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January 2024 by Saeko Snow
Zero stars, store hours don’t reflect actual hours. Manager refused to communicate with me. Drove 3 hours specifically to buy $1,000s worth of stones and the owner didn’t even have the decency to tell us why they couldn’t service us at 4:50 when their hours are till 5:00. Never returning again.
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January 2024 by Darcy Wheeler
They have an abundant selection of 11/0 seed beads and other supplies that have helped me with my fringe beaded earring projects.
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December 2023 by Betzy V.
My daughter and I love crafting together and we are in NYC for vacation. My son and husband were next door, but came over as well. I felt like I was being stalked the entire time, and my last straw was when an employee walked up to my kids (10 and 13) who were looking are the metal mesh on the floor and told them "no touching." I was standing right behind the lady (my kids were not unattended) and when she walked away I asked the kids what she said to them and they verified. I dropped my tray of items immediately and said "no touching means no purchasing. I was going to buy my son the metal mesh that he wanted, but if he isn't allowed to look or touch, I guess we can't purchase it." I'll find my daughter the lamp work beads on AliExpress or Temu for a fraction of their cost there and I won't be harassed or made to feel like a criminal when I walk into a store. I guess my country ass looked sketchy af too.
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November 2023 by kes b
Every time I come in here, I'm incredibly uncomfortable. I've browsed the store a few times because I started jewelry business and found that there was a place that sold small quantities locally to me in Manhattan. I was really excited so I went just to browse to see what was going on. I've been there four times, I've made purchases twice. Every single time that I am there, I'm stalked. The employees have the egregious habit of gawking, following, and downright hovering your neck as if you're going to steal something from the moment you walk in.And I've noticed that this happens when you look a certain way. The first time, because I don't want to feed into the stigma that the Asian Community does not like black and brown people, I brushed it off. The first time It happened I said "oh you know they're just looking because these are very small items this easy to put them in your bag", etc. The second time, I went in, mind you wearing $200 sneakers and $400 bag, I was LOCKED INSIDE OF THE STORE.They literally locked the door when I got in and lingered a little too long. Like I said I was trying to look at the prices of everything as they're not a wholesaler and def don't claim to be, but they do sell things cheap so I was just trying to make sense of everything to see if I can make them work as a go-to in the city. Unfortunately they locked me inside until I was done.The third time I went and actually bought some of their charms. I already knew the process of what it was and I went to get it it wasn't a problem, they were nice they were polite.This fourth time I went was so uncomfortable. My past browsing was in effective as I realized bc they make me so uncomfortable, I never REALLY grasped how pricey they would be as a go-to for emergency supplies. I want to reiterate my complaint isn't really rhe price thing, they don't claim to sell at wholesale. But I was there to gauge the prices so I could know that but each time I felt icky.This fourth time, the more and more I did the math the less and less I wanted to buy because I realized I can just buy emergency charms on Amazon, I didn't because I wanted to support small. At that point I wanted to leave the overpriced charms, but I was stared at and followed for so long I felt pressured to buy. I knew I was overpaying, I knew I wasn't going to get a good enough quantity for what I was paying but they had just stared and gawked for so long and I felt like iw as a criminal just for walking in and would be one if I walk out with no purchase.I never really understood that whole 'why are you going to Patron somewhere that's profiling you until this moment'. Because you feel pressure to. I also unfortunately do still need something from that store so I also didn't want to be told "look you never make any purchases so you can't come back" so I just bit the bullet and paid my $30 but it's just such an uncomfortable, unfortunate experience.Yes the staff is lovely but you can be nice and polite and still be racist. When you want to stare at people and act like they have nothing, no good intention when they're just trying to have a small business and work hard like you do yeah that makes you a racist. It was just gross I really don't like going there I feel low, I don't feel human when I'm there, and they do that without words because of the way that they just stare at you like like you don't belong and they don't do that with white customers. Honestly, one of my most racist experiences in new york, in the 16 years that I've been here.
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November 2023 by Eric Stout
The staff was very helpful. I stopped by on a whim, and the staff helped me in figuring out how to make a leather bracelet with charms. I made a bracelet for myself and my boyfriend and it is cute
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October 2023 by Beth
Such a great place to shop for my gold filled needs in my jewelers making business!
