Johanna Weigel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Johanna Wilhelmine Weigel
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| Born | 11 February 1847 |
| Died | 10 January 1940 |
Johanna Wilhelmine Weigel (born February 11, 1847 – died January 10, 1940) was a very important person in Australian fashion. She was known as Madame Weigel. She designed and published sewing patterns, helping many people make their own clothes.
Contents
The Life of Madame Weigel
Johanna Weigel was born on February 11, 1847, in a place called Posen, which was then part of Prussia. Today, this city is known as Poznań in Poland. She was one of five children in her family.
When she was young, Johanna moved to New York. There, she became a designer for a famous company called McCall's Patterns. This company also made sewing patterns. While working there, she met and married Oscar Weigel. He was an engineer from Germany.
In 1877, Johanna and Oscar traveled to Australia on a ship called Mysore. They arrived in Melbourne on March 4, 1877.
Starting Her Business
Madame Weigel said that she and Oscar were on a long honeymoon in Australia. During this time, her friends in Melbourne admired her stylish clothes. She started cutting paper patterns for them.
Within a year, her hobby grew into a business. She had a small team working with her in Fitzroy, a suburb of Melbourne. They made patterns and sold them by mail-order. This means people could order patterns and have them sent to their homes. Her business was called "American Paper Cut Patterns." She also looked for "agents everywhere" to help sell her patterns.
Weigel's Fashion Journal
In 1880, Madame Weigel started publishing a monthly magazine called "Weigel's Journal of Fashions." This magazine was special because it was the first fashion journal in Australia that was completely made and printed there.
The magazine included general information, stories, and details about products. It also showed the newest English and American fashion styles. These styles were changed to fit the weather and conditions in Australia. Later that year, the magazine was also published in Sydney. Madame Weigel also opened a shop there.
Around 1885, she built her own offices and a factory in Richmond, Victoria. Here, they printed the tissue-paper patterns using their own machines. Her husband Oscar's team used new methods to print pictures and text for the magazine. Each issue of the magazine came with a free pattern.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1893, Oscar Weigel became a citizen of Australia. Because of this, Johanna also became an Australian citizen.
Madame Weigel stopped working actively in the business around 1910. She then spent a lot of her time traveling around the world. Oscar died in 1915 in Los Angeles. By this time, her business was selling over a million patterns every year!
After Oscar's death, Johanna returned to Melbourne. She lived there for some time. In 1926, the company "Madame Weigel Pty. Ltd." was officially started.
Johanna Weigel passed away in 1940. She left a large amount of money, which was given to five hospitals in Melbourne. She also made sure her employees were taken care of. A special fund of £20,000 was set up to create the Oscar Weigel Exhibitions (scholarships) for engineering students at the University of Melbourne. This helped future engineers get an education.
