Covered Button and Belt Source September 13, 2006

Pat’s Custom Buttons and Belts in Lodi, California is a small but necessary resource for those of us who want the REAL THING. Pat Mahoney runs her business in an ‘old school’ custom one-of-a-kind or many-of-a-kind way. She can work by phone, or by mail and has an excellent spiral bound catalog that she can mail to you.

I haven’t seen this selection of covered belts and buckles for ages - it reminds me of when NYC’s Garment Center was a bustling district full of rolling racks, delivery trucks triple parked, carts of fabric bolts perilously barreling down the sidewalk and the cluster of Italian patternmakers took over most of the sunny side of the street in front of 525 7th Ave. You could send your fabric out in the morning and your covered buttons would be back that afternoon.

I was in a hurry, so we sent everything back and forth by FedEx. Snail mail works fine though, if you have the time. I love my giant velvet covered buttons, big as dinner plates, with the matching covered belt. She has 6 different styles of button backs to choose from, 16 styles of covered button, and 12 styles of covered button with novelty rims and centers. I won’t even go into all of the belt options.

Hooray for Pat, keeping the tradition alive. I don’t suppose she will mind if I say you can contact her at 209-369-5410, PO Box 335 Lodi, CA 95241.