This is not correct. At this price shirts are being machine laundered and machine pressed. This is the only way for the dry cleaner to clean and press shirts at this price and make a small profit

The issue with cleaning shirts using this process is that it is not appropriate for many shirts currently being sold. Machine pressed shirts are put on a variety of forms to mechanize the pressing process and in doing so certain types of shirts may not look wonderful after pressing.

Dark colored shirts such as navy and black will pick up “fabric shine” because of the pressing method. This will make a shirt look old and worn after just one pressing. Shirts that have some stretch built in (spandex) will “stretch” out of shape.

The person behind the counter at you local dry cleaner should be advising you of what shirts should be machine pressed or not. It’s not a sales pitch if they know what they are talking about, some shirts should be dry cleaned because they will maintain their “like new” appearance much longer.

Yes dry cleaning a shirt is more expensive than laundry, but if cleaning cost is a factor in your life don’t buy shirts in dark colors,  contain spandex or say dry clean only (read the label before buying the shirt).

Dry cleaning a shirt is more expensive than simple laundry because it’s a labor intensive process that includes “hand pressing”of  your shirt. If you ever have tried to press a shirt at home you know how difficult it is.

If you have questions about shirts, dry cleaning or laundry, just ask me.

Thanks for listening, Jerry Pozniak, Cameo Cleaners of Gramercy Park.

Carpet sample from Windows on the World.

My clients tell me that trust is the most important reason why they use Cameo Cleaners of Gramercy Park. When you have a great wardrobe that you are emotionally attached to you need to trust your dry cleaner.

We were just given a great project that involved a lot a trust from a brand new client.

The 911 Memorial Museum needed to have the only remaining piece of carpet from Windows on the World cleaned for inclusion in an exhibit at the museum. Windows on the World was the restaurant at the top of the North Tower of the World Trade Center from 1972 until 9-11-2001.

My staff and I are honored to be able to contribute in some small way to the memory of Windows on the World and those who lost their lives that day.

As a dry cleaner, who never know who or what is going to come through your front door on any given day. It makes me very satisfied that for over 25 years my clients both old and new completely trust Cameo Cleaners.

Thanks for listening, Jerry Pozniak.

I sort of had visions of the escalator to the Met Life building resembling a ski lift but reality was contrary to my ski fantasy.

As the Time’s wrote, “Coats in winter can be quite boring because it’s like Grand Central Station, everyone is in gray and black.”

I couldn’t agree more. Us New Yorkers are a conservative bunch when it comes to outerwear. What happened to color? No gray and black don’t count as colors. It’s like cars, nobody wants to stand out, so everyone drives a silver or black car.

My staff at Cameo Cleaners has noticed an uptick in the amount of ski wear coming in for cleaning, though most of the colors are muted. As the Times reported, “Puffer jackets, furry vests and heavy sweaters have seemed to replace the traditional wool coat.”

Down puffer coats clean really, really well using our CO2 dry cleaning system. Perhaps those in the know have figured out that this is the best way to keep down clean and not come back from the dry cleaner smelly.

My own experience with wool overcoats is that they never seem to you warm as they are drafty and difficult to maneuver in. With a layered look you can swipe the MetroCard, glide through the turnstile, grab your amNY and sip your coffee with the deftness of a downhill racer going through the gates. When I try this with my wool overcoat, something always seems to get stuck on the turnstile or I spill my coffee. Thankfully I own a dry cleaning firm.

I like the look and hate being cold so I am trying to figure out how to pull this look off when I need to wear a jacket and tie. Maybe I just need to ditch the jacket and tie?

Oh and by the way, I drive a red car.

Thanks for listening, Jerry Pozniak.

Camo bikini created by Cameo Cleaners

I love what I do.

Last week around 4 o’clock in the afternoon I get an email from Deidre over at Robert Verdi’s studio. They need a seamstress to take care of a fitting for Kathy Griffin at 8:30 that night. I check with Alaina my on-site seamstress and it’s a go.

The gig was all of the costumes that Kathy Griffin would be be wearing as the host of VH1 Divas Salute the Troops. Wow.

Well, there were a lot of costumes, so many that Alaina wrapped it up at 1:30AM. My hat is off for Alaina for her dedication.

