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THE FACTORS INVOLVED IN SUCCESSFUL
CRAFTSMANSHIP
by Aileen O. Webb
Vice-president of the American Craftsmen's
Cooperative Council

Hundreds of men and women want the feeling of independence and security that comes from being able to earn their own way in whole or in part. Yet they are confined by family and home within their own four walls, and must create employment from within themselves rather than receive it from without.

"Success in crafts, like success in any other field, can be attained only through steadfastness of purpose and long hours of hard work. Outstanding craftsmen have met this challenge, and have understood and accepted what it means to practice crafts for a livelihood. They have conquered the problem of self-organization by cultivating regular work habits and establishing a pricing formula. In giving unselfish devotion to their work they have reaped incalculable rewards in personal achievement and added something beautiful to the physical world."

Much of what I say in this introduction is a direct quotation of a pamphlet prepared by the American Craftsmen's Educational Council, of which I am Vice-president. The pamphlet is called "The Craftsman Sells His Wares—An Introduction to Pricing and Marketing," and sells for thirty cents. It may be ordered through the Council, at 485 Madison Avenue, New York City. I would strongly urge those who are seriously interested in this subject to study the tables and suggestions in this pamphlet. They apply not only to craftsmen but to all home workers.

Let us start by considering some of the general rules in this complicated game of making money through your hands. The first question is to ask yourself what you can do best and whether the way you do it is good enough. For one fact above all must constantly be kept in mind, and that is that you are going to meet the stiffest kind of competition, which must be countered by real excellence. What you do must be good of its kind. It can be simple, but it must be tops if favorable public reaction is to be met.

So you begin your money-making, not by plunging into feverish activity, but by careful self-analysis. Cover these points in your mind: What you can do and what you like to do—for remember you will be spending hours doing it. Have you really the will to do more than play at money-making, and if so, do you realize the time, thought, and energy you must put into it? Can you plan your life accordingly?

When you have arrived at a decision on your general field of activity in the crafts, you meet your first difficulty—your field of specialization. The man with the idea wins, provided he thinks of the right one—and good ideas are few and far between. Don't be in a hurry. Study your field on the spot, if possible. If not, study it in magazines. Experiment. Change your design. Fuss and fume over it all you want. Talk to people about it, if that helps, and finally decide this is it. Look at your product from many angles; that of pure design, functionalism, styling, technical perfection, and pricing. Each is vitally important. Create and adapt your own design. Do not copy what you see in magazines or books. Ask yourself: Is it useful? Would I want it myself, at this price, or another? Does it represent my best effort? Slowly but surely, evolve your own "line" to which you are constantly adding enrichment.

Although it is helpful to start a "line" and to develop an individual style, it is unwise to attempt too many different articles at one time. Effort should be concentrated on a few items until they are commercially established and you begin to be known for them. Then new articles may be added that will stimulate the purchaser and keep him alert to watch for further additions.

"An acquaintance with the prevailing prices of similar articles in as wide a field as possible will help in arriving at an average price that is realistic. Advertisements in the better periodicals devoted to home furnishings and decorations as well as visits to gift shops and stores where crafts are sold will assist in pricing. . . .

"When a craftsman tries to sell his product only two courses are open to him; he must pay someone to do it for him, or do it himself. If he makes the second choice, he gives up precious production time and as a result has less to sell. He will do far better, whether he is selling at wholesale or retail, to rely on the middleman or agent and to realize that the agent has certain set practices, can be of inestimable help, and must charge for his efforts." Agents may be found either through the wholesale department of America House, at 485 Madison Avenue, New York City, or through people already in the general wholesaling field. Care in selecting agents is important, as they must understand the production problems of craftsmen if they are to be helpful.

"The middleman is there because no one has devised a better means of selling that will meet the public demand. Manufacturers realized this long ago and now find the middleman indispensable. The craftsman should regard him as a valuable ally. If he picks his agent carefully, he will benefit greatly. . . .

"From his agent the craftsman will get advice as to fashion trends, public reactions, prices, and the type of market which is best suited to his particular work. It is the agent's business to know these things and it is to his best interest to impart them to his source of supply—the craftsman.

"Selling on consignment, except in those instances where complete trust can be placed on the consignee, is not recommended.

"Once a product is developed and properly priced, where shall it be sold? There are several avenues open; I shall start with the least desirable, the local outlet.

