Friday in the district...

Man, it NEVER gets old...

Saw such beautiful things on a private tour I led on Friday...

Really floored by the beauty of it all.

Heavenly adornments.

Suede - really.



I haven't been able to express just how wonderful it has been in the district lately.  The beauty is overwhelming. It truly is just THAT amazing, and you need to come see for yourself!

NYC Fabric Store Review: Paron's Fabrics (revised) - now closed

In an effort to clean up old information on the site, I am revising old posts, and adding new, relevant information for those seeking what these old businesses once offered.

Looking for the Paron experience?  I suggest Fabrics and Fabrics (for fashionable beauty and variety), B&J (for quality), Metro (for price and unexpected finds) and Elliot Berman Textiles (for designer fabrics).

 Paron has since closed.  The post below was written on 3/5/08.

Address: 206 West 40th Street, New York, NYC
Phone: 212-768-3266
Hours: Monday -Thursday 8:30 am - 7:00 pm; Friday 8:30 am - 5:45 pm; Saturday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sunday 11 am - 4pm
Online store: Manhattan Fabrics
Best for: the 50%-off deals in the sales annex

 

Reasons to wander over to 40th Street in the Garment District for a visit to Paron's:

• The staff is a friendly, cheerful bunch. They're eager to help you pull bolts off the shelf, and they quickly came to my aid when they saw me walking around with my hands full. I appreciated that they gave me a little extra fabric with each cut.
• You don't get that claustrophobic feeling you can have in some garment district stores. You know, that any minute you could get swallowed up in an avalanche of falling fabric bolts, never to be heard from again. In the main part of the store there's plenty of room to unravel bolts and play with your fabric.
• The sales annex part of the store features some great bargains. I spent most of my time in here marveling over the wide variety of fabrics and the wallet-friendly prices. 
• 
• Paron sells Kwik-Sew and Burda patterns. They also carry the latest BurdaStyle magazine, though while I was there they only had the plus-size edition.
• The assortment of fabric they have per square foot is pretty amazing—there's a little bit of everything, from silks and wools to cottons and knits. Wonderful prints and colors. And I appreciate how their labels identify the fabric content and the RTW company who produced it.

This store has a happy vibe. When I was in it I felt proud to be a woman who knows her way around a sewing machine. Sounds dumb, but you'll see what I mean when you visit Paron Fabrics in the Garment Center. (By the way, it's pronounced "pear-in.")

Where to find coutil in the garment district

** Reposting (From hundreds (600) of posts, it is silly never to repost, right?)

We get stuck on names and labels for things. Armed with sewing books, dictionaries and lexicons, we scour the district, searching every store for the thing we've been told we need...

Coutil (or Coutille) is woven cloth created specifically for making corsets.^] It is woven tightly to inhibit penetration of the corset's bones and resist stretching. Coutil has a high cotton content. Cotton has good dimensional stability, or a resistance to stretching, which makes it a good choice for such a stressed garment. Coutil may be made to be plain (similar to 100% cotton facing), satin, or brocade. It is common for coutil to have a herringbone texture, or a similar woven texture.

- from Wikipedia

Order coutil via mail from Richard the Thread or Farthingales

Shopper:

"Do you have any coutil for sale?"

Fabric store employee (annoyed):

"Cou- wha?"

Coutil, when sold specifically by name, is a firmly woven cotton with a herringbone weave, used for foundation garments.  

That's why no one knows what you are talking about.  

The fabric is specifically designed for use in corset-making. Can't find it? You'll have a hard time finding a good substitute, although some poeple use duck or twill when they only want to mimic the look of a corset, and not necessarily rely on its functional role in a properly made corset. Word on the street is that it has no equal. It is strong, it breathes, and not many other fabrics will serve as a suitable substitute.

So, where do you find coutil in the garment district?  In my experience so far, you don't!  Order online from Farthingales or Richard the Thread, but get the rest of your supplies right here in NYC.

Now, once you've got the  right supplies to make your garment function as it should, get as fancy as you like with supplies to make it beautiful from some of our favorite garment district haunts:  

• B& J Fabrics
• Fabrics & Fabrics for beautiful laces and brocades
• Dersh Feather
• Botani
• International pleating for beautiful fabric manipulation
• Schmalberg Flowers for wonderful fabric ornamentation

We spoke. We eased.

