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N.J. museum recalls a turning point for labor
The immigrants who flocked to the silk mills in this rugged part of northern New Jersey in the late 19th century came to America for the same reasons immigrants do today: work, opportunity, a better life. Instead, many wound up locked in a dead-end cycle of work, work and more work, never making it past their first objective. They were the weavers, warpers, spinners, reelers, lacers, dyers and bobbin boys who made America's "Silk City," as neighboring Paterson was known in those days, a humming, industrial dynamo. These men, women and children � northern Italians, mostly, but also immigrants from Ireland, England, France, Eastern Europe and the Middle East � worked 10 hours per day, plus a half day on Saturday, in stifling, dangerous, dimly lit mills.
New twist on old furs
Once a fur, always a fur. But not always a fur coat. That old coat has lots of fashion potential, particularly this fall when designers are hot for fur, showing everything from full-length coats to fur-trimmed suits and dresses. Vasili Demetriou, a master furrier who restyles furs, said his business is booming. "Over the past 15 years or so, I’ve restyled, remodeled or altered between 20,000 and 25,000 coats," said Demetriou, who works out of Atlanta for The Fur Vault, a leased department at Macy’s in the Mall of Louisiana. "As a company, we do about 50,000 restyles a year." Demetriou was here last week to talk about fur restyling, although he could understand that the 100-plus temperatures of late aren’t exactly conducive to pulling on a mink.
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