Northshore Magazine

March/April

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

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photos hang from 18-foot ceilings, showing the history of the business. Zimman and his staff work from a cramped pod of desks in a corner of the first floor, piled with papers and sur- rounded by people bustling about. The environment may be less than luxurious, but that doesn't stop well-heeled clients from arriving on a regular basis to shop. Staffers are working right now on a ski house in Maine. "We're doing the entire interior of it, [including] the furniture, the window treatments—almost everything about the house," says Operations Manager Patty Forster, adding that the cost of that project is definitely into five figures, bordering on six. But those figures aren't unusual. One customer moved from the North Shore to Sonoma, California, and had furnishings for the new home shipped from Zimman's. Another North Shore deni- zen outfitted a second home—in Greece—with Zimman's help. Why such a devoted following? "I'd like to think we have a certain taste level. Whether it's someone else's taste level or not, it reflects who we are," Michael says. Hollywood has certainly found Zimman's to its taste— since Massachusetts enacted tax credits to lure Hollywood productions to the state, Zimman's has become the go-to place for set decoration. Stroll through the furniture show- room and you will see items used in films including 2009's The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. And film production keeps the upholstery department busy as well, from a next-day upholstery job for Shutter Island (starring Leonard DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese), which involved a red-eyed courier carrying the leather from Califor- nia, to preparing 900 seats for The Fighter, which stars Mark Wahlberg. It's all in a day's work. "Any movie that was filmed in Boston, [production crews] made their way here," Michael says. "They look at us as a real repository of textiles and furnishings that can fit many set- tings. So that's been a fun thing. It's a lot more work than the regular customers—you have to do things really fast. But it's || | Mix and Match: Furniture, light fixtures, and accessories suit countless tastes. March/April 2012 nshoremag.com March/April 2012 nshoremag.com 103

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