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and manager, shrewd and far-sighted. After one transaction she salvaged a rather large sum of money for the studio. Louisa's older children were in school, so she usually brought the infant, "Dodo," to the studio, plunked the baby in a yarn basket, and left her to her own devices. I must say, she added a distinctive note to the studio. In the earliest stages, I was unable to put Ruth and Louisa on fixed salaries. Fortunately for me, neither of them depended on what I could pay them. What we all earned was determined by the bank statement, minus current expenses, at the end of the month. I left that entirely in Louisa's hands and sometimes she reported there would be little or nothing for any of us.

This situation prevailed for about a year. The studio barely held its head above water. Then, to continue the metaphor, the dam burst.

Among the first decorators to place orders was