Nestor Cortes' foot kicked the lever and the press came down with a bang, forcing a grommet into a thick piece of white stretch fabric. This grommet—a steel ring—fiercely grasping the edges of a round hole in the cloth, was just one of 100 which Cortes would carefully punch into the interior lining of what his client called an "avant garde" jacket. (The holes certainly weren't designed for warmth.) While Cortes worked in a back room crammed with small drawers brimming with snaps, grommets, eyelets (small grommets), jean buttons and decorative rivets of all shapes, material and size, the fashion student waited patiently in the front room, listening to the rhythmic bangs.
Cortes is the owner of Star Snaps NYC, a tiny business with a passionate following in the garment district. When the phone rang, Cortes took a break from the kick press. "Star Snaps NYC," he said crisply. "Oh, hi—you owe me like $200! Where's the money at! No—I'm joking, it's only $16. Don't worry you can pay later on," Cortes laughed into the receiver.
A constant stream of fashion designers, hobbyists and students parade in and out of Cortes’ shop, which not only sells, but applies the small fasteners that help keep pants securely on, bags snapped shut, drawstrings running smooth and random clothing items fashionable.
A bracelet designer from Burkina Faso ate her lunch while waiting for 26 snaps to be applied to the tie-dyed wraparound bracelets she would sell at street fairs. Three members of a women's wear design company entered merely for inspiration, eagerly pouring over Cortes' swatches of snap and jean bottom options. A fashion consultant requested small white eyelets to use for a small run of men’s board shorts. Louis Augustin, sporting a denim jacket he decorated himself with sharp metal rivets and patches, came in for a small bag of "feminine looking" rivets he wanted to apply on a friend's jacket.
"I've just, like, always been creative, I just like doing my own thing, like looking different, and somebody put me onto this store many years ago," Augustin said.
No job is too small for Star Snaps NYC. Cortes, who is on a first name basis with many customers and offers While-U-Wait service, will repair a broken snap on a beloved pair of jeans for as little as $1.50. On the same day he gives discounts to students he might apply antique brass snaps for a high end designer like Betsey Johnson. Cortes says the trick of his trade is knowing which products can be applied to what fabrics. He has six kick press machines that apply items with specific amounts of pressure, depending on the delicacy of the material. (No glue is used at Star Snaps NYC — all the fasteners are applied through pressure and grip.) “Products you can use on leather you cannot use on stretch fabric because it will damage the fabric," warned Cortes.
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