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