Yesterday, despite the miserable weather in the morning, I led our intimate scheduled Speakeasy as planned.  As always, we all "ooohed" and "aaaahed" the day away, jumping in and out of several carefully curated garment district stores.  There were just a few of us, but we had an excellent rapport, and it made the experience more curated to individual tastes than is otherwise possible with a larger group.

at B&J Fabrics...

At Mood...

At Mood...

So, what did we do?  We talked fabrics, looked at fabrics, notions, and projects.  I nudged, nodded, and encouraged/discouraged purchases based on other things we had yet to see and experience. We asked questions, absorbed, and had a wonderful, warm meal that left us all peacefully satisfied with our day, and happy to have experienced it.

Doggone it, I'm still swooning over some fabric I wanted so badly to buy... and I think I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and do it... Darn it.  Fabric shopping is horribly addictive...

Led a Speakeasy today (1/20) oh... and today (1/21) - oh and writing about it today (1/25)!

Took a while to begin writing this post... why?

Life's been a bit busy, I'd say!  Well, actually, that's a wildly inaccurate understatement, as I've done nothing but push through appointments, lead tours, and pound out piles of work over the past two weeks or so... but I digress...

I led two Speakeasies last week, and, just as an aside, I must mention my obsession with Wasabi, a UK based fast-food sushi place on the corner of 40th and 7th, that does their job so perfectly, I don't even know how to adequately express my fascination with it.  The lovely bites are always perfectly fresh (whether vegetable or fish) and beautifully presented in meticulously artful to-go (or stay) arrangements, and wonderfully priced for what is offered.  I really enjoy dining in or taking out, and just the speed and efficiency of this place make the whole experience enjoyable. Great energy food, by the way.

So... What happened on the Speakeasies?  Frankly, we all saw too many great things to crunch them into one blog post, so I will list the highlights... (Note: I'm mixing the days together, so not everyone saw the same stores... There's only so much time in a day!)

Botani - Have you seen their new fabric space? We (speakeasiers) casually walked past a sign boasting customizeable fabrics, just to take a peek... I asked the question, "What do your mean, customize?" - I got the answer.  All of the aspects you weren't even thinking were customizeable.  Color? Yup.  Your own color? Not a color card they give you?  Yup.  Fiber content? Yup?  Custom blend? Yup.  Okay, so they will go pretty far to meet your specifications.  When you're done you've got something no one can duplicate, because no one else had it made for them!  Totally unique.  Others can imitate, of course, but that takes time, research and investment... good luck with that, right?

Pacific Trimmings had a delightful arrangement of clasps and wildly fun things as usual. The rainbow toothed RiRi zipper option was a fun sighting, as it always is!

C&J - wowza.  As always.  A special look at the prints and specials on the shelves made the visit wildly inspiring.

B&J - Do they ever disappoint?  Nope.  I don't think so. What a glorious selection of cottons, ponte knits, printed silks, unusual blends, and beautiful colors!

MJ Trimming - While they have reduced some space and inventory, they still have great stuff to offer!  The clearance area is also particularly interesting!

NY Elegant - Upstairs always yields surprises, the rack of panels always yields sighs, and the main floor... need I say more?

Fabrics & Fabrics - What a joy. Whoever is pulling out rolls of "special" goods to highlight on the floor is REALLY doing his/her job right!

Okay, while I could list about seven or eight more stores, it was a blast for all of us on both days! Really intense visits in a tight sequence with no wasted time, tired legs, and heads spinning! It was a true fabric lovers' celebration!

In the spirit of yukata ("I gotta make a yukata...")

A few months ago, a close friend introduced me to the products of a  lovely business, named Okan Arts, dedicated to artisan quilts and vintage Japanese textiles.  Located in Seattle Washington, and owned by the lovely Patricia Belyea, this shop offers beautiful fabrics designed for specific traditional Japanese casual garments, called "yukata". Both a brick-and-mortar and e-commerce business, the uniqueness and quality of the textiles offered translate well without much explanation.  Why?  The strong, sturdy 100% cotton fabrics are functionally perfect for their category of Okan Arts' recommended uses, whether yukata-making, or quilting.

