura Ketteridge explained that dwindling footfall, a lack of parking, and rising costs have made the business unsustainable.

The lease renewal offered a further nine years, with a review after five, but in Laura’s words, ‘the economics no longer makes sense.’

Customers, staff, and loyal patrons such as longtime visitor Pat Tatlow have expressed sadness at the decision, describing the shop as a place of knowledge, companionship, and connection.

But before Laura, and before Christine Quayle who took the reins when Joan retired, there was the woman whose name still sits above the door - Joan Gilbert. To understand what the closure means, you first need to know Joan’s story.

Joan first arrived on the Isle of Man in the early 1970s. Originally from the south of England, she found herself here under circumstances that were anything but straightforward.

Her husband, a police officer in Kent, had accepted a transfer to help establish the port police in Liverpool. Joan, however, was already on the Isle of Man with mutual friends, waiting for him to join her.

Complications with his pension transfer meant that their plans were delayed and the move temporarily fell through. Eventually, he was able to follow her over to the island, and the couple settled into a house near the town centre. The property had been used as accommodation for elderly women cared for by its previous owner.

Joan placed a deposit on the house and continued to look after some of the ladies who still lived there, a sign even then of the sense of care and community that would later define her business.

Now aged 98, though she insists she feels closer to 78, Joan still speaks with the sharpness and humour that have carried her through decades of work. Her journey into business began almost by accident, with a casual suggestion from an old friend.

‘Joan, would you like to take it over?’ the friend asked. The offer referred to a small shop in Port Jack, previously used to develop holiday photographs for visitors staying in nearby hotels. The friend also ran a haulage business and thought Joan had both the talent and the work ethic to succeed.

At the time, Joan was making dresses and altering clothing. ‘Harry said I could use the shop during the quieter months, especially in winter, as a base for my sewing,’ she recalled. ‘That’s how I got started up at Port Jack.’ Not long after she opened, a representative from a yarn company dropped by and asked if she might consider stocking some of their product. That chance encounter proved transformative. The shop gradually shifted from dressmaking to haberdashery, and Joan’s Wool & Crafts began to take shape.

In 1978, Joan saw an opportunity to expand. She enquired about space at the newly built Village Walk precinct in Onchan.

‘I went down to the agents. They were in one of the shops down there. I just opened the door and said, “I want one of your units.” One had just become available, and they took me to see it. It was the first one as you go down from the upper end of the precinct, near the phone box. I stepped inside and thought, “Yes, this is the one.” And that’s really where it all started.”

This was the moment her ambitions began to grow. Joan became an agent for machine knitting and realised she needed to demonstrate how to use the equipment.

Determined not to bluff her way through, she took her City and Guilds in Fashion and Design, followed by a Teacher’s Education for Adults qualification.

‘I thought, there’s no point in me trying to teach or offer guidance unless I have the qualifications to back it up. And that’s really how it all began.’

Joan’s creativity was hardly a late discovery. As a child, she had transformed a discarded bookshelf her father brought home into a dollhouse, complete with handmade miniature furniture. That same resourcefulness would become the hallmark of her shop. Before her entrepreneurial leap, Joan had worked in office administration and bookkeeping, skills that later helped her manage the growing demands of a business.

Over the decades, Joan’s Wool & Crafts blossomed into more than just a retailer. It became a hub for makers, knitters, crocheters, embroiderers, quilters, and patchworkers. Customers could not only find materials unavailable elsewhere on the island but also share tips, ideas, and encouragement. In fact, even today, the shop’s staff describe it as a ‘learning community’ where customers and employees alike exchange knowledge and skills.

Joan’s influence spread beyond Onchan. For several years, she hosted a segment on Manx Radio, using the platform to introduce new products and share her enthusiasm for crafts.

‘I used to have people coming into the shop and shaking my hand. “Oh, I listen to you!” They’d be over on holiday from the North West or further afield.’

Even her yarn representative from Ireland once remarked that other shop owners tuned in to hear what Joan was recommending.

In today’s terms, Joan would be called an influencer, long before the word was coined. She built trust, created community, and shaped local craft culture in ways that lasted generations.

When Joan eventually retired, she handed the shop to Christine Quayle, who continued the tradition before later passing it on to Laura.

Each owner built on Joan’s foundations, but the heart of the place has always been rooted in her vision. Laura has spoken warmly of her team and customers, describing the sense of shared passion that has made the shop so special. For her, closing is as much an emotional decision as it is a financial one.

Now, with the end in sight, Joan reflects on her life’s work with satisfaction.

‘I’ve had a good life with crafts, and yeah, it’s given me a lot, a lot of connection with people. I’ve met so many people I would never have known if I hadn’t gone down that route.’

When asked what advice she would give to her younger self, the 98-year-old did not hesitate. ‘Get out there, girl. Do what you want to.’

For those who have walked through the doors of Joan’s Wool & Crafts over the last five decades, that advice feels especially poignant. The shop may soon close, but Joan’s spirit of creativity, community, and determination is stitched firmly into the story of Onchan.