Saturday, September 8, 2012

NYC Day 2 Garment District

Remember that scene from Raiders of the Lost Arc?
Remember that scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark? 
We came to NY with a fairly loose itinerary.  I've never been to NY before had no idea what to expect.  I just mapped out a couple of "must see" tourist attractions and thought I'd go from there.  Being a fiber-phile the Garment District is like holy mecca.  I had to come and pay my respects first and "PAY" I did!  The credit card is going to be so sore when I get home.
Mood Fabrics has to be the highlight of my venture through the Garment District.  They have a huge selection of fabric and staff was very friendly.  I've seen the store for so many years on Project Runway I wanted to experience it in person.  You have to take a moment to gather yourself when entering this place, it's a visual KAPOW!

Cotton Gauze!
Rows of cottons.
High quality light weight cottons are hard to come by.  I think I bought enough to sustain me for a few years!

 
Not just wall to wall, but floor to ceiling too!

 Hassam the best Mood Helper Ever!
Friendly, knowledgeable service!
Hassan and I were like two peas in a pod.  He was so awesome and knowledgeable when it came to fabrics.  Many of the folks who work and shop at mood are talented creatives as well.  Thank you for all your help!

Swatch's Butt
And last, but certainly not least, I got to meet Swatch the Mood store dog.  He is such an awesome hunky chunk of a dog!  He does walk around like he owns the place, but he's very friendly and will come around for a back scratching.  Swatch wasn't feeling photogenic that day. :P

Me @ Mood Fabrics, the Happiest Place on Earth!
Can you tell I didn't want to leave.  I was so exhausted but so happy at the same time!  Mood will be my first stop every time I'm in NYC!

Almost at Mood
The corridors of the Garment District.  I love high density cities.  It's incredible to see walls of windows separated by a thin sliver of sky.

Tinsel Trading Co.
The Tinsel Trading Company, a shop I really love in the Garment District.
This window display pulled me in from across the street.  I also noticed they had a lot of cool stuff that you can dig through.  I like shops that are a mix of old and new... I don't want an overly sanitized look.  I like dust (not literal dust) and age, I want to explore when I shop.

More flowers @ Tinsel Trading
They have a massive selection of new and vintage millinery flowers. 

 Ribbons, Trims, Tassels, Findings and whatnot
I love the old cabinets and how they've displayed everything.  The staff is very nice as well!

York Beads
I also loved York Beads.  They have a horrible looking website and the store is not huge, but you can tell they've focused on stocking quality vs. quantity.  I guess they mostly do wholesale.  The staff was a curt at first but warmed up after thee realized I was going to buy something.  I totally understand having been in retail before.  It's worth your while to stop in, they're just a few blocks from Mood.

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