Eli Yawitz Company

elyyawitz.com

It is time to begin planning costumes for Lindi's dance recital which reminds me of an adventurous day we had last year.

We needed thread, lots of thread. Lin, a friend from Texas, told me about a locally owned wholesale place in St. Louis that sells every kind of sewing notion. Ely E. Yawitz Company. We decided to go in search of this place with the memorable name.

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It was a wintery, cold and snowy day.  We bundled up, got in the car and drove to one of those intriguing old warehouse districts in the city.

After parking in a bank of unshovelled snow, we made our way inside.  It all looked pretty abandoned.  I could almost think we were in one of those surreal scenes from INCEPTION:

 forsaken halls and 

forgotten telephone booths,

 mysterious doors with only a vague suggestion of what might be behind them.

At last, a sign of recognition.  We did ring the bell, Ely's clerks welcomed us, and assured us we were in the right place.

We found:

 

shelf

after shelf,

drawer upon drawer.

                                                                            

In them and on them were thousands of sewing supplies which are normally sold to clothing manufacturers, but they were very happy to sell to us in small quantities.  

Ely E. was a young man in 1924 when he opened his business, so he is no longer with us. However, I understand, a relative of some descent is still operating this very active warehouse, hiring local folks, paying local taxes and maintaining a local historic building.
As personal sewing has become rarer, so have the places selling needed notions, especially rare are local establishments, so I was really happy to find Ely E. Yawitz Company. If you decide to visit the Yawitz Company, try calling first to get directions and best time of the day to come.  Since they are accustomed to filling very large orders, a phone call will help you avoid their "rush times".

We had our rainbow of thread and it was time to return home.  One thing you can be sure of, local shopping is never dull.