The Silk Society

I am a designer and have been to the Berwick street shop to purchase fabrics several times out of necessity. This shop stocks a wide range of fabrics at reasonable prices but the disappointing thing however is that the staff are not very helpful and prefer to stand behind the counter looking miserable. All the times I have been there not a single member of staff has approached me and offered to assist. Even the times I have asked for assistance I was made to feel like I was a bother. I don't believe the staff are knowledgeable about fabrics as the website purports otherwise they will have a bit more respect for silk and not rip the fabric apart each time I have made a purchase instead of cut it with a pair of scissors. This is the sort of thing you will expect when you purchase cheap fabric from a market stall and not a high end shop like The silk Society. I only purchase from this shop out of necessity but feel short changed each time as I have to lose a good 2 inches of fabric before its fit for purpose because the rip.

I recently visited this shop for the first time looking for specialised silks . I had e mailed them before hand for opening hours but got no response. On entering the shop I was greeted by an offhand young lady who , I felt ,would rather I had not come into the shop. The assistant concerned was dismissive and rude when I asked about a particular fabric and did seem to be lacking in specialist silk fabric knowledge even down to suggeting tht acetate would be good enough and would respond to hand dyeing as well as silk would!!
I was very disapointed with the experience ,although the assistant was just as off hand to her colleague (who was a great help with the samples and how to order via the mail order system).I do not feel inclined to return to the shop and would go so far as to say either buy from the "silk route "or if you want cotton based fabrics then cross the road to "the cloth house" who were very freindly and helpful.