"This includes shops, tourist stands, or novelty vendors within a reasonable radius of the craftsman's work bench. These outlets are tempting, but they usually have serious limitations. Unless they are in big metropolitan centers, they offer no challenge to the craftsman and may keep his work at a level lower than his greatest potential. Though they may provide a first step up the ladder, the owners of such shops are often not in a position to know the best work or care for it. Illogically, too, they may have no faith in their local craftsmen, preferring to buy their stock from the large centers.

"A craftsman's own shop, involving him personally in the business of retail selling, is so full of pitfalls that it is rarely advisable.

"Department stores are a second outlet for handmade merchandise, but of doubtful value for a number of reasons. In the first place the buyer for a special department is conditioned by long habit to expect volume from America and to look to European craftsmen for his few-of-a-kind merchandise. True, during the war he turned to American craftsmen for whatever he could find. But unless the American craftsmen can continue to do superior work, the buyer will revert to his lifelong habit of buying abroad.

"The best gift shops, well established and with a regular clientele, are the ideal outlets for crafts. There are many of them scattered throughout the country. They are patronized by the group of the community who appreciate high quality and are willing to pay for it. These shops depend on the unusual for their merchandise, on things which department stores do not carry. They do not place large orders which a craftsman cannot hope to meet and which might push him into overexpansion with its evil result in inferior execution and quality. Many of them will buy wholesale-in-limited-editions as well as individual pieces. These shops are the master craftsman's friend."

Many are the tools that the craftsman must master if he is to work at a profit. He must learn to keep accounts not only of his time but of all other expenses. He must learn the value of a separate bank account for production from his workshop; he must learn how to keep records, how to price his product, and many other procedures. He must know that "in computing the ultimate cost of an article there must be one basic price from which to work, i.e., the determining factors. The finding of the determining factors is the first and the most simple process in pricing. They consist of labor and material costs, and these are the base on which the ultimate price is established." There is no room here in which to offer the further steps in price setting. The interested reader is again referred to a study of the complete pamphlet.

In conclusion, I reiterate my conviction that it is essential for a craftsman, over and beyond an ability to design creatively, to understand business methods and to accept and adjust his work to them. He must set his basic price accurately if he is to make and not lose money. He must always compare the retail selling price of his piece with that of other machine or handmade articles, and adjust his price accordingly. He must keep careful records from day today.

"The craftsman should not try to do his own selling, but should use an agent understanding his special problems. An agent will assure the craftsman a steady income provided he is willing to cooperate, work hard and keep his word on deliveries.

"When a craftsman is scrupulously honest in his evaluation of his time, when he is of average skill, original in his line and aware of competitive merchandise through magazines and other contracts, when his overhead is low or average, and when he is well organized in his work habits, his products will be properly priced and he himself will be able to make a comfortable living. In addition he will have established a way of life rich in satisfaction and contentment."

Still suffering a depression hangover back in 1937, the Nelsons returned to New Hampshire expecting to live a very simple life. But it wasn't more than a year before Mrs. Nelson's Naturecraft Jewelry was going all over the world.

It started when Mrs. Nelson, a homey, jolly person, was walking through her woods. She wondered if jewelry couldn't be made from the minute parts of the weed seed pods and cones she found all around her. Soon she was breaking them up and sewing them by hand on pieces of felt, but this was tedious work and the resulting pins were flimsy. Mr. Nelson, who had got a job as the academy janitor, suggested using a very thin plywood, which they cut out with a small electric saw and sandpapered by means of an electric sewing-machine motor that the teen-age son of the house made practical.

Mrs. Nelson works on a bridge table surrounded by shallow box tops full of sweet-fern buds, cones of all kinds, nut husks, weed seed pods, everlasting flowers, all kinds of burrs, and anything from the woods and fields that looks interesting through her magnifying glass, which goes with her on all her tramps. These grasses and seeds, which have no market value in themselves, are cleaned, sorted, and gently broken into usable parts. With tweezers, glue, and cement they are artistically arranged, piece by piece, on the tiny round or oval plywood bases and become Naturecraft Jewelry, now recognized throughout New England as a product of the region. All earrings, pins, and the boutonnieres have stems wound with native grass, and are painted to make them colorful eye-catchers and to preserve them.

A microscopic everlasting flower, only half an inch in diameter, is embedded in an acorn shell to become an earring that is professional in appearance. Ironically, although the public is willing and, eager to pay larger prices for handmade goods, it will, at the same time, insist upon mechanical perfection in all it purchases.

