Northshore Magazine

March/April

Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.

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ne Business Designs of the Times For more than a century, Zimman's has given dis- cerning decorators and in-the-know homeowners stylish options in textiles and home furnishings. By Jeanne O'Brien Coffey I largest fabric emporium in the country. Swatch Library Zimman's may be the 98 nshoremag.com March/April 2012 t's an unusual location for a high-end design shop, situated next to a 99-cents store in downtown Lynn. But Zimman's is an unusual store, with a strong sense of community, an old-world ambience, and a desire to cater to everyone from locals looking for high-quality bargains to clients with six-figure budgets looking to fill an entire home. "It's an unlikely spot for this type of business to evolve," agrees owner Michael Zimman, grandson of the store's founder, Morris Zimman. "But it works for us. You need a lot of space, which we have, and we've been doing it for 103 years, so we've developed a broad reputation." With arguably the largest selection of tex- tiles on the East Coast, if not in the country, and a carefully curated array of furniture and decorative items, Zimman's has become a destination business, surviving the changing landscape of retail by smart speciali- zation and unbeatable prices. Stepping into Zimman's can be a daunting proposition. With about 40,000 square feet—nearly an acre—of shopping spread over three floors, some customers, especially photographs by keller + keller

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