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The ground floor of the second range of buildings is next visited—before ascending to the designing and draughting departments. This floor forms the packing and shipping department, and, like most of the other rooms visited, is light and lofty, and contains the usual counters and conveniences incidental to work of this description.
No. 2 Drafting Room, New Basford, showing Draughtsmen at work.
The designing and draughting departments are, as previously mentioned, on the upper floor, where the best of light both from the roof and side is available. The floor is divided into numerous rooms by partitions of wood surmounted by glass, eight such rooms being appropriated to the work of designing and draughting, the designing rooms containing a number of easels on which are large sheets of black-surfaced paper at which the artists are at work producing numerous designs in white crayon, which, in this experimental or early stage, are submitted to a member of the firm for his approval or suggestions, a test repeated at every subsequent stage until the work is sufficiently advanced to be passed on to another room occupied by a number of youths who duplicate parts, fill in the ground, etc., work that being mainly repetition need not occupy the time of a highly paid artist. The sketch is now ready for the draftsman, whose occupation may best be described as converting the design into a practical form for transference to the lace curtain fabric by the application of the Jacquard process. The sheets on leaving the draughtsman's hands are passed on to a room where a number of youths, technically termed "copyers," paint in colours on the draft paper the parts that represent the ground work of the fabric and its varying densities. The finished pattern sheets are ultimately despatched to the Glasgow works. The successful designer must possess inventive talent added to good taste-—to the uninitiated one design may resemble another— but to the connoisseur, to the trade expert, who really leads the public taste, it is otherwise.
No. 3 Drafting Room, New Basford, showing Draughtsmen at work.
While discussing this important detail, it may be incidentally stated that Messrs. Birkin believe the question of excellence of style and design to be the keystone to success, and employ as designers none but men of proved ability and high talent, and although the expense of the designing and draughting departments amounts to many thousands of pounds a year, it does not press unduly on the cost of the goods, as in many cases the same designs are utilised for their American and German as well as for their British factories.
The German Headquarters of the Firm.
In 1881 Mr. Birkin commenced the manufacture of lace curtains on the Continent, and for this purpose erected on a suitable site the factory at Oelsnitz, Saxony, which has since been largely extended. The more recent additions will be observable on the left of the view given, the higher portions of the building representing the increase in accommodation, which has increased the producing capacity of the factory to the present output of about 7,000 pairs of curtains weekly.
The American Headquarters of the Firm.
Two years ago the firm made a further step in advance by starting a lace curtain factory in Philadelphia, U.S.A. In consequence of increasing business, this factory has been found altogether inadequate to their requirements, and they have lately removed their machinery to a large new factory specially erected for them at Chester, Pa., about 10 miles from Philadelphia, where they are now engaged in making further additions to their plant, their present producing capacity being about 6,000 pairs weekly.