The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-12-24
Spare Room
Is Turned
Into Mint
BY HELEN WELSHIMER
MA Service Writer

AKRON, O., Dec. 24.-The house
wife with an extra bedroom and a
desire TO add a few dollars to the
family exchequer often will rent
the room. But Mrs. Lucy Sawyer
Stevens of Akron decided to open
a cosmetic factory instead.
She moved out the vanity dresser
and four-poster bed and moved in
table and row of jars and bot
ties and tubes, tied on an apron and
set out to beautify the world
Mrs. Stevens dream of fair wo-
men, which resulted in the organ
ization of her company in 1926,
wasn't the result of soap bubble
which was blown suddenly and
didn't break. 1t was the outgrowth
of a dream which she started when
she vas a boarding school girl with
a curious desire to know what
Lillian Russell and Sarah Bernhardt
and all the other Peter Pans in the
world of make believe used to keep
themselves eternally young.
AS the result of her youthful in
quiry and mature experimentation
in that spare bedroom, she stands
out as one of Americas recognized
beauticians today.
Own Manufacturer, Too
The rental of that room would
have netted her $40 week at best
and now she sends out more than
$1,000 worth of cosmetics during a
seven-day period. Many beauty par
lors have adopted her line and she
herself still stirs the magic mix
lures which result in creams and
lotions and powders.
There is enough perfume stored
away In that room today to retail
at $4,000, not to mention the other
products. And she has had five
chances to sell out to great COM
panies. which could give her wide
advertising! She prefers to mix her
ownl
Mrs. Stevens, in speaking Of her
unusual venture, gives no credit to
oral or written craftsmanship.
II would never think of selling
something that is hard TO SELL" she
said. at would be foolish. The
thing to do Is to have something so
good that it will sell itself! Have
confidence in your product, make up
your mind that you are going to
succeed, and you will"
Found Why Stars TwinkIed
"a friend of mine who was dra
matte critic when I was a school
girl used to let me go to stars
dressing rooms and l threw a per-
feet volley of questions at Lillian
Russell and Sarah Bernhardt and
all the rest. I asked them why
their fingers were SO tapering, and
their hands stayed so small, and
their skins remained so smooth.
"At that time only theatrical
stars used makeup and cosmetic
aids. / discovered that most OF
their things didn't smell very good
my mother went to the old
French chemist, whose name had
been given me years before, III
France, one time. and secured the
formula for a lotion. When my lit
tie girl died in 1926 I needed some
distraction and so the old
formula was found again and l
started"
But there were all sorts Of obSta-
Giles in the way.
The French chemist had given
the details of the making of one
antiseptic ingredient of the cream
nothing else and it took
two years to find a chemist who
could produce the lotion in its pres
ent form. An Akron man eventual
ly did so.
Her SaIeswomanship
There was no money for advertis-
ing, so she filled her car with
samples and merchandise, after her
products had been tried on herself
and IA women, ana started out to
sell.
New York City and Philadelphia,
Buffalo and all the cities along the
way were visited" she remlnisceS
now. II gave them products and
told them to try them and l
sold to them, too"
There was the case of the disin-
terested buyer who wouldn't listen
until several of her assistants found
their compilations beautified by the
new lotion and another buyer who
thought he couldn't make his own
complexion healthy until he tried
this special cream. And also the
watchfuI policeman who thought
that a car, loaded to capacity, and
being driven slowly by a woman,
must have an alcoholic mixture that
would belong in hip flask instead
of a perfume bottle.
Mrs. Stevens Swirns and plays
golf and likes to cook.
Although 40 years old, this wom-
an has the complexion, hair, eyes,
slim silhouette and interest in life
that belong to 25 and 26. If she
had rented that spare bedroom
but she didn't