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 (Marcia Ceppos) Arch J. Bergoffen and his granddaughter, Marcia Ceppos, work in his New York City business, Tinsel Trading.
All in the Family: Milliner Updates "Tinsel Trading"
JANUARY 12, 2009MSNBC Marcia Ceppos is the owner of Tinsel Trading, an old-fashioned trim shop selling ribbons, silk flowers, and metallic braids in New York's garment district.
She inherited the company from her grandfather, Arch J. Bergoffen, who died in 1989. His business was sound, despite a less-than-gentle approach to customers. "If you didn't know what to do with the item, it wasn't for you. That's the way he ruled his store. It was his domain and if you didn't appreciate it, if you didn't like it, you weren't the right person for it. If you liked it, though, he adored you."
Long-time customers like Carolina Amato adored him. "It's a wonderful place and he was a wonderful man. Even though he was rough and tumble and tough, he was like a grandpa."
But by most accounts, shopping at Tinsel Trading wasn't so easy. "There were boxes piled all the way to the fluorescent lights."
Today Ceppos faces problems more daunting than shelves falling off the wall. With manufacturing moving overseas, many in her industry have gone under. "You used to be able to walk down 38th Street and there were all the milliner's supplies. You could go from one store to the next."
According to Ceppos, the key is keeping the business up-to-date. Her grandfather was not open to change. But when Ceppos took the reigns, she listened very carefully to her customers. "You have to be attuned to what's going on around you."
One customer, Rosemary Warren, made a breakthrough suggestion and asked to do window displays. From the minute she began working in the window, passersby would stop in front of Tinsel Trading to see what was happening. And business increased.
Marcia Ceppos has broader and bigger goals for the business than her grandfather. Last month, for example, Tinsel Trading held a book signing for designer/author for Kaari Meng. (author, "Home Sewn")www.tinseltrading.com/eventsEvents like this can create the kind of synergy where one plus one equals more than two. In addition to broadening the customer base with book signings, Tinsel Trading has also welcomed new products like glitter. You wouldn't have seen handicrafts here during her grandfather's day either, but for Ceppos, they are a growing business. "We do stationery shows, quilt markets, fly tying for fishermen..."While Tinsel Trading doesn't look the same as it did during her grandfather's day, neither does the garment industry. And Marcia Ceppos believes her grandfather would be proud.Visit the website: www.tinseltrading.com
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