Buttonwood Corp.
Out with the Old, In with the New Buttons in Brooklyn
“Once you have missed the first buttonhole you'll never manage to button up.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Hoffmans have been manufacturing buttons, beads, buckles and toggles for over fifty years. In 1939 Murray Hoffman began making plastic buttons when he opened his business in Manhattan’s Garment Center. After WWII, Mr. Hoffman met a Czechoslovakian émigré, Mr. Licht, who introduced him to the owner of a lumber mill in New Hampshire. This was a critical connection for Mr. Hoffman since it led to the manufacturing of wood buttons, rather than plastic. Achieving success with his new wooden buttons, Mr. Hoffman renamed his company Buttonwood Corp. Today, Mr. Hoffman’s sons, Steven and Dennis, are the company’s president and vice president.
Buttonwood Corp. used to manage a large industrial site in the South Bronx where they had 40-50 employees. In the 1990s the company was able to buy out its competitors and grow into this large manufacturing 18,000-square-foot space. By 2001, however, Buttonwood was forced to downsize and move into its current Brooklyn location. They had to throw away a substantial amount of wood and machinery to fit into their new, smaller 2,000-square-foot factory, Steven Hoffman explained. While their production site is in Brooklyn, their showroom remains in the Garment Center in Midtown Manhattan.