The jewelry is marketed through gift shops and through the New Hampshire Arts and Crafts League. The pins sell at a dollar each, and are light enough to be worn on delicate sweaters. The pins and the boutonniere-and-earring sets are bought by the hundreds each year by tourists who wish to take home something typical of their vacation land.

Each year, Mrs. Nelson experiments with new ideas; but she has about decided that experimenting is a waste of time, for after nine years the pins that sold fastest the first summer and first Christmas are still her best sellers. Mrs. Nelson is the perfect example of the home careerist who sagaciously uses materials found close at hand.

He started with a correspondence course in weaving. "One weaves with the very first lesson," he remarked, "and progress depends on the individual." His course lasted two years, but he is quick to point out that after his first lesson he was able to weave towels and samplers. When one finishes a course, he says, he is an expert weaver and capable of teaching others. The course cost him forty-five dollars, and his loom cost seventy-five. A four-harness loom can be purchased today for about forty-five dollars and it is best to have two as they can be threaded with different materials and different widths so that it is not necessary to make changes. Had he room, Mr. Dunbar would have half a dozen looms.

Rugs, tapestries, scarves, upholstery material all roll from Dunbar's, looms. The coverlets sell for fifty to seventy-five dollars; and upholstery material, he points out, can be produced at the rate of one to eight yards a day. Some weavers figure the cost of thread as one-quarter the cost of the finished article, but naturally, price depends upon quality, and Dunbar warns, "Seek perfection of detail, keep perfect edges, figures in perfect proportion, and never sell a faulty piece of weaving."

Mr. Dunbar advises the beginner to get all the loom catalogues and choose from them the loom that best meets his particular needs. But by all means get at least a four-harness, six-treadle loom that is strong and well balanced.

The Lily Mills Company, at Shelby, North Carolina, sells low-cost looms. Other companies are the J. L. Hammett & Company, at Cambridge, Massachusetts; and the Missouri Looms, Clayton, Missouri.

If Maudie hadn't felt that Christmas is a very special holiday, which calls for attractive and individual gifts, there wouldn't be any candle business today. The first candle, a Christmas present for a college roommate, was scarcely finished in December of 1944 when a florist friend, coming to call, begged for a dozen of the white candles and implored Maudie to make up another dozen and take them to Boston. It was three weeks before Christmas when the buyer at Carbone's, Boston's swank floral and gift shop, exclaimed, "Why didn't you bring these in before?" Maudie, wary of confessing they were the first she had made, floated out—and, strolling down Boylston Street by Carbone's an hour later, was amazed to find her candles displayed in the window. Ever since, Carbone has been one of her best customers and much of her business has come to her from other gift shops whose owners first saw the candles there.

What makes these candles different from all others is that when they are lighted they glow from top to bottom; and, except for the tree-shaped candle, they are dripless. Even these Christmas-tree candles, which stand twenty-four inches tall and sell for fifteen dollars (two dollars go into careful packing, necessary because of the perishable wax drippings) light up through the wax from top to bottom. The tree candle, the most expensive, is covered with frothy wax that gives the impression of frosted snow. Other candles sell for as little as a dollar and a half, and burn for sixty hours.

Mrs. Martin works in her cellar at a vat holding two hundred and fifty pounds of wax. During the rush season, if she is lucky, she has three girls to help her. But if help is scarce, this slim young mother works from five in the morning until breakfast time; then, after a day spent in housework and an afternoon nap, she is back in the cellar until one the next morning.

The candles were first hardened in number two-and-a-half tomato cans. The first year, all the cans around the house were utilized; then a tinsmith made Maudie dozens of molds in oval, round, square, heart and pyramid shapes.

All candles are sold outright to shops, with none going out on commission. But in spite of this, the time came when Mrs. Martin had to refuse to sell to any new outlets. Her craftsman's heart told her that, in order to keep each candle perfect, she must limit her output. The candles, which at first were made only in white, now come in delightful pastel shades—there are even rare coppery ones—tinted by a secret process that Mrs. Martin achieved only after many hours of experimentation. Since the secret of the coloring cannot be patented, Mrs. Martin has to do it all alone. Behind every remunerative home career there usually stand these hours of hard work!

