The Washington herald., 1914-05-03

The long. trailing skirts of ten years
ago were directly responsible for the
foundation of THE Mending Shop" a lit
tie place in the heart OF New York which
was recognized promptly as a long-needed
help for the worried housewife and
business woman. Many mending shops
have opened since then, but the majority
of them have had only very brief eI-
istences so the story of how Miss Cough
lin made a success OF hers will give some
valuable points to those who are clever
with their needle and want to earn
money.
Conn, and there learned the millinary
trade When her mother died she was
left alone in the world to fight for her
living while still a young girl
when my mother died" said Miss
Coughlin, "she left me a small amount
of money, which was far too little to
support me, and although / had learned
millinery II was more for the purpose
Of trimming my own hats than for giving
me a paying occupation. However, It
came In very handy as a stop gap when
I was first thrown on the world
with some of the money I purchased
a becoming outfit, and. wishing to get
away from painful associations, 1 went
to Philadelphia, where 1 secured po-
sition in the showroom of a millinery
store. Selling had a great fascination for
me and L was a success at 1t from the
start.
The stories Of big success and great
salaries to be earned In New York lured
me here, although / was getting q com
Portable living in Philadelphia, and l
secured a position IN one Of the great
millinery establishments on Fifth ave
A. Nr0
were necessities for the would-be smart
ly gowned women, and as my appear
ance was one Of my chief assets my
trains were Of the longest
"A crowded show room, of course, was
a thing much to be desired. but II
brought great peril to my flowing drap-
cries. and rip-rip caught my ear frequent
ly as one after another fell victim to
careless feet. In my wardrobe at home
hung a whole array Of mutilated gowns
Dressmakers, who do not make a bust
ness Of mending, disliked the work, and
had great difficulty in getting any one
to repair my damaged dresses.
Now I said to myself one evening.
there are hundreds OF business women
like yourself in this and other cities who
are too tired to devote their evenings
to mending gowns which have met dis
aster in the fray Of business and who
cannot find any place where they can get
the work done. 1t is for this that have
been keeping my little hoard. 1 shall
establish a mending shop.
IT rented a small room in this very
building, rented a machine and bought
tables, chairs, and built in wardrobes
Then I advertised extensively. I knew
nothing of dressmaking myself, so I ar
ranged with a dressmaker to go into the
scheme with ne. Unfortunately she did
not possess much executive ability.
neither did she have that business acu-
men which Is SO necessary for the foun-
datton of any business. She was accus-
toned to doing sewing for customers
in her own home, and naturally when she
had about so much work on hand would
refuse to take more until what she had
was cleaned up In a shop ono cannot
DO this. She must take all work and de-
liver It promptly when finished no mat
ter how II is to be accomplished. II a
rush CO YORK comes, It is necessary to
hire sufficiently large force Of assistants
and see that they do the work perfectly;
otherwise one loses prestige.
In figuring the cost OF a piece Of work
one must take into consideration all the
overhead charges OF rent, light, wages.
etc, as well as ones own time, and this
Is where, think, most women fail They
can mend neatly, but they lack business
sense.
The business was still very young
when # became SO well known, that III
was obliged to hire quite q large force
Of help. For the first six months, of
course, I did not make any money above
expenses, and as had put almost all
Of my capital into the fitting UP Of the
place I had a hard time to make both
ends meet. However. I was determined
to succeed at any sacrifice to myself.
Il gave up my room at the fashionable
boarding place where had stayed while
working on salary, and began living In
small room back Of my shop. Sunday
mornings I used to get up early and