History

It may be hard to fathom, but this sprawling, jam packed, four story, 74,000 square foot warehouse in the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ flower district got its start out of the trunk of its founder’s, Rubin Schubert’s car!  Born to Polish survivors of the Holocaust, Rubin Schubert was raised in Brooklyn after coming through Ellis Island with his family after World War II.  Rubin’s first job, at the age of 7, was helping out in the family grocery, stocking shelves and collecting coupons from customers.  After finishing NY City Community College, in 1969 Rubin packed up his car, leaving his parents home, moved to California and started selling fabrics from the trunk of his car.  Ragfinders’ opened its doors in 1976.  Looking at the warehouse today, some might say Rubin was a “hoarder” of fabrics.  Not so…he was a man who was way ahead of his time in his thinking.  Rubin was a textile savior for the fashion world’s castaways.  He was a visionary who forged a path in sustainability, giving life and a renewed sense of purpose to the deadstock of brands, mills and fashion houses, saving the excess surplus from landfills, reclaiming the overestimations of top designers to be upcycled into the latest/hottest styles and big screen costumes. Rubin passed away suddenly, at the age of 74, in August of 2020, but his Ragfinders “family” is making sure his legacy is preserved.  This crew of 10 has more than 100 years of service combined and knows the characteristics and locations of the millions of yards of fabric like no one else.  While you may find it’s a bit more organized inside and there are some new (and old) finds to be had, they are continuing to lovingly serve the fashion and entertainment industries with his nephew, Brian Schubert, at the helm.  What hasn’t changed is the adherence to the core principles set by the quick witted, shrewd, yet generous, charmingly grumpy founder of Ragfinders, “It’s a 20 yard minimum” to shop here.   So, come in and visit our textile museum, take a journey through history with our inventory that spans decades in design, see what treasures you can discover, check out (and try to secure a place on) our wall of fame and help us continue our mission to have zero waste and be planet friendly!