Tour a Historic New York Ribbon Shop

Tucked away on West 38th Street, in the fashion district of New York City, is a gem of a shop specializing in trim, lace and beautiful antique ribbon. East Coast Trimming houses the old stock of a company that started in 1906, Hyman Hendler & Sons.

Maida and her husband Michael Weisman are the third generation to have their hands in the family business. Maida's grandfather, Hyman Hendler, started selling ribbons in 1906 from a pushcart on the Lower East Side. By the time Maida's father, Harold Hendler, was running the business in the 1950s, the firm had expanded to selling ribbons under their own label all across the country. Harold became lovingly known as "King of the Ribbon Trade."

“This was my father-in-law’s obsession,” says Michael Weisman, describing the process of how most of the ribbons were designed. Harold would sit at the kitchen table and sketch out patterns or piece together different colors and patterns of existing ribbon with tape. Then he would put everything into airmail envelopes and mail them off to European mills that would weave the custom designs to order.

The shop feels like stepping back in time. Each time I visit, it’s to buy ribbon for a specific project, but the glass-fronted cupboards full of spools lure me away from my focus, and I can’t help but imagine other uses for the various patterns, textures and sizes of ribbons on display.