New York Part 4

It was now Monday, and time to start school! After another rubbish night of sleep, I somehow awoke in fine spirits. After breakfasting and meeting at the nearby cafe, we walked the few blocks down to the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Our teacher for the day was Bob Schultz, discussing merchandising and trend forecasting. It was a most interesting morning, as I have had no experience with these subjects, and he was very entertaining.

After lunch we met our next guide, Kathlin, who was taking us around the Garment District. First stop was Schmalberg's, makers of artificial flowers for nearly 100 years. The foyer of the small studio was filled with all types of flowers, and the next room was full of boxes of them with samples on the front - a strange garden! 

The back room was the most fascinating, as this was where all the dies and cutters were - what an absolutely amazing collection! The final stop was the assembly tables, where several ladies were gluing the moulded petals and leaves onto wires before hanging them to dry.

I selected a beautiful purple metallic leather flower as my memento of this amazing establishment. 

In a tiny room next door is an embellishment studio, where all sorts of pieces are attached individually. One lady was using a machine to apply studs one by one, and another was arranging sparklies with tweezers on material, then heat pressing them in place.

Next was B&J Fabrics, http://bandjfabrics.com/ which had the most extensive collection of sparkly and wonderful fabrics, and gorgeous windows at the entry with mini mannequins dressed in them. 

We toured Kathlins workshop, and walked through a custom zip manufacturer, and enjoyed a quick demonstration on the way through of the process of assembling a zipper. Then it was off to Mood Fabrics, where I got very excited in the leather section downstairs - so many colours, and some were laser cut - but managed to contain myself. 

This was our last stop for the day, but I surprised myself by feeling as though I had a bit left in me, and said goodbye to the group to head back towards the many, many fabric shops we had walked past on our tour. I even made my way back to Spandex World!!

After a couple of stops, I needed refuelling, and had a lovely Samuel Adams beer at a nice little bar. It was great to sit down, but it was not time to stop shopping yet, so onwards I went.

After a few more stops I ended up at Mode Fabrics, and it was here that I went a little mad.... no regrets though!

  By now I had way too many bags to manage, and ended up dragging them the long way home around Madison Square Garden. I was so directionally challenged in this city! No matter, it meant I got this great view of it.

Desperate for noms now, I made a quick stop to dump the loot before picking up the now standard dinner of pizza slice and 'rita.