Are you kidding? Are you kidding! All you can give me is 5 stars? This place deserves at least 10. Absolutely the best selection, the best prices and the nicest, most knowledgeable staff on the planet. We've been buying our fabrics for our home there for 30 years and they're great. Ask for Laura when you go in. read more

Recently I had a wonderful experience with this amazing fabric mecca!! I had a camel back sofa reupholstered. From the time I entered the store until the sofa was delivered, the service was amazing. I worked with Laura Strowman, fabric designer extraordinaire. She spent a lot of time imparting her knowledge and expertise of the various fabrics and which ones would be best for this period sofa. Pon, the upholsterer manager was extremely helpful in determining the amount of fabric needed as was Laura but always good to have a second opinion. Next the sofa went to the workroom. John, Head of the workroom could not have been more accomodating. The first go around he gave me the heads up that the cushion may not be exactly what I want but urged me to try it and let him know. The interior material did have to be redone and he was just wonderful to work with. The sofa is now gracing my beautiful library/living room and everything is just perfect. While I was at the store, I noticed other customers looking at fabric with Glenn, another very knowledgeable fabric designer. The bottom line is this company works as a team. They want you to be happy. They do not rush you in and out. They care a lot about what the customer wants and needs and are very attentive. Today, with Laura's help, I chose a beautiful fabric for a loveseat! Needless to say, I am having fun getting some long overdue upholstering done! read more

I drove a distance because I thought Zimman's would have what I needed to re-cover a special chair. From the moment I walked in, I was turned off by the attitude. Yes, as others have mentioned, Zimman's has a huge selection of fabrics and notions. It is two floors packed with bolts of fabric. For this reason, service would be helpful. There is no service at Zimman's. I could barely get directions to where in the store a particular item might be. I shudder when I think about what an unpleasant experience I had at Zimman's. read more

Not cheap! Was never approached to see if help was needed, which was rather disappointing considering how difficult it is to reach certain fabrics. Will probably go to JoAnn's next time... read more

Unfortunately, Zimmans doesn't really have any competition in the higher-end home decorating fabric world. If they did, they couldn't survive. It's not the best of it's kind, except in Boston. To get some of these kinds of fabrics you have to go through a decorator and pay tons more. But Zimmans doesn't know the meaning of customer service. NO WHERE else has the nerve to refuse to give you fabric samples. You have to *buy* a sample of 1/8 of a yard. It's ridiculous if you just need small bits to check for color matching. read more

I've heard about Zimmans forever. Now it's time to reupholster a club chair and ottoman so of course I had to go to Zimmans. They have a large selection at reasonable prices. I didn't think the service was all that great. No one approached me during the hour and a half I browsed their selection of fabric. I wandered upstairs to their furniture showroom and got a quote to reupholster my chair. The price seemed a little high but maybe it works out in the end with the discounted fabric. The woman who gave me the quote was very nice, answered all of my questions and I was confident that the work would be done well. I'm not sure about the service in the fabric department.... what's the building 19 saying..suffer and save..?? read more

Well worth the trip from Metrowest! Selection is large, but not over-powering. My interior designer friend suggested I go here first, before getting swallowed up by the Boston Design Center. I was looking for quality fabric to reupholster two good quality couches that I want to hold on to. I quickly figured out the well-done fabric organization and zeroed in on my favorite bolt. A pleasant but ultra cool man offered advice when I asked and was very helpful. In the end, I bought 40 yards of pricey fabric which would have been double pricey at the BDC and am having them do the reupholstery. Lots of knowledgeable people in this store willing to help you if you want it, willing to leave you alone if you're "just looking." At the end of the transaction, I found out my pleasant gentleman was Mr. Zimman himseslf. Touche. My only reason for not going to five stars is that there is a lot of fabric there that I couldn't bear to look at, but I guess other people may appreciate cut velvet/brocade. Not me.. Search and it may be there. They also do custom orders from sample books....I'll be back. read more

I am a total newbie to and easily intimidated by anything home or decor. We inherited a pair of beautiful (but in rough shape) King and Queen chairs from probably 1900's - 1920's era. All roads led to Zimman's (the 2 furniture restoring companies I contacted and friends) as having the best quality and selection in fabrics. Turns out, they also tuned up the chairs while they reupholstered it. Dan and Pons were experts on the floor-- amazing design eye, patience w/me and expert on which fabrics were good for that and all the details that I was not even aware of in upholstering. The chairs turned out beautifully-- moved the older folks in our family to tears that they will have another life in our generation. read more

I had the best experience searching for and buying fabric and having a couch reupholstered. They helped me find the right fabric, which was really hard, and they worked closely with me throughout the whole process. Everything was on time. The delivery guys were great, Stephanie, the woman who helped me, was so patient and courteous. I can't say enough about this fabric store. read more

