Not your average M&I factory visit this. Over the weekend we had the opportunity to see an old jewellery factory preserved in its entirety. Now part of the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, the Smith & Pepper factory closed in 1981. The owners left it practically as it was when they locked up on the final Friday of business, apparently too distressed to clear it up. When the council bought the building they found tools still on benches, overalls on coat hooks and unused boxes sat orderly on the shelves.
We were shown round by an enthusiastic guide who explained the business's family history, the owner's meticulous measures to ensure as little waste as possible and how methods were barely modernised during its 8o year lifespan.
For more photos see the M&I Facebook page.
