British Industries Fair

Southland Times, Issue 20204, 15 June 1927, Page 13

British Industries Fair

(From Our Correspondent.) London. The British Industries Fair affords an in- . teresting indication of the extent to which . women are establishing themselves in various branches of commerce. There is an impression among the general public that the business woman is still a great rarity, almost a curio; but at the British Industries Fair both the women manufacturers and the women buyers are taken very much as a matter of course. In such sections as leather bags about 25 per cent, of the buyers doing business are women. Some < of them come from the United States, Canada, and Australia, many from the West-end i shops, and a great number from big pro- ; vincial towns. There are three stalls belonging to women makers of basket-ware; six owned by women in the handbag industry, and five by women manufacturing toys. Stalls are also held at the fair by women manufacturers of beauty prepara-

' tions, manicure sets, flowers, lamp-shades, ; confectionery, mirrors, glassware, jewellery, ; silverware, leather goods, lace, embroidery, > and linen. Each of these stalls has been visited by s a considerable number of women buyers. ■ Among those at the fair are women repre- • senting some of the biggest West-end stores, i and earning well over £lOOO a year. There i are also women with well-paid posts from some of the big northern firms, and a great I number who do the buying for seaside shops , that have large sales during the season. ; Most of these women have worked their > way up from the foot of the ladder, a re- ; mark that applies equally to the women ; manufacturers. One lady started making fancy bags at the end of the war. Her hus- , band joined her in the business, and to-day • she employs 150 people, and the firm is • considered one of the biggest in the exclusive trade.

I Another lady who was trained as a health worker went into business against the wishes of her family. She now has her own factory, at which artistic leather goods are produced for such distapt countries as Australia, New Zealand, South America, Canada, and Ceylon. She was congratulated by a buyer from a leading Paris firm, on having one of the most artistic stands at the fair. Many instances of very rapid success by women makers are also to be found at the fair. One lady with experience of the toy trade and an art training started a factory for making dolls at the end of last year. The buyers promptly discovered her, and orders for her realistic creations are coming in from the Dominions, Denmark, and even from that home of the cheap toy, Germany. Another interesting exhibit is that of a lady who has begun to make in her London factory glass of original design from old recipes. She has achieved a phenomenal success, and her tinted glass is already being sought after by New York, Buenos Aires, Toronto, and other centres. She was commissioned to make the glass for the Queen’s Dolls’ House. The artistic work of most of the lady exhibitors at the White City has been commented on by several leading buyers, who have gone so far as to suggest that women manufacturers will make their chief contribution to industry the maintenance of a high artistic standard.