When Albert Zakhor rented a building 30 years ago for $350/month on the corner of Maple Avenue and East 9th Street, he was following in the entrepreneurial footsteps of his father, uncles and grandfather: buying and selling buttons.
Since the age of 1, his family was in the button business, eventually owning a button-making factory in Iran. After the Iranian Revolution ended in 1979 and the factory was confiscated, the family relocated to Los Angeles.
“Buttons are very strange merchandise,” said Zakhor. “It’s not food; it’s not building material. But dresses need a button and a zipper to close it. Nobody believes that the button is important, but it’s very important, and it’s very unique.”
Zakhor’s business, Trim 4 Less, has grown from its original small room into a 50,000-square-foot warehouse full of buttons on Santa Fe Avenue.
Albert Zakhor’s business has grown from its original small room into a 50,000 square-foot warehouse full of buttons.
(Chris Mortenson/Staff)
“I bought this property and after a couple of years, I bought the building next door and the next one,” he said. “I believe I have the largest button inventory in the United States.”
The Trim 4 Less warehouse is like Home Depot for buttons. There are neatly organized aisles and shelves of buttons, elastics, zippers and patches. It is LA’s largest trims and accessories warehouse.
“The fire department loves me,” he shared. “We’re very organized, very clean. Everything is to code, and we follow all the rules of the fire department.”
One customer commented, “It’s like going to a scavenger hunt in the garment industry.”
Another wrote, “This is my go to place for many years. You need trim, elastic, bra straps? This is a one stop shop at excellent prices. Anything to make your collection more beautiful, cost effective and to keep it ‘made in Los Angeles.’”
Another personally complimented Zakhor: “Albert, the owner at Trim 4 Less is a total sweetheart. They have a huge selection of trims: zippers, elastics, cords, appliqués, patches, you name it they probably have it.”
What visitors do not expect to find is a museum-worthy collection of artwork made by Zakhor and antique musical instruments.
“Music and art are my hobbies,” he said. “It is my passion. It’s not my business. I’m not selling art. I’m not selling musical instruments, but I do have a large quantity of antique musical instruments and artwork that I make from whatever we have here. It’s kind of 3D artwork.”
The artwork is created from laces, brooches, ribbons, rhinestones, velcro and other odds and ends that populate the shelves. Zakhor buys the wood frames, always 18-inch by 24-inch, makes the art and then hangs it on the walls in his office and throughout the warehouse.
“I never want to sell my artwork,” he assured. “I prefer to sell buttons.”
Zakhor is also a musician. He plays guitar, mostly acoustic. His vast collection consists of about 500 to 600 at the warehouse and maybe 1,000 at his home, he relayed.
Interestingly, Trim 4 Less’s best business was done during the pandemic because people were buying tons of narrow elastic to make masks. In the past, Zakhor also recalled benefiting from international business, especially from South America, but that market no longer exists.
Today’s business climate, especially in the last two to three years, has been a struggle, and, in his own words, he’s just trying to survive, which is why the pursuit of his passions is even more important these days.
“You need something beside the income and the money,” he said. “You need something to express your passion. Music is everything for me. I play every night for myself, for and with friends, different styles of music. Because I’m from the Middle East, we play a lot of musical instruments from the Middle East. That’s food for the soul. When you finish a piece of artwork, when you make music, when you create something, you feel good.”
More Information
Trim 4 Less is located at 1426 South Santa Fe Avenue, 213-867-1000; trims4less.com.