120 years of William Gee – Hackney’s oldest haberdashers

In September 2026 I had the great honour of being invited to the 120 year anniversary of William Gee – the iconic haberdashery business in Hackney, London. William Gee has been selling zips, threads and trimmings to the clothing industry since 1906!

A one stop haberdashery shop for Hackney’s garment factories

The business started when William Goldstein, an East European immigrant who changed his name to Gee, opened a shop at 495 Kingsland Road with £2 worth of stock. Hackney back then had hundreds of garment factories and small workshops, and William Gee was a one stop shop for haberdashery for the clothing industry.

Back in the early 90s when I had my own brand and micro factory in Hackney, the old William Gee store was where we went for any trimmings we’d run out of. Running short halfway through a production run meant a quick walk down Kingsland Road, where there was always someone really knowledgeable behind their old-fashioned counter to supply what you needed.

The William Gee signage on Kingsland Road was a true landmark of the old Hackney that harked back to its manufacturing heyday.

How William Gee has evolved over the last 120 years

Sadly, nearly all the factories that William Gee served back then have disappeared, so how has a business that was built on supplying those factories survived?

Talking to now-owner Jeffrey Graham, who joined his father’s business in 1988 and now runs it with his son Adam, this family haberdashers has been able to thrive because they have adapted as Hackney has changed around them. When the big brands moved production abroad and the local factories closed down, they turned their attention to the people who were still making things here: independent designers, local makers, fashion students and the numerous micro factories that have sprung up in Hackney.

They also now do a lot of trade with the costume departments of theatres and film studios, as well as wholesale to UK manufacturers as far away as Scotland. When son Adam joined the business from a tech background, William Gee went online and started selling haberdashery direct to the public rather than relying solely on trade customers, long before most haberdashers had a website.

A new William Gee store, sewing workshops and a concession in Liberty’s

William Gee also now run sewing workshops and have a brand new store where you can browse the huge array of haberdashery supplies, sewing tools and paraphernalia that any keen sewist could possibly need. And at the 120 year anniversary party they announced the very exciting news in the next chapter of William Gee – they are also opening a concession in London’s Liberty department store from the end of this month!

You can find out more about William Gee and shop their range of over 9,000 items at williamgee.co.uk

The William Gee shop is at 2a Forest Road, London, E8 3BY.