Talas

Talas has a well-​deserved reputation for high-​end bookbinding supplies, but an undeserved bad rap for its arrogant employees.
I went in today to buy a Japanese push drill, something I’ve wanted for over twenty years. (I even printed out my order form and brought it with me.) I expected to be ignored for at least half an hour, but was waited on as soon as I walked into the store.
The gentleman who waited on me answered my questions and had my supplies put together for me so quickly, I barely had time to whip out my wallet. And I’d wanted to linger: they have samples of their paste papers and bookcloths posted that I’d wanted to examine and touch. Hah.
Though I’d wanted to look at awls and bone folders, my pocket book is glad I didn’t dally too long. Oh, and I left with a free catalog, too!
Though I don’t live on this coast, Talas is on the top of my list for my next visit East.

Went in today looking to buy materials to make a book for the first time, expecting the ‘rude’ service everyone here has described. as it turns out, they hired two new sales/​floor people this week, who were both young and cheery. They weren’t yet super knowledgable about the materials and processes, but after they get settled in I think they’ll be great employees. Felt the need to post this to help them get rid of their bad customer service rep. The store itself is big bright and shiny, and all the tools are in nice display cases in the front. Having to figure out what you want from the catalogue is a little annoying, but i suppose it keeps all the materials clean from peoples’ grubby hands.

never been to their new location, it bums me out! I miss having talas in my hood. They have all the archival/​bookbinding/​weird art organizing stuff you could ever want and their prices are good.
at least at the old store you went in and looked through the catalog and put together your order on a carbon list, gave them 30 mins to put it together then came back and picked it up and paid in cash. They have a few things on display mostly tools for book binding and books about bookbinding.
The staff: as one person put it can be «superior twits» but its just one of those things. This is def a family joint, its NYC, and you have to be aggressive and say, «this is what I’m looking for and who is the resident archival book binding glue genius?» It works every time.
A lot of these wonderful specialty businesses in NYC are mostly mail order or deal with artists/​curators etc in person for the most part, and you have to be brave if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for and ask, and demand service.

Great supplies. Rude customer service.

Now that Talas have moved to Williamsburg/​Bushwick, it’s harder for me to visit their showroom — which I totally missed just popping in and get what I wanted. Apparently they do let you do pick up. Just put the request in the «comment» field when you check out online and they’ll get back to you when your order is ready to be picked up.

Bookbinding supplies are just so cool to look at. Whenever I walk in this place I feel like I’m entering a museum. A little intimidating, but they do it right. Awesome selection. I love going through the fabric and paper books looking for just what I want. I feel like I’m shopping at an old fashioned department store when I’m there. It’s just a fun experience for me (:

Awesome place to pick up ready-​made portfolio boxes, white gloves, etc. or have made.

EXCELLENT Supplier for all your fine bookbinding needs.
Intimidating /​not user friendly at all for retail space.
Here’s the deal: Talas has great stuff if you need specialty bookbinding materials. But this is not like shopping at Pearl or Dick Blick. When I showed up in the store, I had a hard time telling who worked there and who was a more knowledgeable customer. No one offered to help me. I just kind of fumbled around until someone finally came out and helped me get what I needed. All in all, it took 20 minutes for me to score a spool of linen thread & a couple of needles. And I was floored that they didn’t take credit cards in the store, which meant I had to put back impulse purchases I didn’t have cash for.
It’s a better bet to do your shopping online and ask if you can pick your order up at their location. Then you can pay with your credit card AND have your immediate gratification. Phone staff was very helpful when I did this, and I’m sure it saved all of us a bunch of grief.

The only reason i gave this place 2 stars was because they have a lot of stuff. I will never go back, though, because they were so incredibly rude. I stood in the same spot (next to the counter) for 15 minutes without anyone even acknowledging my existence. (There were about 6 employees on the floor, some helping people but most not). When I was finally helped, the person was condescending and there was lots of eye rolling when I asked some straight-​forward questions about sizing.

$ 10-​$ 15 for a yard of fabric for bookbinding. Great place to go if you want your journal to look really good. They have a wide selection of books on bookbinding as well. It’s fascinating stuff. Though there’s just WAY TOO MANY materials available for bookbinding. It’s hard to start… and it also becomes very addicting.