From the chapter on Flower and Basket Makers:

"The flower and basket makers were located on the top floor above the Boardroom in the centre of the building. It was a small and personalised department. Son often followed father and skills were built up slowly, by years of constant practice. Each person started making flowers and their style and product was easily recognised by the other craftsmen. As you became proficient at flower making the next stage was to actually make and attach flowers to a slipware piece. This stage lasted for up to six months. Then came the basket making starting with the small ones and gradually getting larger as experience and confidence grew. Finally came flowered and covered baskets and spider web plates...."

and from the chapter on Decorators:

"In the early years the decorators were mainly men. Eric Arnold supported this situation and was quoted in the Express of September 1954 as saying 'Women just haven't the patience for the delicate hand work needed in this pottery.' When Cyril Arnold arrived he was accustomed to lady decorators in Stoke on Trent and felt the practice should extend to Belleek. Eric agreed on the proviso that once the decorators were married they had to leave. Decorators were paid by piecework and were fast and accurate at their job. They started as a cobber, putting the yellow lustre on the inside of the cups and then moved on to saucers which were much faster. Next came the shamrocks and finally the coloured ware and the flowered baskets. All the decorators worked on piecework and were paid a fixed price per dozen. Each person's output was counted by Mary O'Connor and Mary Branley before it went to the kilns...."