Ruth J. Katz's Blog - Useful Info(RuthShopsNY.com)

FIND IT

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?
FIND IT HERE!
NYC SHOPPING SEARCH

RUTH RECOMMENDS

Floral Scents from Prada and Nina Ricci

Officially summer doesn't end for another few weeks, but the unofficial finish line is in sight-dreaded Labor Day, when, alas, we start to think of back-to-school, back-t

BLOG Entry 8/30/10 >>
Check Out More On: Beauty: Fragrance

SAMPLE SALES

Sferra, S'Fine

We love Sferra linens -- all that luscious Italian bedding, so handsomely designed, so soft to the touch, so elegant on the bed. It is th
BLOG Entry 6/11/08 >>
Check Out More On: Sales/Sample Sales | Linens

FIX IT

Summer Camp for Furs: Alexandros

By this time, your furs should have gone to summer camp -- if they haven't, now is definitely the time. Don't think that keeping them sequestered in the back of a closet in an air-conditioned apart
BLOG Entry 11/27/07 >>
Check Out More On: Furs | Fur Maintenance & Repair | Fix It | Services

USEFUL INFO

Jump to:

The Big Clean-Up: New York's Little Elves

The annual Kips Bay designer showhouse always features some pretty nifty rooms filled with sumptuous furnishings -- the finest carpets, extraordinary draperies, and countless objets and bibelots all just waiting to be manhandled and broken. The delicate task of cleaning the tchotchke-filled mansion during the month-long show falls on the shoulders of New York's Little Elves, run for 30 years by the intrepid Barbara Fierman. (In addition, Fierman numbers among her clients the Southampton Showhouse, countless fussy designers, and the party space at the Time Warner building.) In short, these elves know how to clean up after a major bash and for very particular folks...and they'll know how to scour and polish after your engagement party or at-home wedding -- or how to tackle that spring cleaning you've been putting off. Some of Fierman's staff have been with her for over ten years, and many of her employees are part of extended families. (Most importantly, she points out, all her people are covered by workers' comp, something very few firms can boast about.) And they're fussy, careful, and thorough. The cost is $34 per hour per person, and if you need three or more, she'll supply a captain for the crew at $43 per hour. They'll use your supplies ("Most people have pretty weak vacuums, though," she points out) or they'll bring their own ($125), everything from Q-Tips to an industrial vacuum. One thing she jokes about: "We don't do windows," but she'll bring in the service she regularly uses that does! By reservation only. 212-673-5507; www.nyelves.com (This article originally appeared in the 4/06 issue of Manhattan Living.)

Posted on Monday, November 26, 2007 @ 03:52 PM | 190 replies View/Post Feedback
Browse: Services | Home Cleaning & Repairs | Useful Info

Making Holey Cloth Whole: French American Reweaving Co.

Next time someone lights your fire -- or rather, lights you on fire -- with a cigarette burn on your clothing, the rescue squad you'll be calling is French American Reweaving Co. The company has been in business since the 1930s, and owner Ronnie Moore has been there since the '60s. He and his nimble-fingered magicians in the back room can make holey cloth whole, either by piece-weaving sections of fabric (harvested from inconspicuous places on the garment) into the missing spots, or weaving single threads into the gaps -- one by one by one. Yup, even where there is no cloth they can create fabric, and do it so seamlessly that you'd be hard-pressed to find the original tear, burn, or hole.

Got a pair of trousers with a worn crotch, or a hip/wallet pocket that is threadbare around the edges? Or how about a bunch of little moth holes in a pretty sweater? (And you'll definitely want to save this resource for the fall, when you awaken your clothes from their lollygagging estivation and you discover that a family of moths has turned a cashmere sleeve into lunch!) Moore's work is flawless -- but be forewarned, this kind of handwork is pricey -- and people send him their ripped and tattered clothing from all over the country and as far away as Australia. Re-knitting a cigarette burn on a sweater starts at $45; piece-weaving on a woven starts at $95; single-thread reweaving on a woven starts at $115; repairing a worn crotch starts at $65; and repairing a worn hip pocket starts at $75. French American Re-weaving Co., 119 W. 57 St. btw. Sixth & Seventh Aves., 212-765-4670 (This article originally appeared in the 5/06 issue of Manhattan Living.)