I held on to my yukata pieces, not knowing what they should become. I had a million ideas in my head, and wanted to somehow respect the intention of the fabric in my use of it.  I consulted my best friend's dad, who spent a good number of years living in Japan, who told me what the characters on one of my yukata pieces meant. (And thank God, really, because I didn't realize that the fabric was one length with a motif upside down on one end, and right side up on the other, so it could traverse the shoulder without needing a seam.)  

Because I like to think about my pieces before creating them, I considered the definitions of two traditional Japanese garments before deciding.

The kimono (着物^?, きもの) is a Japanese traditional garment. The word "kimono", which actually means a "thing to wear" (ki "wear" and mono "thing"), has come to denote these full-length robes. The standard plural of the word kimono in English is kimonos, but the unmarked Japanese plural kimonois also sometimes used.

A yukata (浴衣^?) is a Japanese garment, a casual summer kimono^[1] usually made of cotton or synthetic fabric, and unlined.

I do not know how accurate the explanations are in this video I found while perusing YouTube (the video is under the heading of "Life in Korea", although she does seem to be taking a wider scope view of her Asian experience, which includes yukata. I can certainly say that this level of complication and adornment would never fly in American culture.  But it fascinates me nonetheless...

So what would this mean in my American life?  What information can/should I use?  What should I take away?

I pondered this...

So, I thought, if there were such a thing, what would the American equivalent of yukata be?  Well, we currently embrace athleisure, which adds sport or movement to the idea of casual loungewear, but takes away tradition and beauty (for the most part).  Summer  weather might not be the garment's focus for me, since I spend so much time in climate-controlled environments.  Personally, I would need something that straddles the worlds of hot and cold, so the most versatile garment would be ideal. For my family, trips to take the kids to various activities, or to the supermarket/library/mall equals no audience, and thus, no effort, really.  Truth be told, comfort is key, and beauty is a plus. To create a relatively shapeless, soft, roomy garment that prettily responds to the body, but not necessarily the dress form, became my mission.  What would make this particular garment unique?  The beauty of the yukata fabric.

Planning to ignore much of the essence of the yukata, I did investigate some interesting yukata links (below), which informed my making:

1. In Japan, students given a special school day to wear yukata.
2. How to wear a yukata.
3. How to make a yukata.

In a very happy moment of east meeting west, I looked at one of the great yukata fabrics I have, and was reminded of a favorite cotton from B&J Fabrics here in NYC.  Combined with a powerful green unifying fabric to join pieces, these three fabrics will sing together to become project #2.  Project #2 will embrace a bit more of the yukata idea, especially in the sleeve design.

Yukata fabric (base) looks like matches, right?

Before beginning, there were things I had to/wanted to notice/avoid/embrace: 

Noticed:

A yukata is a great travel garment because it folds neatly into a square, effortlessly.

Body movement is unrestricted, and there is no "fitting" required.

Avoided:

No belts or closures needed.  Any dressing complication would take away the "easy" wear for me.

T-shirt fabric for body, with only a lower border, allows me to cut the yukata piece differently, to allow faces to be upright and comical on the finished piece.

Embraced: 

The oversized sleeve trend reminiscent of yukata

Even in Asia, this Denim yukata evokes western culture

Historically, these funny Japanese characters, represent wisdom and foolishness, according to my friend's dad.

Prettier on the body than on the dressform, the epitome of loungewear.

It folds up into a flat rectangle.  Perfect for travel.

So, in a nutshell, the irony/humor of this much thought to sew four rectangles together.  But, I promise you,  these will be some very well-loved rectangles!

You can shop for yukata fabrics on the Okan arts website - www.okanarts.com!

Best compliment ever: "You are great company and encyclopedic in the best way."

I led a private Speakeasy on Tuesday, helping a delightful repeat client who was seeking fabrics for some home dec projects and other creative endeavors.  What a lovely day it was.

While the details of that particular Speakeasy were specific to her needs, I will share what we learned...

