UPDATE***
December 24, 2012 12:00 PM After ringing the…read moredoorbell and being buzzed in, I walked up a few steps to the first door on the left. The name on the door says Maudrich Printing (Maudrich Druckerei) which is a little bit confusing. I opened the door anyway.
I stepped into ribbon heaven. With jaw dropped open in permanent fashion, I wandered through a labyrinth of inventory shelves stocked floor to ceiling full of well-organized ribbons in every fabric, texture, color, design and width imaginable. To give a real-life example, I was looking for an olive-colored velvet ribbon to make a hanging mistletoe kissing ball for New Years' Eve. I not only found the velvet ribbon I was looking for, I found it in 5 different widths and in four different shades of olive: a silvery sage olive, a olive with gold undertones, a mossy green olive and a darker gray olive.
I can only agree with the previous 5-star reviews: Maudrich has every type of ribbon your heart could desire. I think it would even be impossible not to find what you were looking for.
The atmosphere of this place is something quite special. It has an authentic 1930s / 1940s feel. Dotted here and there and in between are antique sewing machines, still in use with sharp scissors lying nearby and fresh fabric dust. The font used to print their names on the windows looks like the ones popular in the Art Deco era. The building is old and in some of the rooms you can still see the elaborate decorative stucco plastered on the ceilings and on the top edges of the walls. The two women and the one man I saw working there seem to be almost of retiring age and I expect they've been there since the beginning. They were all very nice to me, allowing me to explore in peace when I arrived.
Because it is an older place, there's no credit card machine. You'll have to pay in cash but the prices are excellent. Next time I'm going to ask if they'll allow me to take some pictures.
Their selection of ribbon is so comprehensive that I asked the cashier if they manufactured ribbon. The idea popped into my head especially since I saw sewing machines here and there. They don't make the ribbons themselves but they do create magnificent and luxurious bows on order from many florists. When the bows are for funerals, families often request the name and perhaps a Bible quote to be printed on the ribbon. This is the explanation for the Maudrich Printers sign on the front door.
* ORIGINAL * December 24, 2012 9:30 AM Someone from the store saw I had tried to call on Saturday and actually called me back this morning. (They don't seem to own an answering machine, but they at least have Caller ID and use it well.) I asked about the opening hours and entered them into Qype and I am now on my way over. So excited!!! Four stars for now for calling back and being nice on the phone
