9/20/2023 0 Comments Freddy farkle fabricsWhen the Kennedys lived in Brookline, we did some work for them as well - Ethel Kennedy sent us furniture from Virginia. Turns out it was Cardinal Cushing, as we were upholstering some pews and doing some draperies for the church. When I first joined the business, I picked up the phone and a gruff voice was on the other side. “My dad came from Europe in the 1920s and worked from dawn to late at night. He spoke with the Globe about keeping a brick-and-mortar store afloat when more and more online fabric retailers are emerging. Shapiro, 85, today buys bolts of fabric directly from mills domestically and overseas - he claims to have one million yards of home decorating cloth in stock. They cut, pinned, and stitched slipcovers and he grew the business to include designer fabrics and remnants. Shapiro has been in the industry for 70 years, starting out at a small storefront in Brighton, in his father’s upholstery shop. “Customers ask if there really is a Freddy Farkel, and I say ‘yes.’ ” said Shapiro. But Shapiro still gets phone calls asking to speak with Freddy Farkel, and he gladly assumes his alter ego, fielding questions about fabrics, upholstering, and draperies. Today, the Watertown textile warehouse is also known by the more sophisticated name of Fabric Showcase. With Fred as Freddy Farkel, his daughter as Sparkle Farkel, and another as Fanny Farkel, the good-humored nicknames helped keep conviviality in the decades-old family business, even through economic ups and downs. It’s a cute and catchy phrase based on an old comedy skit, devised by proprietor Fred Shapiro as a way to advertise his discount decorating outlet. Try to say that tongue twister fast three times. Freddy Farkel’s Fabrics for the Frantically Frugal.
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