J & E Heskett Limited was founded in the late 1940s by single mother, Enid Heskett, to supplement her nursing income. She would design garments, cut them out on the kitchen table, sew them and go door-to-door to sell them. When Enid remarried, her husband John helped to expand the business. Eventually they moved from buying cut lengths at retail to being able to purchase rolls of fabric from the fabric wholesalers. To keep up with demand they employed a sewing machinist and Enid's son John also began work in the business. "From there as they say, the rest was history. This dress was designed by my Mum and made in their Hamilton factory in the mid 1960s." J & E Heskett employed up to 60 people until the economic reforms of the 1980s. Current J & E Heskett Limited designs in New Zealand but makes nearly all of its product off shore.