Same name, but different...

The garment district is a highly incestuous place. What do I mean by that?  Well, some of the stores will tell you that if you want to see more of something, a broader color range, for example, to stop into their other store on 8th Avenue, or another street, or around the back, etc.  What does it all mean?  I'm not sure, but I'm sure that there is some complicated real estate/landlord stuff happening there, some space/storage issues, and some partnership/friendship/back-scratching stuff, too.  One thing I do know, is that you will find many similar or identical things offered at drastically different prices from store to store.  Prices can seem arbitrary at times.  If you just do a bit of comparison shopping, you'll see that you can find very similar goods at a wide range of prices.  Because I spend so much time in the district, my eyes light up when I see something unique, or touch or manipulate something that feels special.  Because I've been shopping in the district so long, I can wholeheartedly recommend the vendors I have come to know and trust. While it is all a matter of personal taste and preference, I try to steer you to places with unique and/or quality offerings whenever possible. Having said that...

There are two garment district stores named Butterfly. The one I am about to tell you about is different than  the other one I told you about.  Get it?

Butterfly Fabrics, Inc. / Bazar Fabrics,  Inc.

256 West 39th Street

New York, NY 10018

(212) 575-4744

I bring this up specifically because this Butterfly is different, according to the man behind the counter (don't wanna confuse you), and their offerings really don't compete in the same categories.  While they do have a business card giving Butterfly associated websites, those printed links are incorrect, and similar ones are vague about the company's location.  For that reason, this is a place you are better off going to in person. The main reason to go to this Butterfly, in my opinion, is just one particular grouping of fabrics I  love.

My own clumsy and inadvertent detective work led me to discover that both Butterfly locations (this one, and the 35th Street one) lead you to what seems to be the same generic and vague website.  So, yeah, something's up, folks.  I don't know what... but something's up...

So, I can't get a good photo in the store, because the print is just too big, and the rolls are heavy and awkward.  Think home dec, but who knows what other creative ideas  you may have in mind...

The fabrics are prints of some old-timey newspaper articles, western and movie star types, super-big, and printed on an off-white canvas-like fabric.  Curious? Wanna see? Go visit them, and then visit again in the 3rd week of September or so, when another shipment of more prints in this family will come in. 

Or, so I was told...