I heard Kathy Griffin was quite entertaining while the fittings were taking place (as she always is).

The next day the real work started; the star of the project is a camo bikini that needed to be custom made for Kathy. Most of Alaina’s day was spent making the bikini, which came out great.

Our tailoring team got working on the rest of the costumes as we had to get them to FEDEX that evening by 8 so that they could be in San Diego the next day for the tapping of the show. No pressure.

We had three people working on everything for about 10 hours straight.

The result? Everything looked great on Kathy and she stole the show in her camo-bikini!

Cameo Cleaners of Gramercy Park can take care of any tailoring project or emergency just about anywhere. We try never to say no!

Kathy Griffin & Katy Perry at VH1 Divas Support the Troops

The gown that almost got a first class seat!

We got an interesting phone call last week; a prospective client called from Canada. She was flying to New York for her daughter’s wedding and wanted to hire Cameo Cleaners to hand-press her Carolina Herrera gown in her hotel room right before the wedding.

She was flying in on Friday evening and the wedding was Saturday, she needed the dress by noon, time was not on our side. She also wasn’t too keen on letting the dress out of her sight.

If we couldn’t take on the project she was going to have the dress pressed in Canada and bring it on the plane. She wasn’t going to put the Herrera in the overhead bin she was going to buy the dress a seat, a first class seat.

Shop manager Marc Richardson took the call and pulled up an image of the dress off of the internet. Blake Lively wore the Herrera gown on Gossip Girl so there were pictures everywhere.

At first he was going to send our senior gown finisher to the hotel, but after looking at the construction of the gown he decided that the gown would need to go to our workshop if we were going to press it properly. Marc’s a perfectionist, it has to be right or it doesn’t go out.

He called the client back and told her to save her money and not to buy the first class seat for the gown, he had the solution. He arranged to have our driver pick up the gown on Friday night and bring it our workshop. Normally our staff is off on Saturday so he brought in our gown finishing expert, Rosanna and a cleaning technician just in case.

Rosanna spent over two hours meticulously steaming and hand pressing every inch of the gown, and thankfully the cleaning technician wasn’t needed. The gown was packaged and whisked back to the client’s Park Avenue hotel. The wedding went perfectly and the mother of the bride looked beautiful; plus she saved the cost of a first class seat.

Cameo Cleaners of Gramercy Park is known for never saying no. If we cannot take on your project, than it just cannot be done. We can clean and press just about anything make of fabric, leather or suede anywhere. Contact us, you will not be disappointed.

Guess what? Cameo Cleaners of Gramercy Park is one of the ace services.

Only seven dry cleaning firms across the land were chosen and we are the first one on the list (thank goodness for the alphabet!). Vogue also used our fabulous glove box to feature a way-cool pair of Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci gloves.

My hat is off to my staff who always makes me look good. Special thanks to shop manager Marc Richardson and his staff; Paul, Linda, Agdha, Ashley, Rafael, Alaina, Clyde and Kareem. Super special thanks to Mollie Charnas who worked with Vogue on this feature and to Sal and everyone at production.

The feature is below and thanks for listening, Jerry Pozniak.

Cameo, one of the "ace" services in Vogue!

The shades suspended in the lobby of The Westin Hotel.

I remind my staff  frequently that it’s easy to describe what Cameo Cleaners of Gramercy Park does. We can clean anything that a client wears or has in their home or office that is made of fabric, leather or suede.

This almost got the best of me.

A call comes in from a friend of mine, “Remember when you told me you can clean anything? Can you clean lamp shades? Really big lamp shades? Five foot high lamp shades that are five feet around?”

Sure I tell him, we can clean anything, anywhere.

Next the reply comes, “Well they are in lobby of a hotel that I manage in Times Square, suspended about 15′ off the ground”.

I send my on-site team to The Westin New York at Times Square; boy do those shades look big and they are really, really high off the ground. The lobby is packed with throngs of people and an escalator runs right next to the shades.

It reminded me of the time that I had a firefighter buddy of mine helping me clean gutters. I made the assumption that he would go up the ladder. Wrong, he didn’t like ladders.

