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New York City has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around our fantastic city that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.
Image via Flickr
Shanan Campanaro is the creative director and founder of Eskayel, where she makes wallpaper and fabric for the high-end interior design industry. Under her label, her team also creates pillows, baskets, and scarves that sell in shops like ABC Home, Bird and Haus Interiors, and their website. Here, she fills us in on a spot in Chinatown where she goes to get handmade, customized books.
I love Henry Bookbinding, and this is where I get our handmade giant wallpaper books. The Hasidic guy will bind me a 14x20-inch wallpaper book in a day or two, and they always come out beautiful with gold embossed titles. His place is packed and full of clutter and machines that are so old, which makes it clear that his craft has not changed in a long time. The last time I was there, I noticed he has a pad to sleep on, so I think he lives there also.
The rest of the space is filled with rolls of book fabrics and stacks of books. You can bring him pages and he'll bind the books and offer you fabric options for the cover. You can also get your own book fabric and bring it to him to use. His prices are pretty reasonable, and you can bargain with him. He really appreciates working on artistic books because I think most of his work is religious text. You should call beforehand, though, and let him know you're coming. Last time my partner went to drop off some pages, he answered the door in his boxers.
· Eskayel [Official Site]
· All Shopping Confidential Posts [Racked NY]