Here is an example of a business that could gross thousands of dollars a year but which, because of its secret process, brings its owner only a few thousand. Maudie Martin prefers it that way. She could, of course, sell her knowledge to a larger candle manufacturer and receive a commission on each candle. "But what is creative about that?" Mrs. Martin would ask you. Actually, we think she knows that no commercial firm would add the hot drippings to the cooled molds in exactly the right way. They must look as though the candles had really burned, and must not have the wax drippings applied in a stereotyped pattern.

With the exception of her call on Carbone's, Maudie Martin searched out business only one other time. For hers is so rare and perfect a product that it didn't need advertising; it literally sold itself. The one exception was when, in New York, Maudie noticed the sign of Judith Garden and went into call on this top-notch florist-decorator who never before had used anything but white candles. After seeing Maudie's candles, she began to use the muted pastels at the dinner parties of such personages as Mrs. Nelson Rockefeller, Mrs. Henry Kaiser, and at many debutante parties.

Mrs. Martin has gone so far as to design candles exclusively for certain shops, and, when pressed, will custom-mold them to go with certain sets of china. Although the candles have a seasonal trade for Christmas, Easter, and Valentine's Day, there is a steady year-round demand by churches, and for many varied types of parties.

Mrs. Martin is also a writer—a very good craftsman in that line as well as in making candles—and since this book was started she has decided to combine her writing ability with her knowledge of the arts to help other crafters by working with the League of New Hampshire Arts and Crafts. For the first time, under Maudie's guidance, the League will have a wholesale department; and in addition to supervising this and visiting craftsmen in their workshops, she will get out a catalogue and contact gift shops.

The Gay Fad Studio is big business that grew out of a simple idea; but remember, it got its start as a home industry ten years ago when enamel painting was new. Today such painting is a fairly widespread pin-money venture. But women who have specialized in one article have been able to make a living at it. One decorates nothing but glasses, painting a different flower on each of the eight glasses in a set.

Naturally, if you are going into mass production of any kind, you will immediately simplify the work involved. For instance, the woman who paints flowers on glasses does all the yellow on the eight glasses—or maybe she'll have as many as fifty going at a time on her turntable, which brings in front of her the glass she wishes to reach. It would take her many times as long to paint them if she finished each glass separately; it would entail putting down one color paint brush, looking for another, and so on. All this would show up in the price she would have to charge for the glasses, which are so beautifully done that they sell readily. The loveliest set of glasses I have seen was painted entirely with white oil paint.

Another painter specializes in matchboxes, and another in place cards. Unless you have a definite yen to paint—for profit—a specific article in large quantities, buy good craft books and see what they suggest.

Peter Hunt's Workbook (published by Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) shows how Mr. Hunt, in his Provincetown, Massachusetts, workshop, purchases second-hand pieces of furniture and rejuvenates them with peasant designs. The finished products sell for fabulous prices, and all work is freehand. The book gives detailed instructions as to how this work is done.

Of course it takes a certain amount of artistic ability to do any type of painting. True, Grandma Moses didn't start her American primitives until in her late seventies, and maybe you are another Grandma Moses. Chances are you aren't, and won't turn to decorating articles for sale unless you have already shown some ability as an artist.

Painting Patterns for Home Decorators, by Ruth Wyeth Spears (published by M. Barrows & Company, Inc.), is an excellent book for ideas as well as for patterns. It shows you how to work on any material—tin, glass, metal, wood, or fabric—and under Mrs. Spears's guidance you may be able to find your forte in some material that you can sell. It may be transforming a golden oak bureau into a modern foyer piece, or painting pottery lamps, mirrors or picture frames, magazine racks or highball glasses.

For these and other craft books, consult your local bookseller or librarian, or get in touch with the Hobby Book Mart, at 120 Greenwich Street, New York 6, N.Y. Send for their catalogues, which they publish frequently for hobbyists and craftsmen. You will find listings and descriptions of helpful books that you had no idea were in existence.

This young woman has yet to catch up with her orders in the twenty years she has been carving these much-loved dolls. She first cuts them out of fine plywood on an electric saw, and completes each detail by hand. The legs, feet, arms, and body are sandpapered and enameled. The last step, after the tiny pieces are joined together with microscopic wires, is painting on the clothes and faces. The feet are heavy enough to make the figures stand alone.

