It all began in 1923 when a passionate, young Abraham Wortzel made the trek from Russia to New York. He established a humble living selling men’s shirts from a pushcart on the lower east side of Manhattan. After a few years of perseverance, Abraham traded his wheels for a brick and mortar shop on Orchard Street. His son, Louis, took over the family shop when Abraham retired after 20 years. The shop endured a few more years, evolving to include a wider range of services, including girls’ dresses, until it finally closed in 1960.

Fast-forward a few years, the baton was passed to Louis’ sons, Sam and Harvey. Sam got his feet wet in the garment industry with a children’s clothing store which opened just around the corner from where Abraham and Louis had operated for many years. Harvey, on the other hand, had jumped on board a ground-breaking new industry and founded the Rapid Transfer Company. With help from Sam, Rapid Transfer imported heat applied graphics for the trendy and ever-changing New York garment market. Out of this endeavor, Paperhood was born.

In 2005, Sam founded a company to employ his vinyl expertise and help the folks of NYC with their custom garment endeavors. Whether using heat transfer paper to put photographs onto t-shirts, creating elaborate rhinestone designs (which were very popular at the time) or assisting a first-time heat press buyer, Sam did it all from a 9’ x 17’ office space on the 9th floor. In 2012, the vinyl that we have come to know and love, was introduced to the market. Sam began to provide customers with a whole new series of products that would revolutionize the custom garment business. But as vinyl continued to transform the industry, Paperhood needed a little help — enter Sophia, Sam’s youngest daughter in 2014. Over the next few years, Paperhood endured moving and expansion until finally, in July of 2020, they settled on the 8th floor with a space large enough to accommodate their growing business. As Paperhood continues to grow, they are still maintaining their baseline commitment of keeping up with the ever-changing garment embellishment industry without sacrificing their core goal: empowering their clientele and making their custom garments come to life.