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| - I went there for fabric supplies and not for any of their music instruments upstairs. They were recommended by other clothing stores in Toronto's Little India.
They have a wide range of beautiful coloured silks, mostly 45" wide, which is a more standard loom size in India (Italian and Chinese tend to have more of the 54 and 60").
They have a decent selection of trim (fabric or stitched sash like items to tack on fabric).
I found that their silk unraveled much more than from other places, which can be challenging for those who are inexperienced at sewing.
They have cool decorative shoes in the basement and non-silks downstairs.
The male owner is smooth, but I should have been suspicious when he was "too kind." I actually quite like their female staff who were personable and were great at answering my questions.
Here's the catch. I was told the silk fabric bolt was 45" wide; when I got home it measured only 42" wide. Okay, it could have shrunk after being heat treated which is how they become shiny looking. So that "might" be understandable.
I asked for 1 meter (39") of another fabric, but I when I got home it was only 33"--- even it they went by yards instead of meters, it should have been 36". Tisk Tisk. Not acceptable.
I went back again and asked for 1 meter, but they forced me to buy the remaining 1.75 meters on the bolt or they wouldn't sell it to me. Every other fabric store I've been to in Canada and the U.S. has discounted this overage heavily if forced to purchase it. They did not and did not offer a future credit which might have smoothed things over.
I asked for a recommendation for other sewing supplies and they were not helpful. On my second trip, I shared my findings and they basically said "oh yeah, we get catalogues from them all the time." So they knew of options for somewhere that isn't even a competitor but were unwilling to share.
I did feel pressured by them to make a purchase then and there. Sort of a bartering mentality.
They are not very helpful at making sewing recommendations. I think they're used to people buying fabric then taking it to a professional tailor. Not good for home sewer.
Prices are easily a few dollars more per yard for silks compared to most locally available Chinese silks --- plus the bolts are 9" smaller.
Bring your own bags. They will give you a gaudy purple reusable bag that can bleed color and ruin your purchases.
They treated me like a second rate citizen when I was paying the second time and hurried me away to help someone else.
If you HAD to use them, I'd say fine. But bring your own measuring tape and carefully watch them measure it right in front of you. An inch is an inch --- except they think an inch is 3/4 inch. It was enjoyable while I was shopping, but boy did I feel burned after I left.
Lots of metered parking in a bustling area.
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