I once paid fifteen dollars in England for a set of the Canterbury pilgrims which were nowhere near as fine in detail as this Vermonter's work. They were paper pictures pasted onto plywood stands, and even at this price and unskilled makeup, they were in such demand that I waited months for my turn to buy a set.

Many craftsmen make a living by carving birds and animals. Sets sell best. This idea is included only to awaken the skilled whittler to the monetary possibilities in his hobby.

Another craftsman liked to model ships, and wondered if others wouldn't enjoy doing likewise if they had all the supplies. Now he boxes and sells complete knockdown models of ships and each year adds a new Viking, a brigadoon, or a clipper model. Eventually he hopes to have his model line complete with every type of ship. Craft shops handle his products, and he sells through a New York jobber.

Fortunate he is to have a wife who didn't shrink from the selling end; actually, the kits sold themselves once a hobby shop agreed to display them. Christmas was his big season, but because nothing was perishable, he was able to box the model pieces the year round.

"Our business consists of two foundry geniuses, a Mr. Smith and son who maintain a small backyard foundry and work shop, whom we have engaged to manufacture our line of unusual items. We use these gentlemen for the reason that they are unusually clever at this type of work and further, due to the fact that since they have low overhead, our work can be turned out to better competition.

"The business end of our little idea is handled by myself and a close friend of mine, a Mr. Richard C. Hill. We have solicited business of some three hundred fine hardware and gift shops throughout; the Northeastern section of the United States, and they in turn are contributing to our business which we hope in the future may well give us the opportunity of devoting our entire time to furthering our venture. As yet we are very small, but we feel that as each year goes by we will make more friends throughout this land of opportunity."

You may have seen one of Mr. Clark's weathervanes. They are built to withstand strong winds and are made up in long-wearing cast-aluminum parts, finished in his foundry in black, baked-on, wrinkle-finish paint. On top of each weathervane may be any one of thirty designs (rooster, running horse, deer in flight, square rigger, democrat wagon, stagecoach, beagle dog, swordfish, two old salts, contented cow, and so on) or a special design personalized to order. The weathervane revolves with the wind on a ball bearing, brass center bar on a steel turn rod. The average height is twenty-eight inches and the arms about sixteen inches.

In addition to the weathervanes, Mr. Clark markets post and lawn signs and also specializes in those name signs that add individuality to the home. They, like the weathervanes, are silhouettes cut from aluminum and painted black. Here, again, are thirty designs to choose from. Under the silhouette the family name is cast right into the panel itself, in raised satin-finish aluminum letters that never wear out. These house signs measure four by ten inches.

Although the most successful home business is that which the owner can carry on entirely by himself in order to eliminate divided profits, here is an example of a small enterprise that successfully combines the business talents of the owner with the skilled craftsmanship of the men he has hired to carry out his ideas.

Before even experimenting in textile painting, read Necktie and Textile Painting^* by Albert Brownley (published by Alby Studio, Brooklyn, New York). This isn't a very big book, but it will practically take your hand through each step.

I have seen excellent results obtained by women untrained in drawing. One painter, after teaching herself, began taking orders from her local department store. All she did was paint the customer's first name on blouses. Her price of a dollar per name on a blouse was practically clear profit. Then she painted a border of violets around a white dress that the store was featuring for winter resort wear. The first month she painted borders on sixty dresses. The store did not take any part of the three dollars she charged, as they were delighted to be able to offer such an exclusive service; it helped to sell the dresses.

Monograms can be stenciled easily on dresses and blouses. It would take only a moment (once the stencil was cut) to paint names on handkerchiefs. Textile painting is practical because it may be either dry cleaned or washed.

"Obviously," says Mr. Brownley in his book, Necktie and Textile Painting, "the design is as important as the work itself. Yet, one need not be a trained artist or even skilled in drawing or painting original designs. Simple, even primitive designs, are quite as good and in many instances superior to finely detailed professionally created designs. In fact, topflight designers strive to keep their designs as simple and as effective as possible. Quite often professional training is more of a detriment than a help."

The American Crayon Company, 9 Rockefeller Plaza, New York 20, N.Y., will mail you, upon request, their brochure, "Directions for Using Prang Textile Colors." You will find this booklet extremely helpful, as it gives specific directions for using textile paints either with or without a stencil, and also step-by-step directions for the silk-screen process, an advanced form of textile painting.

Anyone with even the slightest tinge of artistic ability should look into textile painting.

