The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-08-29
Monnequins
 Beauty Shop Successful
RROADwAY) By JACK GAVER

tUuAse0 Press stan COrregpolident)
 New York, Aug. 20.-(UP) Once
 In a while around New york youTl run into someone you remember
 as having been in some branch ot show business few years ago.
 actor, press agent, singer, etc.,
 and of whom you've heard nothing
 tor a long while. Usually this means that, for better or worse, that per- son has left the profession. Such a one is Gilbert Laurence.
 Laurence a personable fellow pushing 90, was puppeteer the last I heard of him just before the war. A good one, too, but there isn't tod much of a future in 1t from the financial standpoint.
 I've just seen him again. He looked prosperous. What was he doing?
 said.
 That didn't sound right. Lau. renee isn't the type, If you want to generaHze and claim there is a beauty shop proprietor type. He explained away the skeptical look:
 Its a beauty shop for manne- q1ins."
 BrOke-Down Dolls Revived
 That, too, sounded bit incredi. ble-what the devil would manne- quins be doing in beauty parlor but there was a slight connection that rang true: Mannequins-pup- pets; puppets-mannequins.
 Come on and I'll relieve your skeptical mind," he said. "I1l show you a business that never existed before"
 And he did. Over in a loft building in West 18th street, Lau- renee has a large shop--factory would be q better word--where tar- nished, broken or otherwise tired. looking display window dummies are made to look like new. There are special departments for fingers. arms, wigs, torsos, feet and legs. Artists put the finishing touches on the faces. The firm has contracts with several of the country's large department stores that run from $S0,000 up annually.
 I met Florence Laurence (no kid- ding), 0ilbert's wife, partner and prime mover in creation of the busi- ness. She used to work for a manu- lecturer of mannequins and gradu- ally absorbed the fact that there was no general repair of the dum- mics. A manufacturer might oc- cssionally fix up some that he had made as courtesy to customers but generally the policy was just to sell new forms. More profit. { Hard at First
 Since puppeteering wasn't paying well, they decided to venture noth- ing and SC eff it would gain some- thing. They solicited repair jobs at various stores around town. Some repairs they made on the spot. Other jobs were done in their Greenwich Village apartment. All this was messy and unhealthful, too, because of the paint spray but the thing paid off from the start. The pup pets went onto a shelf.
 After q while we were able to get small room for our work" Lau- renee said. "But we had no truck. We used to attract . lot of atten- ton riding around on public con- vayances with. busts of nanneQuins on our laps"
 The current large staff is strictly . home product. There simply weren't any such jobs before the Laurences created them. Everyone learned while they worker.
 The wig department is their pride. l They do their own designing of l the latest hair styles for their girls" and the colors are pretty fancy. In l fact, out of this grew Q sideline. | hair-dying company contracted for various shades of wigs to be used | in beauty salons as try-ons by | customers contemplating 8 change | In hair color.
 The firm now has a system where- by . store contracts to pay in so | muchc per month for completed care of mannequins. The trade | name is '.rnanikininsrrance" and that's exactly what it IS.
 One thing, the LaurenceS don't like the word "dummy"-always say "manneduin". They feel their girls" look much too intelligent to be insulted.