“Many of our clients assume we’re a huge corporation with multiple locations. In reality, it’s our family and a small team, working out of a warehouse in Brooklyn.”

TALAS was founded in 1962 by Elaine and Herbert Haas, who built the first company in the United States focused on serving the museum and library community with bookbinding and conservation supplies. About 35 years ago, Jill and Aaron’s parents, Marge and Jake Salik, purchased the business at a time when it had lost some of its operational structure but not its reputation.

“Our dad spoke to conservators, and they told him TALAS was where you went when nothing else worked,” Jill recalls. “That legacy was still there, but the business itself needed to be rebuilt.”

Their father brought experience in office supplies, inventory, and logistics, while their mother had a background in the arts. Together, they reorganized the warehouse, improved systems, and rebuilt relationships with a niche but deeply loyal customer base that depended on quality and consistency.

Jill and Aaron grew up immersed in that environment. Jill studied fine arts while Aaron pursued engineering, combining creative and technical perspectives that aligned naturally with the business. About five years ago, they formally took over ownership and leadership, continuing their parents’ work while introducing their own structure and direction.

“Everything we do is about quality and purpose.”

Today, TALAS serves a wide range of customers, from major institutions to individual makers. Its core remains bookbinding and conservation supplies, supporting museums, libraries, artists, and photographers. The company has also expanded into archival storage, manufacturing high-quality boxes designed to protect objects that are often irreplaceable.

After moving to Brooklyn in 2009, TALAS finally gained the space it needed to grow. The team began investing in machinery and bringing more production in-house. Guillotine cutters, die-cutting equipment, and custom processes now allow them to produce materials that match the exact standards of their customers. Their products are used by institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Library of Congress.

At the same time, the business extends well beyond institutional clients. Collectors, hobbyists, and families turn to TALAS for help preserving personal items, from photographs to books that may not have monetary value but carry real meaning. “We sell a little of a lot of things,” Aaron says. “That range keeps us stable and allows us to support our community.”

“Once someone works with us, they understand the difference.”

TALAS operates within a small, global network of conservators and specialists where reputation is everything. The company was an early adopter of e-commerce, launching its website in 1998, and continues to rely on a combination of word of mouth and online access to reach customers.

Now, Jill and Aaron are focused on improving operations without losing what makes the company distinct.  “We’ve built the business around a very specific customer,” Jill explains,  “but there are adjacent groups we haven’t fully reached yet. The challenge is expanding in a way that still feels true to who we are.”

TALAS remains a company defined by trust, consistency, and deep expertise. Under Jill and Aaron leadership, it continues to evolve steadily while staying grounded in the values that built it.