Posted on Thursday, August 09, 2007 @ 02:06 PM | 0 replies Start the Discussion

Browse: Services | Fix It | Useful Info

Smoke Gets in Your Ties: Fashion Award Cleaners

Jerry Leeds, Fashion Award Cleaners' owner, has been in the dry-cleaning biz nearly 40 years and is one of the city's go-to guys for tricky cleaning jobs. The one thing that Fashion Award can do that arguably few -- if any -- other cleaners can do is remove the smoke smell from clothing in an ozone chamber. The ozone room looks like any other well-sealed room, but it's hooked up to a sort of life-support machine that constantly sucks the air out of the room, purifies it, and then puts it back so that, over a 24-hour period, the smell of the smoke (and even the mildew-y smell of water damage on, say, draperies soaked from a flood) is mitigated. Inside the room, there is also a hepa-filter that further purifies the air. Fashion Award's manager, Henry Ortiz, says you can expect 98.9-percent success in removing noxious smells. Items are first dry-cleaned before going into the chamber and, afterwards, they're finished, steamed, and pressed. The cost is variable, and is in addition to the fee for the dry cleaning. 2205 Broadway btw. 78th & 79th Sts., 212-289-5623; fashionaward.com (This article originally appeared in the 5/06 issue of Manhattan Living.)

Posted on Thursday, August 09, 2007 @ 01:35 PM | 1 reply View/Post Feedback

Browse: Useful Info | Fix It

The Bag Man: Fixing Your Leather

Superior Leather Restorers. "But if it were made of leather, we'd be able to do it." Rosen's been restoring and repairing leather goods for 45 years and there isn't anything that he cannot repair -- from your most delicate lavender, buttery-suede trench coat with a nasty stain on it to a special designer handbag that needs new straps.

Got a nasty gash in your best-fitting, slim leather pants? Marvin's your guy. The trickier the job, the more he likes the challenge. Those trousers with the hole in them? He can replace the entire panel and match the color, no sweat ($95 and up). Shortening the straps on a handbag starts at $50; changing straps and hardware on a handbag starts at $150; re-glazing an alligator or croc bag starts at $175. Replacing zippers on leather garments starts at $95, but a simple zipper repair might be $35. Refinishing a leather jacket (brown and black only) is $125 and up, while the same work on a jacket in a fashion color that Rosen has to mix and match would be $195 and up. Even if your job is a simple cleaning, Superior will do a superior job. 141 Lexington Ave. btw. 29th & 30th Sts., 212-889-7211; www.superiorleathernyc.com (This article originally appeared in the 9/06 issue of Manhattan Living.)

Posted on Thursday, August 09, 2007 @ 11:25 AM | 0 replies Start the Discussion

Browse: Useful Info | Leather Goods | Fix It

Holy Zagats! A New Shopping Guide

The 2007 Zagat New York City Shopping guide ($14.95) is out as of yesterday, and although we wanted to be the first on the block to bring it to you -- after what in the publishing biz is called an embargo was lifted -- we were just too jet-lagged to do it, so we’re a day late. (More about the jet lag later this week.)

On to the important stuff, the shopping: Even if you’re an inveterate shopper -- an intrepid New Yorker who has plenty of his or her own little haunts and secrets shops -- this guide is a very useful Baedeker, a resource you’ll consult often, if only to check an address, phone number, or the cross streets (something that they wisely added this year). Like all the Zagat guides, it’s a handy, pocket-sized volume; you’ll find many new features and updated graphics and icons. Moreover, our good friend and professional colleague Randi Gollin edited it...so we just have to tell you how wonderful it is! There are close to 2,500 shops listed, with 167 new entries. There is also a pull-out map (also new, and a smart addition) with all the most popular chains and independents dotting the geographical landscape. Click here to get your copy.

Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 @ 12:43 PM | 0 replies Start the Discussion

Browse: Getting Organized | Useful Info

FIND IT HERE