How A 110-Year-Old NYC Business Achieved The American Dream
M&S Malberg Flowers is a 110-year-old fourth-generation family business in NYC's Garment District founded in 1916 by Polish immigrant brothers. The company manufactures custom fabric flowers for major clients like The Gilded Age, Bridgerton, and Vera Wang, and has survived through family dedication despite losing everything during the Holocaust, exemplifying the American dream of hard work leading to a good life.
Summary
M&S Malberg Flowers is a custom fabric flower manufacturing business located in New York City's Garment District that has operated for 110 years since its founding in 1916. The company was started by Polish immigrant brothers Morris and Sam Schmalberg, and has been passed down through four generations of family ownership.
Adam Brand, the current owner, defines the American dream as the opportunity to come to America and achieve a good life through hard work, without requiring college education or professional credentials. He emphasizes that this is what he believes the American dream was and should continue to be.
The business specializes in creating custom fabric flowers for high-end clients, including major television productions like The Gilded Age and Bridgerton, as well as fashion designers like Vera Wang. They currently have an order for 200 oversized flowers for Vera Wang. The factory also sells individual flowers directly to consumers at various price points ($10-$50), which has become a legitimate part of their revenue stream.
The manufacturing process relies on over a thousand flower molds, many over a century old. Details are added to fabric using old-fashioned iron presses or hydraulic presses. Adam notes that smaller flowers are actually more labor-intensive to produce than larger ones, and that the work cannot be automated due to the custom nature of each order.
The business's continuity reflects the family's resilience. Adam's grandfather Harold was a Holocaust survivor who lost everything during World War II, including his siblings and home. He took over the business and rebuilt it to support the family. Adam's father Warren joined full-time in 1977, and Adam entered the business in 2010, gradually taking over operations since 2019 as Warren stepped back.
Key Insights
- Adam Brand defines the American dream as the ability to come to America and achieve a good life through hard work, without requiring college education or professional credentials
- M&S Malberg supplies custom flowers to major television productions including The Gilded Age and Bridgerton, with clients pulling hundreds of flowers from inventory for specific projects
- The company possesses over a thousand flower molds, many of which are over a century old, indicating preserved manufacturing infrastructure from the business's early decades
- Smaller fabric flowers are more labor-intensive and costly to produce than larger ones, contrary to typical consumer expectations about pricing
- Adam Brand's grandfather Harold was a Holocaust survivor who lost everything during the war but rebuilt this small family business, which became capable of supporting the family long-term
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] My view of the American dream was that you could come to America and you didn't have to be college educated, you didn't have to be a doctor, but if you come here and you work hard, you can have a good life. And that's what the American dream I think was and that's what I think it should should still be. My name is Adam Brand and we're at M&S Malberg Flowers, a fourth generation family business in New York founded in 1916. So we are 110 years old. >> M&S Malberg is a custom fabric flower manufacturer based in the Garment [0:30] District in New York City. >> Every client is different. We did flowers for The…
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to AccessMore from CNBC Make It
This father-daughter duo brought in $428K last year making fidget toys
A father-daughter team generates $428K annually by designing and manufacturing fidget toys from their home-based operation. They use 3D printers and UV printing technology to produce approximately 1,500 orders monthly, with assembly processes that can take 45 minutes to an hour for 100 units.
A Self-Made Millionaire And An Investing CEO Discuss Money, Power And Success
Financial educator Vivian Tu and Ellevest CEO Sylvia Kwan discuss women's economic empowerment, defining the American Dream as financial independence and agency rather than material wealth. They address the realistic challenges young people face today while advocating for better financial literacy education and policy solutions to address the growing wealth gap.
How I Became A Doctor At A Yale Hospital That I Used To Clean As A Janitor
Dr. Shay Taylor-Allen returned to Yale New Haven Hospital as a doctor after spending ten years there as a janitor, earning her medical degree and specializing in anesthesiology despite accumulating over $590,000 in total debt. Her journey was motivated by healthcare disparities her mother faced and supported by her husband's military benefits and crypto investments.
How A Family Business Went From Bankrupt To $1.6 Billion/Year In Sales
Jack Link's transformed from a bankrupt family meat business in 1985 into a $1.6 billion snacking empire by creating the beef jerky category, leveraging existing manufacturing infrastructure, and executing a wildly successful Sasquatch marketing campaign. Under CEO Troy Link's leadership, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions, product innovation, and expansion into new markets.
Has The Old-School American Dream Died?
A diverse panel including economist Robert Reich, entrepreneur Vivian Tu, and others discuss how the American dream has evolved, with definitions shifting from traditional milestones and monetary success to personal fulfillment, agency, and meaningful work. While older generations express optimism grounded in historical resilience, younger participants express skepticism due to rising costs of housing and education, though many feel they are personally living their version of the dream.