Lindsay V.
Yelp
I'm not much of a sewing girl. I knit. I came here to get buttons and to get some fabric to cover some pillows I had lying around the apartment.
First, I had to grab the buttons. There are so many unique buttons here, many of them vintage. Good prices for really unique pieces. Since I knit a lot of purses and love embellishments, I noticed they also had a lot of great handles and straps, which can sometimes be a pain to find. There was not a lot of help in the button department or with notions, but everything was mostly organized in racks and tubes. The higher-end buttons are behind the counter, which makes it a little more difficult if you are replacing something and have to ask for someone to get button after button off the shelf (but hey, that's why they're fancy!)...
After getting some GREAT buttons, I ventured into the sea of fabric. The store was pretty packed, so once I got a chance to look at everything, I was just a little worried. I was hoping to find some kitschy-retro fabric, but instead, they had contemporary prints, high-end prints, and plain prints. I suppose that there's a specialty store in LA to find this stuff, but I have not found it yet. However, I did get some great help from one of the staff. Even though I had committed a cardinal sin of not measuring before heading out the door (planning is not my strong suit), she was really nice about it and helped me to approximate the amount of fabric I needed. Ended up getting EXACTLY the right amount, which never happens.
My only complaint was that there was some major sticker shock. I had not noticed that the fabric the lady helped me pick out was significantly more expensive than the others (I had a price range in mind, but did not see the price until the cut had been made). In addition, I mistook one of the instructors of the sewing class for someone that actually worked in the store. She was pretty offended, making me feel HORRIBLE the rest of the time I was in that area of the store--which made me all the more anxious to leave. (I guess I was confused because she was wearing the store's shirt and had a kind of nametag on...).