AKN Fabrics

I learned of this shop a few years ago from the amazing designer of Oyato (Google them!). Their customer service isn’t anything to write home about: it’s not bad/​terrible but nothing stands out about that aspect of the business either.
I’m giving it the great rating for the awesome fabric selection! I’m convinced they have almost every African wax print/​ankara fabric that exists! The store is packed, literally, from floor to ceiling with fabric! It’s tight because there really is fabric everywhere. Some get overwhelmed because there’s so much and you don’t know where to start. You definitely won’t take it all in on the first trip so just keep going back!
The prices are great but you have to buy in bulk which is normally a 5 or 6 yard bundle of a fabric– they do not cut fabric there. But they have whole sections of 5, 6 yard fabric bundles that cost as low as $ 20. If you sew then you know that’s a very good price for that much fabric. Some fabrics are $ 10 or $ 15 for 6 yards. I wish a shop like this was owned by Africans (it’s is Indian owned I believe) since we are the main customers in there but until that day comes, I will continue to love and shop at this store!

Ordered my fabric online, and I was really excited to get my order. But i quickly realized the fabric just wasn’t good quality, the worse I have seen so far. I saw the reviews, some bad some good. So decided to place my order just hoping I would have a different experience. Most of the fabrics was so thin, I could literally see through it, some of the fabrics were really hard and way beyond the normal wax African print fabric should have. I will not order from them again! disappointing!

I’m absolutely in love with my Ankara Kente-​like fabrics! While browsing online for the latest Ankara styles, I decided to buy some fabric and get some outfits custom made. I came upon aknfabrics online and was pleased with the nice variety of fabrics they had as well as reasonable prices. I called to make sure what I wanted was in stock and how long it would take and a lady named Linda assured me they were in stock and shipping would be quick because they are located in NYC and I’m in NJ. Sure enough, I ordered Friday morning, and received my items today on Tuesday. there is a $ 10 shipping fee that guarantees fast shipping. I’m very pleased and will be ordering from them again very soon. This will be my new staple spot for African fabrics.

This is my second experience buying fabric from AKN. I originally purchased items online and because a few items were out of stock, AKN sent replacements. I went to AKN’s midtown location to make an exchange. I had no problems once I arrived at store. I was able to browse and pick my replacement fabrics. Staff was friendly and helpful. A few items I choose instore where priced a bit higher than my exchange but owner agree to let me have it for equal value.
After briefly speaking with owner. She informed I could order online, then call the store to arrange for pickup, saving the $ 9.95 delivery fee. She also suggested I call prior to placing my order to ensure all items requested are in stock.

I don’t live in nyc, but visited this store a few years back after seeing their website. I was really impressed w the sales guy — I told him i had seen something on the website with hearts on it (pretty vague)… and he zipped right over and pulled out the exact fabric I wanted. The price was the same as on the website. Everyone was working there seemed quite nice, but I didn’t spend a lot of time in the store.

The store is a ripoff. They don’t offer any discounts for multiple purchases. The prices online are completely different from when you visit the store. Instore prices will change and are higher than online. They try to see how much they can get from each customer. Prices will change with every visit to the store, they basically rip you off. SCAMMERS, lol THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF.

The quality of the fabrics from these people are the lowest possible and the people running this business are rip off’s. I bought fabric from them for over $ 200.00 online from their website and they changed some of the fabrics they sent thinking I would not notice and also one design that I bought two of they only sent one, fortunately for me and unfortunately for them I picked on this immediately I got the fabrics. it has been a 7 weeks and it took three to get them to send the one they did not send on the order and still am yet to get my refund. My advice is DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE, THEY ARE NOT HONEST AND NOT WORTHY OF ANY GOOD HONEST BUSINESS. In addition to their cheating ways their fabric is nothing worth the trouble either… I am now working to dispute the charge with my credit card company. AGAIN STAY AWAY FROM THESE RIP OFFSSS! The owner is very arrogant and talks like your money aint worth nothing but is not willing to give it back either even for a mistake that is theirs.

After taking a coach bus down from Philly, this was my last stop after being lost in the garment district all day. I had frequented the website many times, but I took advantage if the opportunity to come and pick out my fabric in person. I highly suggest that everyone does this. Plus, I saved on shipping costs!
First things first. For me, this place was not easy to find. If one of the salesmen hadn’t been standing outside the building and asked me «You need fabric?» I probably would still be standing there. I don’t know how he knew what i was looking for (Nigerian intuition?), but I’m glad he was there. He told me he needs to do that or else new customers would not know where to go. Ya don’t say…
The store is on the 5^th floor at the end of a hallway that includes stores that sell wholesale jewelry. Its filled floor to ceiling with fabric with very little walking room. I had to put my bags down to really be able to get in there. There was no stock fish/​African market odor at all, thank goodness. I was helped by a very nice man named Miguel who knew the price of every item and was able to snatch my desired fabrics from the very bottom of towering piles of cloth, all with a friendly smile. Actually, everyone was really nice. Nobody was pushy nor was I pressured to buy more. Very laid back atmosphere.
Overall, I had a very good experience and I will probably make another trip up there so I can have more time to really scour their stock. I snapped some pictures to show my mom and ill include them here!
Oh and my only complaint is that the store gets HOT after about 10 minutes of browsing. Thankfully they have a water dispenser. But they should really keep the door open to let some air in.

i love it! huge variety of wax prints, weaves, mens fabrics… i didn’t find the t salespeople to be pushy At All… they were very welcoming and understood that i wanted to browse and peek around even after I’d made a purchase. tiny store, packed full of fabric — my idea of heaven. authentic Dutch wax prints, $ 30 for 6 yards. dangerously good!

I went to AKN Fabrics for the second time yesterday. Ive purchased approximately 160 yards of fabric for bridal party attire for my upcoming August 31^st wedding. They have a large variety of African prints and a really helpful staff. The salesman went up and down the aisles of the store to find me the number of yards I needed for each of my fabric selections. The store is probably a little over 1000 sq ft and the aisles in the store are narrow because of all of the fabric. I looked at other African fabric distributors before deciding to purchase from AKN and no where else could I find the variety and volume of fabric I needed. I went to places in Harlem that had huge selections of various prints but none of the shops had enough yards of each fabric to suit my needs besides AKN. I spend $ 5 a yard for the prints I purchased, and $ 20 a yard for the decorated lace. Overall, I was very pleased with my shopping experience and have already referred family members to go back to AKN for additional prints. AKN is my new go-​to shop for African prints and lace.

Nice African prints but pushy salesperson. The owner stays at his desk and doesn’t get involved. The website is not accurate and lists lower prices than what is quoted in store. I didn’t buy anything because I can’t buy in a rushed atmosphere. The whole store is about 250 sq ft at the end of the hallway on the fifth floor. It is strictly fabrics but be careful, because the quality of some of them is not good enough. The best fabrics were the woven cotton for $ 9/​yard, but at that price it is no longer a bargain but about the same as I could get anywhere in New Jersey.