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September 2023 by Brian Parisi
Hate going in here. Cheap products huge mark ups and the staff is awful. Rude and discriminatory. They act like you’re stealing from the second you get in
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August 2023 by Sidney Li
awesome place for jewelry and craft supplies. huge range of jewelry hardware as well as glass, wood, precious stones, plastic, etc. beads. they also have a huge wall of chains, strings, etc. that when asked can be cut to whatever length (in feet) that you want. the door is locked so you have to be buzzed in but usually i get let in fast and the employees are very nice and understanding.
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July 2023 by Victoria P.
Don't go into this store unless you want to feel like a criminal throughout the whole time. I was followed throughout the store by multiple girls and i'm not sure if it's because I had a backpack with me or if it's because I'm brown but I didn't feel comfortable at all. The lady at the front accused me of taking a bead and marking it a different price because of the shade difference than the other beads in the bag but beads have different opaques! I won't be coming back because the service was really terrible. There are other ways to maintain security and avoid thefts, following your customers is not one of them.
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July 2023 by Google user
awesome place for jewelry and craft supplies. huge range of jewelry hardware as well as glass, wood, precious stones, plastic, etc. beads. they also have a huge wall of chains, strings, etc. that when asked can be cut to whatever length (in feet) that you want. the door is locked so you have to be buzzed in but usually i get let in fast and the employees are very nice and understanding.
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July 2023 by Lorraine R.
Last week I entered a 'Fantasyland Store' of glitter, charm, and sparkle! What an Enchanting Place to behold! All because I wanted to replace a missing stone for a silver bracelet! I assure, this won't be my last visit! The store is replete with all kinds of stones, chains (for making necklaces, etc.), strings for stringing, rhinestones, pearls of all colors, sizes, shapes, you name it! As soon as I entered I was greeted by lovely salespeople all anxious to help me find a replacement stone for my bracelet. I finally found one ( it was hard to concentrate given all the tempting varieties of jewelry-creating merchandise) that just about fit and resembled the stone I needed to replace. If you are a hobbyist, or if you need to replace a missing jewelry piece like me, you are in for a very pleasant experience!
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May 2023 by Monika Choi
Lovely かわいいand super helpful staff. I got all my beads from this store. The staff members are very friendly!
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April 2023 by Michele D.
One of the ways that the pandemic and higher rents have hurt NYC is by the decimation of classic neighborhoods. The garment district, or to you young uns, meatpacking, has suffered greatly. There have been many casualties for those that love to make things: a dearth of ostrich plumes for feather fans, closure of m&j trimmings' second room, and...bead stores. Gladly, the staff in the remaining trim stores are great pointing out new (to me) places. Tohoshoji has all your beading needs in one place. There are bins of beads, closures, strings of semi-precious stones, sew on rhinestones, and bead string. There are some lovely imitation glass (that means plastic, of course, but they look decent) beads in various flower patterns. There is a Japanese book store next door, and across the street in Bryant Park are the nicest public bathrooms in NYC. Take note that the store is not currently open on weekends, and they are still requiring masks.
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February 2023 by Benson Y.
For months now I have been on the hunt for some craft items that would let me put some necklaces together for an action figure. It sounds like a rather singular project, and it is but I thought it would be simple. However, after visiting one costume jewelry shop after another with no success, I finally wound up at Toho Shoji and I am SO glad I did! First, this is not a typical shop where you enter, pick stuff off the shelf and pay. Instead, they really try to provide a personalized sales experience. Masks are encouraged (possibly required) and they ask you to use hand sanitizer on your hands when you enter (which they provide). Once you're set, you let a sales person know what you are looking for and they'll guide you. Thank goodness! I described to them exactly what I was doing "I want to create necklaces for an action figure." and they didn't even blink. They pointed to everything I would need and we got to work. I purchased a foot of three kinds of necklace "chains" and picked up a bunch of decorative items to hang off the necklaces. The sales people were friendly and helpful the entire time. I highly recommend shopping here for your costume jewelry needs. They were friendly, super helpful and efficient.
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January 2023 by Megan Lee
Was so excited to go after hearing such great things about their selection. However, my experience was ruined by one staff worker. It was a young man who, when I politely said excuse me, proceeded to rudely reply "what?" with an incredibly hostile attitude. Not wanting to start a problem, I politely asked for his help to cut a length of chain for me to purchase, but after cutting it this person threw the chain into my hands and left without a word. What's worse is that this man was making fun of my friends and I in Japanese because he thought we could not understand. It had been my dream to come to this store for a while, but from now on they have lost a valuable customer.
