In the "Lodgia" Workshop with Its Owner, Aida Labaki

The meaning of "Lodgia":
This name, which Mrs. Aida Labaki has given her workshop, is borrowed from a meeting room where, in olden times, those in authority would deliberate on matters of art, politics, or religion. "Lodgia," then, is not merely a musical name; it carries within it as well the sense of inspiration, and of the power to create what is finest.

...With the loftiness of the idea and the depth of its aim, Aida's hands set to work, laying out designs, embellishing, and matching colors and fabrics... and from beneath her hands come artistic masterpieces that bespeak an authentic taste and a sure skill.

Necessity brings forth talents: ...The story of this workshop goes back a long way... Her mother, the late Salma Sayegh, once saw her bent over a piece of amantine on which her daughter was working, and gasped for sheer admiration at what she saw, and asked Aida why she did not put her talents to use in a worthy enterprise?? But Salah objected to the idea and held fast to his objection. He wanted his wife as his companion — always at his side — and besides, there were many matters in which he relied on no one but her... And Aida stayed at home, in deference to her husband's wish...

But brutal fate snatched her husband away without delay or mercy, and Aida found herself, from one night to the next, with her only child Naoum, at the crossroads, with heavy responsibilities settled upon her shoulders; she became mother and father in one, and the savings of the founder of "Ahl al-Qalam" were scarcely worth mentioning...

It was "necessity," then, that kindled the fire of resolve in the breast of the bereaved wife, and she firmly determined to live with Naoum a life of dignity by way of honorable work...

She set about rousing her talents and sharpening her artistic powers, and how quickly a bouquet of girls gathered around her, offering their services... She began drawing up the plans and distributing the work, and dozens of small hands began to embroider, to embellish, and to sew, and a "sound nucleus" for the workshop was formed of twenty to thirty girls.

But Aida has her own particular system of work. She does not believe in gathering the girls into a single hall and supervising them herself, so she has adopted the method of personal contact: the girls come to her house, and each receives the "piece" whose making she has mastered, together with instructions and the materials for the work; then she goes off, and does not return until the work is done... Aida affirms that this system saves both time and "muddle" — besides giving scope for making the girls bear responsibility for what they work on — and it has yielded the best of results...

What are the works that Aida concerns herself with?:
I visited her at her house to look over some of the finished pieces, and a wave of deep delight swept over me which I could not put into words — I rejoiced for Aida, and she grew in my eyes all at once... With great admiration I stood reviewing the handmade masterpieces, refined in taste and perfect in workmanship... Among them the old, old work, from which waft the breezes of the grandmothers, setting hearts aflutter with longing... and among them the new, the "modern," no less splendid than what the newest workshops in the European countries produce.

What did I see? I saw a great deal:
Sheets and covers for every occasion and of every kind, glowing with coquettish colors in perfect harmony; and I saw the lampshades, and the "Aubusson" work, and the regal robe de chambre, and evening bags, and covers for the telephone directory and the photograph album; and I saw the fine wall panels which the beholder can only take for paintings done in colors!

And besides all this I saw the embroidered gaiters, and the collars, and the "fantaisie" sleeves, and many other things, each sweeter than the last, so that you wish you could gather them all up into your arms...

An exhibition of "Lodgia" works — Aida Labaki is at present devoting her whole effort to preparing the works she will exhibit soon — perhaps just before Christmas — in one of the halls of UNESCO. It has come to our ears that she attaches special importance to the wall panels of Lebanese character, representing village scenes old and new — and in producing this unique work she is assisted by some of the rising Lebanese artists. I saw two of them, "miniature," drawn by Jean Khalifé.

Editorial secretary of a magazine of education

Alongside her preparations for the exhibition, Aida works, under the supervision of Dr. Khalil al-Jurr and Georges Younes, as editorial secretary of the educational magazine published by the Ministry of National Education — her principal task being the preparation of the artistic pages and attention to the artistic production. All this besides her household duties, and her undertaking of the printing, or reprinting, of the books of her husband Salah, whose publication and distribution the Rihani presses have taken in hand. Within a few months there have appeared "The Swing of the Moon" and "Strangers," and in a month's time there will appear "Longing," a diwan of love poetry...

★

I took my leave of Aida with a silent smile, radiating faith in woman's power to triumph in the battles of life... provided, that is, that she possesses at bottom a foundation of talents to serve as a starting point toward a life of dignity, founded on work and creation...