Manufacturing - Sewing - Textiles - Weaving

Feb. 29 Bottled ships float overseas: 23 years ago John Milsom spotted a ship in a bottle in a shop window whilst on his honeymoon. Inspired by this he decided to have ago at making one. What began as a spare time hobby has grown into a thriving business which he rans with his son Paul. They manufacture 35.000 ships and planes a year in Britain's only business of its sort located by the sea, in Robin hood's day, Yorkshire, 95% of their output is exported to such diverse countries as the USA, Australia, and Hawaii. The Milsons spend between 4 and 6 weeks each year demonstrating their techniques in US department stores. The trick, for those who've always wondered how it's done, is to the model through the neck while folded almost flat, and then erecting the sails and rigging tugging with a special tool. Their latest line however, a series of First World War planes, have to be built in the bottle piece by piece. Their hand-built models range from simple ones selling for less than a pound to elaborate ones at £12-50. The small staff can turn out about 300 a day. Photo shows Linda Winspeare packs bottled ships for export

Restrictions Only for United Kingdom

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