My favorite fabric store in the world! They have the largest selections of high end fabrics. Every time I go there I find something new and beautiful. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. Big thanks to Mike and Pon for helping me find the perfect fabric for my new pillows. P.S. The furniture on the 2nd and 3rd floor is worth the trip alone! read more

I had earlier complained about Zimmans not correcting two issues with two chairs I had taken in to get reupholstered. And they had not returned my calls. However, they have now responded and completely corrected the two issues. The fabric is beautiful and my chairs look great!!! Thank you, Zimmans! I recommend this company because once they understood the issues they corrected it quickly. read more

BUYER BEWARE!! Always read your receipt carefully as they will add extra fabric and charges on. When taking my purchased fabric and two small ottomans to my own upholstery guy they said I had more than double of fabric that was not needed and was told by them that ZIMMANS DOES THIS ALL THE TIME! He has had many customers with same situation as mine. I had showed zimmans the pictures of ottomans with the measurements and they told me I only needed 3 yards but got over 6 yards. I called zimmans and was told because they weren't doing the upholstery job, that they always add more fabric. I said more than double the amount, that's insane. So it cost me an extra $150.00 over charge. They won't refund or take the extra fabric back. They got a two star because they have quite a selection. Please be aware when buying from them and read receipt carefully. Don't let them sell you more than what's needed, especially double amount of material. read more

I love Zimmans! If you enjoy home decorating and you do it yourself, your jaw will drop when you walk in here. Hundreds and hundreds of bolts of interesting, high quality fabrics, with amazing deals. I actually got a little teary eyed when I saw it, after years of scrounging for something decent at place like Joann's or Freddy Farkels. Not sure what the other reviewers are complaining about - I've had GREAT customer service here! They even babysat my dogs while I shopped. It's not a place you rush in and out of - they take their time with each customer. I usually bring drinks and snacks and settle in for the scavenging long-haul! We had a chair re-upholstered here once and they did an excellent job, even with the difficult tufting - for much less money than anyone else wanted and I really shopped around. I work in the interior design world and I've spent a lot of time in the Boston Design Center and in multi-million dollars homes. I always get a chuckle when I see some fabric that retails at $100plus a yard at the Design Center going for $15 a yard at Zimmans. I've seen Scalamandre, Brunschwig and Fils, Clarence House, going for pennies on the dollar. If you've got an educated eye about this stuff, you'll be delighted here. In fact, I've spotted several well-known Boston interior designers secretly shopping at Zimmans! . read more

When I walked into Zimmans I felt overwhelmed and faint at the sheer number of bolts of fabric to browse. I was certain I would not be able to accomplish my goal of finding four coordinated, styish fabrics to bring to my house in Maine. Enter Laura, one of the decorators, she spent nearly three hours helping me figure out the look I was striving for, and had endless patience. She guided me to selections I never would have discovered, and I could not be happier with the end result! I entered Zimmans skeptical and anxious and left certain I am going to have a stunning look. Am eager to get back, but will plan on spending more time! read more

This place is awesome! It was such a great place to stop in while waiting for a concert to start, coming all the way from the Cape Cod. I will be back with my shopping list! read more

Amazing selection of home decor fabrics at very fair prices with some true bargains to be found among the remnants in the basement. Staff is knowledgable. Service can be slow if someone is having fabric cut ahead of you -- but that's just the reality of buying off the bolt anywhere. I've been here dozens of times and never had difficulty parking -- there is abundant two hour parking on both sides of the street. Important to note that they don't really stock anything in the way of dressmaking fabrics and the notions department is very limited, but most serious sewers go online for that stuff these days, so not really a big drawback. My first stop for any decorating project. read more

Zimman's definitely has great selection of fabric, but it is VERY expensive and their customer service is terrible. I purchased kitchen curtains for 4 small windows that were over $1,000 with an expectations that the curtains would be installed within 6-8 weeks. It took them 2 weeks to do the paperwork, which they didn't want to count toward the 6-8 week timing. When I asked them to honor the original timing they were able to put a rush on the curtains to get them made on time. They called to tell me I'd be called to schedule the installation, but two weeks went by and I heard nothing. When I called to check in it became quite clear that I was an annoyance. They were rude and dismissive of the fact that I work full time and would need time to schedule time to be home. I would NEVER work with them again. Once they get your money they treat you poorly. read more

