Folkwear to NYC - once again

January 30, 2018

I made a quick trip to NYC last week with my younger daughter.  She is 10 and was so excited to get out of school for a couple of days to accompany me. But, school shut down for the 3 days we were away because of snow (only 3 inches!) so she didn't miss any school - and she was glad and bummed at the same time!

I went to NYC to attend the DG Expo, a trade show for fabric sourcing from wholesalers with small minimums.  Mainly small fashion lines and some fabric stores source from this Expo.  I hoped to be able to visit a couple of museums, but we really only had one day to do all that I needed to do (and provide Evva a little bit of NYC fun).  We arrived on Tuesday at 7 pm, made it to our hotel, went out to dinner in Koreatown.  Afterward, I shelled out for tickets to the top of the Empire State Building.  This was totally worth it!  Evva was so excited to see the city lit up from the top of the building.  It was beautiful (and cold) but really fun!

The next day, we made it to the Expo and spent the morning visiting fabric vendors.  Then, we went to the Garment District, where we spent a bit of time in B&J Fabrics, Virgin Fabrics, Hamed Fabrics, Mood, and AKN Fabrics.  I linked to Liesl Gibson's Shopping in the Garment District blog post in our newsletter a couple of months ago, and this is a pretty comprehensive article.  I had not been to B&J and while their selection was great, it was a little pricey.  But, I loved the illustration on their checkout bag because it reminded me of Folkwear.  Isn't it great?

A couple of stores not on Liesl's list are Virgin Fabrics, Hamed, and AKN.  Virgin Fabrics (242 W 39th St) has a great selection of silks (they're not cheap) and Asian or Middle Eastern fabrics and trims.  I got some trim there for some Folkwear pattern samples. Hamed Fabric (251 W 39th St) might be my favorite just because it is jam packed with great fabric at great prices, and I like the workers who don't really seem to care about much but do know their fabric (when you ask them about it). For some reason, their unlikeliness in a fabric store makes me happy.  We were about to walk out with my purchases when Evva spied a mermaid sequin by the door and I had to buy a half yard of that (now what to do with it??).

I made the obligatory trip to Mood, where I can always find something good, and the staff is always very helpful.

I also love AKN Fabrics, a store with just African fabrics - jam packed, floor to ceiling, wall to wall.  So many beautiful fabrics in a tiny space.  The staff is very helpful and I could spend lots of time just browsing.  I bought a lot here!

In the late afternoon, I had to take Evva to Dylan's Candy Bar, and it was a lot of fun.  Totally made up for having to follow me along to look at fabric for most of the day.

It was a quick trip to NYC, but so fun!  I would definitely recommend our hotel - Life Hotel on 31st street.  It was close to everything, the rooms were beautiful and comfortable (though small), the bar was awesome, the restaurant looked great, and it has a speakeasy in the basement!  The price was also very reasonable!

I'll definitely be back to NYC again soon.  So, let me know your favorite things in the city!

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