Here's the thing: You can shop and find absolutely awesome stuff, but in the home dec world, you probably need to swatch and check before committing to buy.  You may find different things in different stores, and need to check and match between the stores. The frantic pace f the garment district requires you to ask the right questions, which are:

How much yardage of this fabric do you have?  Can you get more of this fabric if I need more later? Do you think you will likely still have this fabric next week, if I need that much time to decide?

For this reason, don't go to the very small stores for home dec if you are still in the planning/designing phase.  Go to the bigger stores, where they are more likely to be able to accommodate your needs.

I must give a shoutout to the wonderful staff at B&J Fabrics on this particular journey, since the salesperson made a special effort to verify that there was enough/could be reordered fabric in which my client showed a special interest.

On a related note, a catalog for FIT's professional development courses arrived in the mail yesterday.  Wildly affordable, short courses for fashion and related businesses.  Looking at the courses on home design, they really look like fun, and a very practical way to even use the information for your own non-professional projects! 

The course offerings are wildly interesting this time around.  Well worth taking a look.  There is even a talk and tour section for trend-spotting, sourcing, and a "How a fashion designer works" course, for those embarking on a fashion career path.  

Most classroom courses in this catalog are three hours on weekday evenings and/or Saturdays, and are just a few sessions.  Can't get there? Some courses are offered ONLINE!

Honestly, I wanna take just about every one of the classes in this catalog.  Call me crazy...

Light my creative fire... Secrets, giggles and a fun Speakeasy!

A wonderful cotton from B&J!

A colorful yarn dance fabric I just adore... (also from B&J)

Yesterday, I led a fun private, speakeasy tour for two lovely women who were very excited to explore the district.  We went to a variety of stores, explored many different types of stores, and I recommended some additional stores which fell outside of our walkable area of concentration for their continued fun, and we had a few blissful hours of wonderful conversation and shopping. 

And... as always happens, I stumbled upon a few hidden surprises during our journey.  Psst... lean in...

• Did you know that Mokuba Ribbon has a short flight of stairs leading up to what looks like a small meeting area/break room near the back of the store?  Have you seen it? Did you know that is still part of the public area available to customers? Well, even if you have noticed it, were you aware that there is a corner of that area, where the closeout goods and small rolls are kept, and offered at ASTOUNDINGLY low prices?  Now you know, although their load is a little lighter after yesterday... (*clears throat*)

• I have also long wondered what ever happened to that useful fabric once called "pocketing".  Well, it is sold at B&J, and is a tough-as-nails herringbone weave that could make you confident about carrying keys and change again!

• Did you know that in addition to deep discounts, Paron has some closeout fabrics they are practically GIVING away?  Stop in, if your heart can handle it.

• You know this already if you've ever been, but Fabrics & Fabrics is just an explosion of fun fabrics.  Beautiful things you need to see to believe...

We saw other stores, and explored things based on their own desires/interests, but it was a great day.  And the weather cooperated! Hooray!

And, because it's a speakeasy, that's all I can tell you...  The rest is "classified"...

Tales from last week's Speakeasies...

On three separate days last week, I took Speakeasy participants to many different locations, for many different reasons.  Our stops included about 25 different locations in all, for more reasons than I can explain in just one blog post (it would be HOURS of reading), and believe me, the district still has many treasures to offer beyond those specific trips, and additional surprises to inspire any of you as well.

So, here are some tidbits...

Who's got a great Ponte knit? Try B&J Fabrics...

Who's got a great ponte knits in great colors?  Try B&J Fabrics

Double georgette in great colors?  Botani.  Yes, really!

Silk in great (unexpected) colors?  Botani!

And what was learned?  How to mark your buttonholes for Jonathan Embroidery, how to get custom fabric flowers made, how to cut your fabric correctly for pleating, how to access FIT's amazing resources, how to fabric shop effectively, where to find the most stellar array of boucles, how not to get taken advantage of by fabric vendors, how to get snaps, buttons, grommets installed, where to get the best muslin and fusibles, where to find large rolls of carbon paper, where to find the best assortment of elastic for various uses, where to find some great (and economical!) silk solids, great notions suppliers, and lots of eye candy.

Yes, it was work, but as always, it was also fun!