My staff ropes off the first area and gets the ladders set up. Once the equipment is secured they start hand cleaning the first shade. It’s back-breaking work, each shade is made of two layers of delicate material and from hanging in the lobby for so long, they are very, very soiled. Plus working on the top of a ladder trying to squeeze your arms into a lamp shade is no joke.

Eight hours later my team is finally finished, four enormous lamp shades cleaned on what seemed like a high-wire in the busiest location we have ever worked in.

I hate to sound like a political ad, but “Yes we can”.

If you have something that you think cannot be cleaned, give Cameo Cleaners of Gramercy Park a call, we love a challenge, even a high-wire challenge.

Cameo Cleaners of Gramercy Park has been selected as one of America’s Best Cleaners for the last four years, we have also been selected as the best dry cleaner in New York City by City Spur.

I too dread this time of year because you are stuck in an awkward place stylistically… and this can make it very hard to leave your apartment let alone your closet at times.

The drastic temperature change from sunup to sundown can be a daunting task for any fashionista which is why I felt it necessary to share a few of my fall transition tips with you to keep you and your wardrobe looking their best.

1) If you haven’t put your linens, light cotton, and Lilly Pullitzer away for fashion hibernation, it’s time. It’s BEEN time.

2) Dress in layers. As my mother always said ” It is far easier to take clothing off , then to put on things you don’t have”

3) Carry a larger bag to accommodate those extra layers you may be shedding when the sun comes out during your lunch break.

4) Be creative– there is no need to have an entirely separate fall and summer wardrobe. Simply add a jacket/ sweater and tights and boots to a summertime staple and voila! you’re out the door.

5) The dry cleaner is your friend and should probably be promoted to best friend status now that your sweaters, scarves, and jackets require attention once again.

6) If you’ve run out of closet space stop by and visit Cameo Cleaners of Gramercy Park for not only can they clean all your threads , but offer storage services as well.

7) If your leather or suede jacket suffered the wrath of winter 2010 the talented staff of Cameo Cleaners can save your skins and bring your jacket back so that it looks brand new!

As I said fall is here, so embrace the brisk weather and enjoy the last month or so where it won’t be unbearable to brave the outdoors( I hear Central Park is great this time of year).

For all your dry cleaning and clothing needs visit Cameo Cleaners of Gramercy Park located at 284 Third Avenue. You and your wardrobe will never look better.

Late yesterday afternoon Cameo Cleaners received a call from the office of Alexander Wang requesting a pickup to prepare their runway items for showroom display.

The catch?– The items need to be cleaned and returned by tomorrow evening due to the showroom schedule. After receiving the pieces at Cameo Cleaners early this morning this will leave our expert cleaning technicians a little over 24 hours to hand clean the 13 couture pieces from the Alexander Wang Spring 2011 collection.

The silhouettes of the collection are complimented dashes of copper paint, sequins, and buckles causing these pieces to be difficult to clean and not suited for our cleaning machines despite the gentleness of our ECO2 Cleanse process.

Featured below are a few of the pieces that arrived in our store this morning. Do you recognize any from the runway?

For all your cleaning needs couture or otherwise you know that the experts at Cameo Cleaners will always treat your wardrobe with the utmost care and concern, and on a schedule that is convenient for you.

Come visit us at 284 Third Ave.

As many of you may know October is breast cancer awareness month and as a growing trend many fashion retailers and designers promote special products during this time with all proceeds benefiting breast cancer awareness,education, and prevention.

As a lover of all things pink I have no difficulty indulging in all these customized goodies ranging from the obvious to obscure, but if you default to the more neutral colors of the fashion spectrum maybe one of the home or beauty items is up your alley.

Designers like Ralph Lauren, Lilly Pullitzer, BCBG, Marc Jacobs, and Donna Karen just to name a few have all released limited edition items available during the month of October. Show your support by purchasing in any of these items from food, beauty products, artwork, and skincare.

Regardless if you’re newly acquired items are displaying the favored tone of bubble gum, Cameo Cleaners can still tend to all your cleaning needs- whether it be laundry, dry cleaning, or tailoring. All you have to do is call.

Do you have a preferred retailer for breast cancer awareness products?? Let us know so we can spread the word!