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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cButtons are very strange merchandise,\u201d said Zakhor. \u201cIt’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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zakhor\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Albert Zakhor\u2019s business has grown from its original small room into a 50,000 square-foot warehouse full of buttons.<\/p>\n
(Chris Mortenson\/Staff)<\/p>\n
\u201cI bought this property and after a couple of years, I bought the building next door and the next one,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe I have the largest button inventory in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s largest trims and accessories warehouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fire department loves me,\u201d he shared. \u201cWe\u2019re very organized, very clean. Everything is to code, and we follow all the rules of the fire department.\u201d<\/p>\n
One customer commented, \u201cIt’s like going to a scavenger hunt in the garment industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another wrote, \u201cThis 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 \u2018made in Los Angeles.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Another personally complimented Zakhor: \u201cAlbert, the owner at Trim 4 Less is a total sweetheart. They have a huge selection of trims: zippers, elastics, cords, appliqu\u00e9s, patches, you name it they probably have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
What visitors do not expect to find is a museum-worthy collection of artwork made by Zakhor and antique musical instruments.<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic and art are my hobbies,\u201d he said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never want to sell my artwork,\u201d he assured. \u201cI prefer to sell buttons.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Trim 4 Less\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s business climate, especially in the last two to three years, has been a struggle, and, in his own words, he\u2019s just trying to survive, which is why the pursuit of his passions is even more important these days.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need something beside the income and the money,\u201d he said. \u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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