Phone: 212-244-3222
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9 am to 6 pm. Closed weekends.
Online store: Botani Trim
Best for: Handbag hardware, and buttons, and for anyone who appreciates a well-edited and well-lighted trim store
Trims and fashion hardware are obviously selling well in the Garment District. Mood Fabrics expanded its trim department about a year ago and now Botani, long known for its buttons, has leased the retail space next door and added a new fashion hardware section. Plus they've turned some office space in the back of the store over to Lampo zippers and trims.
According to Botani sales manager Hector Rojas, handbag designers represent an important market for the store. "You can bring us the materials, show us a sketch, and we can create a handbag sample for you," says Rojas. Designers and home sewists and crafters alike can appreciate that Botani does not require minimum purchase amounts of hardware, unlike many stores in the area.
So what if you're not planning on becoming the next Kate Spade? Botani offers plenty beyond handbag accoutrements. Personally, I like to shop there for the buttons, because the assortment Botani offers is huge. But the next time I need out-of-the-ordinary snaps or hooks-and-eyes, I'll try Botani first, and if I need a cool zipper and zipper pull, I'll get them to cut a Lampo zipper to-size for me. (Botani is the exclusive U.S. distributor of Lampo zippers, which are made in Italy. Google "Lampo" some time and check out all the designers who use Lampo.) They also do custom work, like covered buttons and belts.
The store is bright and modern and doesn't feel cramped. The sales staff is helpful and attentive, though some employees have a better grasp of English than others. With this expansion Botani joins Pacific Trimmings and M&J Trimmings as the major trim store destinations of the Garment District. You may end up partial to one or the other, but definitely make a trip to Botani to decide for yourself.
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Botani Sales Manager Hector Rojas. He's great at helping you find exactly what you need.
Not a huge selection of trims, but what's there is interesting and new.
Oodles of hardware.
Just a small portion of the handbag parts Botani carries.
Webbing for belts and totes.
Zipper pulls. How lucky are we to have stores that carry obscure things like zipper pulls.
The button area. Botani has a huge selection of buttons and buckles.
More handbag hardware.
"Designers and home sewists and crafters alike can appreciate that Botani does not require minimum purchase amounts of hardware, unlike many stores in the area."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info.
I've been to Botani once or twice for buttons. It's a pleasant store.
LOVE Botani. Discovered them originally from your review on your LindsayT blog. I was just there with the PR ladies on Monday. Even when I find what I need right away, I usually stay and browse just for fun if I have the time. They are definitely more expensive than Pacific Trims but I just love the selection. They have some screw-on rivets that I'd love to have a reason to use!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this! The last time I was in NYC I was looking for some purse frames. I only found 1 or 2 places that had them, and they were fairly plain. Now I know where to get them from the next time I'm in NYC!
ReplyDeleteLeeAnn
great recommendation for custom buttons, but they are EXPENSIVE, as i discovered yesterday. next time, if i have time to spare, i will work with Pat's Custom...but in a hurry with a bit of cash to spare this place was completely worth it.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Botani. First found them through you. It really meets all my needs. I do think it's a touch pricer than some of the other stores. But, you would have to go to several stores to get what Botani has in one place.
ReplyDeleteI do have to chime in here and second that Botani tends to be on the expensive side. I feel like I always overspend on buttons there. But I'll pay more at Botani rather than run all around the Garment District to get what I need.
ReplyDeleteI always stop at Botani when in the city. Nobody has mentioned their CHAIN section yet. I've found fantastic chain there. They have a nice selection. Their buckles & D-rings are good, too. The store is well organized & well lit, making shopping a pleasure. The staff is helpful. Look for inexpensive bags of odd buttons at the checkout counter for crafts or art projects. I've bought some pin-on jewelry clothing accents there, too.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
ReplyDeleteI was at Botani for the first time the other day. I found the store well-lit and with many choices for the items on my list.
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed in the service I received in that the sales person was pleasant enough while helping to select buckles but then seemed disinterested after discovering that I also wanted buttons, eyelets, tack buttons, rivets, etc. It seems I was holding her up from her break time. I guess it was just the luck of the draw as there were quite a few staff people working, and I got the one who wanted a quick sale.
In other news, I asked if they could make a long separating zipper for me and was told that they did not yet have the correct machine for that but should in another month or so.
It's my go to for buttons as well. I like Pacific Trimmings for zippers because I love Riri zippers and they don't have a minimum for an on line order. I have bought gorgeous snaps here as well as buckles. They have an amazing selection and good service and they are well lit, a novelty in the district.
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for sew-in purse frames, this is not the place to go. Apparently they no longer carry the frames pictured above. The two staff members I asked had vacant looks and claimed not to carry them.
ReplyDeletePurse frames are sold at Joyce Trimming (109 West 38th Street), and they have a lovely assortment of choices, in my opinion.
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