A Rockport, Massachusetts, girl, Barbara Marshall, still in her twenties, has a lucrative woodworking business. She specializes in antique reproductions, and as far as I know is the only woman in the country having her own business in this field. The average woodworker could not turn out anything so pretentious as reproductions until a great deal of skill had been acquired, but there is an almost unlimited market for reasonably priced furniture true to period.

"You Can Make It for Profit," a government bulletin from the United States Department of Commerce, lists over a hundred articles made of wood for use both inside and outside the home; special emphasis has been given to individual requirements so as to avoid competition and merchandise produced on a mass-production scale. The designs have been simplified for the average adult who is handy with tools.

When Princess Elizabeth was married he created figurines of her and Philip; and he has modeled Romeo and Juliet, George and Martha Washington, the Dickens characters, and Daniel Boone and his wife, in lots of ten gross at a time.

Mr. Baston first models the figure in clay. After a plaster cast of the model is made, dozens of rubber molds are taken from this plaster cast into which is poured a special mixture of cement. When the figures are hardened, they are cleaned and each one is hand painted, after which it is sprayed with a liquid plastic; this gives it an "old" appearance much like that found on Dresden ware. Each figure is perfect in detail and no one would ever dream it had come off an assembly line. It takes about twenty minutes to complete each figure, and twelve people help Mr. Baston.

On special order he has turned out figurines for R. H. Stearns & Company of Boston for their centennial celebration, and figures of Simple Simon and the Pie Man for the Howard Johnson Ice Cream chain.

Distributors with countrywide distribution take care of the selling end.

The United States gift trade is always searching for "the little gift" and Mr. Baston has found one perfect answer. There are many men and women working in clay who could likewise specialize and make a name for themselves. Ceramic objects decorated with Pennsylvania Dutch or other regional American designs and sold to tourists might go well. Others have built up a line with their "marriage plates," showing the date of the ceremony and the names of the bride and groom. Another says she cannot fill all her orders for personalized (first name) children's porridge sets.

One reason why men and women skilled in ceramics do not do more with their talent is due to the lack of a kiln. The Engineering Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, has a booklet, "Making an Electric Kiln," by Lawrence E. Webber, which sells for a quarter. The directions are complete and correct and have been checked by Edwin Schier, Associate Professor of The Arts at the University, and nationally known artist whose works are shown in the Metropolitan Museum. There is even a sheet to be tom out and given to your dealer showing required asbestos-board cuts for the kiln. The materials will cost less than seventy-five dollars, while smaller commercial kilns sell for about two hundred dollars. It would take only from forty to sixty hours to build this kiln yourself.

These fifteen women, each working in her own home, block print designs on skirts, jumper dresses, bags, linens, curtains, and bedspreads. They stamp the design, either with their bare feet or with hand presses, and the finished clothes and yard goods are sold in department stores from Maine to Florida.

One and one-half per cent of each designer's profit goes to defray the expenses and the salary of the secretary. Five of the fifteen were chosen by vote to become a jury. This jury decides upon a candidate's qualifications to join the group, supervises a preparatory training that each must pass, and approves every new design, each garment, and every yard of goods before it is put on the market.

The Folly Cove Designers have no president, for each member is a vice-president, and all members share any new knowledge and techniques that they may acquire; this goes a long way to stimulate each coworker to do her best work.

So great has been the demand for these block-print products that the decision had to be made whether or not to turn the designs over to a commercial firm, which would have resulted in tremendous profits for the group. It was unanimously agreed to turn their backs on any such commercialism, and each member keeps working in her own house, barn, or attic.

Another pastes an underwear button (two large holes) on correspondence-size folded cards as the basis for a face. Then, after marking in eyes and lashes with a pen, she pastes a tiny red felt hat with a minute feather and veil on it. She sells these for a quarter and says the demand is terrific.

Reports from hundreds of families revealed scores of resourceful ways in which they supplemented their regular income with pin money from jobs they had fun doing.

A Louisiana farmers family used their spare time in making brooms. The father, each year, puts in a patch of broomstraw, making an effort each time he plants to select only the best seed. The family takes pride in turning out really good brooms, and the new brooms sweep in clean cash.

It isn't necessary to have a patch of broomstraw, because the straw may be purchased at low cost. A man in New Jersey buys his and turns out hearth brushes. He binds twelve a day and is unable to keep up with his orders for these sturdy fireplace brooms with their gaily enameled handles.