Seth Weisser and Gerard Maione still laugh when they recall their parents’ reaction to the opening of their joint venture, a vintage clothing store called What Comes Around Goes Around, 12 years ago.
“They basically said, ‘You’re opening up a used clothing store?’” said Weisser. “I guess after putting us through college, that was a bit of a surprise for them.”
Now, Weisser and Maione are adding another element to the story: an antique swatch and textile library.
“It’s really a natural progression for us,” added Weisser. “It’s a great service to our customers to have a one-stop shopping place for vintage.”
The library officially bows at the company’s showroom, which opened five years ago at 13-17 Laight Street here, in mid-May. The store is a few blocks away at 351 West Broadway.
The library will be managed by Dayna Johnson, formerly a sales associate at Andrea Aranow, a vintage and antique fabric and artwork resource. It will include more than 100,000 antique swatches, dating from the 1830s through the 1970s, as well as periodicals and books.
“We want it to be a place where our clients can come and flip through the swatches or do research for their collections,” noted Maione.