I can't say enough good about the selection, staff, and prices at Zimman's! I went in a little nervous after reading reviews about it being overwhelming and some staff being unfriendly. I needed fabric to reupholster dining chairs and make a curtain for the dining room, and had no idea where to start. Like an idiot, I walked in, went up to the first employee I saw, and said "Hi, I have no idea what I'm doing." For the next ~2 hours Laura and I went around the floor, picked out chair fabrics and coordinating curtain fabrics to match the wallpaper sample I'd brought. She knew EVERY bolt of fabric on that floor - and there were about 4 zillion of them. I walked out with 3 matched sets of fabric samples (which, yes, you have to pay for, but seriously - It came to like $25 and was WELL worth it) and went home to discuss with my husband. I called Laura the next day, and she figured out how much I'd need and placed an order to be shipped to me (since it would be a while before I could get back there.) Let me tell you, it was FUN. We had FUN and Laura took what could have been a terrifying retail experience and made it into a stinking delight. She had brilliant fabric suggestions and stayed very respectful of my budget the whole time. I wish I had more things to upholster so I could go back more often! My dining room is going to look completely amazing, and I owe much of that to Laura and Zimman's! read more

Yes, the selection is HUGE, but it is crazy expensive, whether you are wealthy or not. Not worth the drive, not worth the value. To re-uphoster my chair using any of their fabric is more expensive than buying the chair new. So I went to Sewfisticated in Framingham and found a cool brown velvet zebra upholstery for $6.99/yard! read more

If you're looking for fabric selection, there is no doubt this is the place. The selection is amazing however the customer service we experienced was way below par. We drove down about a half hour after opening. After being greeted by one of the men pictured on the website, we were directed towards the fabrics we were interested in where we were approached by a short dark haired lady who should probably not be in customer service. After narrowing our choices, we asked her a couple questions and for advice on fabrics, she commented to her coworker that "These people are very indecisive" while we were standing right there. She was condescending and very short with us. When we decided on a fabric and made a purchase of over $500. we asked her if the piece could be cut in half so it would be easier to wash. Her response? " We don't do that. We can't take responsibility for that". Period...no discussion. Too bad since prior to this we had heard only good things and as I said, the selection is amazing. read more

Zimmans is an institution. Unbelievable selection, helpful staff. It remains relevant even as everyone else goes online. Worth the trip to Lynn! I love that it's been run by the same family for over 100 years. Here's to 100 more! read more

Not only does Zimmans have the best selection of fabrics in the area, but the customer service is excellent. The first time I visited the store I found it overwhelming and difficult to find anything. On my second visit someone offered to help me and then spent the next two hours showing me various options. I've been back several times since then and get the same fantastic service (thanks Laura - a.k.a., Fabric Goddess) every time. For those who had a different customer service experience, I suggest going closer to opening time when it's not so crazy. read more

I want to update my review as the owner reached out to me and honored the original quote. He also provided more material at no cost to me. I was very impressed with the customer service. I would recommend Zimman's again - I would just ask to speak to the owner if you have any issues. read more

Excellent selection. Beautiful home decorating fabric. Best to go early when the staff is available to cut fabric and offer advice. Very knowledgeable staff. Overall a pleasant experience in spite of the location. Worth the trip! read more

Recently I bought some trim at Zimman's. When I went back to get more of the same trim I found that they had run out. They said they were not going to reorder and if I wanted the trim they would order it for me. They also said that I would have to pay for the shipping, not to may house, but to the store. I could not believe that they were not going to reorder the trim. I also could not believe that they could not bundle it with another order. When I went to pick the trim up, it was clear that there was 10 - 20 yards extra that was shipped to Zimman's. So basically I paid for the shipping of their stock. I also recently purchased trim for Calico Corners. Guess what? I did not pay for shipping. Zimman's clearly has a monopoly on fabrics and trims and takes advantage of the consumer. My recommendation--go to Calico Corners--great fabric and trims, and they do not rip you off. read more

My reupholstered sofa arrived today and I am very pleased. Formerly, the sofa fabric had been purchased though my decorator and the Boston Design Center; that fabric separated from the backing and the manufacturer admitted that the bolts were faulty - guess it can happen anywhere. I found a nearly identical fabric at Zimman's ( $20./yd vs the Design Center's $65./yd). I'm delighted with the service, quality of the upholstery and the price. At Zimman's, they may not take you by the hand but I found the personel to be respnsive to my questions and professional in every way. read more

I called ZImmans to ask for a specific fabric to assist with a home curtain project I was attempting. I was told to ask for Patty Forster, so I asked for her specifically. As soon as she got on the phone, she said she wasn't interested and yelled at me, and hung up. When I called back again asking for her, thinking she thought I was somebody else, she went on a tirade saying she wasn't interested in buying media and she'd call the police if I called again. I had no idea what she was talking about, and was shocked by her behavior. I'm still assuming she thought I was somebody else, but regardless- that's not the type of attitude she should represent her company with. Needless to say, I never purchased anything from Zimmans. But I certainly let my friends know that the way they treat their customers is simply awful. Management should review her employment status, because she's probably lost many customers due to her temper. read more