About the Spring Artisanal Speakeasy... where do I begin? (Part 1)

One of my favorite movies is "Phenomenon", which, on its face, seems like a lighthearted tale of an unusual encounter that happens to ordinary man in an ordinary town. But, hidden in this movie, are some really profound mini-stories that have made a deep impression on me, that I just can't shake.  Why do I even bring this up when describing the recent Speakeasy?

There is one important scene in the movie that beautifully conveys the power of community and collaboration.  In the scene, one of the characters is frustrated by the presence of rabbits in his garden, and needs his fence fixed.  The innovative solution he proposes, is that three different people with unique expertise to one another in different areas, offer their services to each other, helping each other in a triangular way, thus each person's practical challenge is fixed.  This kind of thinking knocks down the obstacles, and opens things up in a new way.

When it comes to creative pursuits, the value of this kind of thinking increases exponentially.  Our intimate group was inspired and excited by the experience of this two-day creative journey, and I am certain that we were ALL (myself included) profoundly enriched by it.

Did we learn?  Yes, we did.  The generosity of the garment district professionals who educated our group was just fantastic. I am actually struggling to convey in words how educational and enriching our private meetings were, but I will try.

Now, there are things I can tell you about this trip, and things I can't.  The ones I can't, were specifically because they were dependent upon relationships I have with specific people, and opportunities for a private audience I was able to negotiate on our behalf, but are not generally available to the wider public.

On Friday we got an early start, visiting an old, established business in a spruced-up, new location.  From there, we went to a private appointment with a wonderful, old, garment industry business, who showed us examples of beautiful, highly mathematic, intricate work.  Then, our genius of a host for that business revealed some wildly creative and beautiful applications of that work that would make anyone swoon. We fell in love with machinery, garments we saw being designed, some completed garments and accessories, and we gained a deep appreciation for the work and engineering involved, and then we learned how to use the services of this business in our own creative pursuits.

Then we visited another great, established/historic garment district business, where we saw the process of fabric manipulation, equipment and the fine, dextrous handling that goes into creating the amazing things that company produces.  And the conversation grew much bigger than that, too.  Industry challenges and changes, meeting consumer demand and new ways of using their products, changes in the district itself, real estate, fabrics and experiments - so much fun, and so much food for thought!

Then we had an appointment with another company who does beautiful work in a very specific and sophisticated way, placing a person with a vision in a position, where even a one-off can be created with professional quality you wouldn't have known was possible!

Based on the group's specific interests, we visited that fabric stores that served what we had seen, what I already knew about our group, the other places we visited, the educational value of the stores and their unique offerings, historical significance, and things group members wanted to explore specifically.

Which stores?  B&J, Elliott Berman, Pacific Trimming, NY Elegant, Rosen & Chadick, C&J, Manhattan Wardrobe Supply, and Sposabella Lace were our spots for what we sought.

On Saturday (yesterday), we went to the Art and Design Exhibition at FIT (separate post on the exhibit to follow), coupled with a special FIT library visit, that went slightly wrong at first, but was beautifully rescued by fabulous friend and touring parter, Cindy Chock! We were eventually able to see some pretty breathtaking stuff!

The big takeaway: There is always SO much more to learn. And, what a thrill to get a glimpse of just how vast the creative horizon is.

What would I do differently next time? First off, I think I would schedule in a coffee break or two. We simply committed to exploring 'til failure, so we had two long, full days. Wow, were we tired! (I'm just recovering right now! - 10AM Sunday) But, in the best way.

Happily, there remains significantly more to show/more people to talk to than what we saw, so I see that I can do several equally valuable versions of this tour, if demand will meet it!

Taking the temperature of the group based on what we'd seen and talked about, significantly increases the value of the shopping portion of the trip. Knowing what the group will appreciate, and taking them to the places that will serve them well (in the right order to serve their creative appetites), really proved to be a great way to shop. 

And... we ate SO well!  We had great meals, and we NEEDED them, after so much walking!

Will there be another artisanal speakeasy?  Yes, there will be.  Planning begins now. I will keep them intimate, as that seems ideal, and what the market will bear, too, apparently.

*This is the first of a few posts inspired by this tour.

A 3-D printer.  An example of innovative uses of technology in the world of design.  Seen at the FIT exhibit (downstairs)