Lydia Thiels-Mertens, Belgium Saturday, 22 July, 2023 15:00 CET

Lacemaking – Intangible Heritage in the World

The intangible lacemaking-heritage has a centuries-old tradition and it has evolved considerably after more than 500 years. Thousands of lacemakers spread over all the continents master this valuable technique and give shape to an enormous variety of techniques.  It is the task of today’s lace makers to cherish and pass on this knowledge.  Learn how we can assist in obtaining this recognition for the lacemakers spread all over the world.

Carol McFadzean, UK     Sunday, 23 July, 2023  15:00 CET

Historical Lace Research, Fun & Frustration!

A talk featuring a variety of trails, both informative and humorous about trying to prove or disprove historical ‘facts or local folklore’.  The principles of trying to ‘stay on task’, ‘the serendipity moment’ and ‘reaching euphoria’ feature highly throughout the journey.  A look at the highs and lows of the historical lace researcher, what surprises are there in looking for the final links?  

Veronika Irvine, Canada Sunday, 23 July, 2023 16:30 CET

Kiss and Tell: a tool for exploring bobbin lace

A lacemaker must solve many challenging problems while working on a piece. Indeed, isn’t that what makes bobbin lace so appealing? Whether modifying a pattern, working with an old pricking that has no working diagram, designing a corner for an edging, or designing a pattern from scratch, the following questions often arise: “Do I have enough pairs?”, “Do I need to add or remove pairs?”, “Where do these pairs go?”.  In this lecture, Veronika will introduce a simple technique for keeping track of pairs in a pattern and she will demonstrate how you can use it in a variety of ways.

Annamaria Gatt & Claire Bonavia, Malta

Wednesday, 26 July, 2023  15:00 CET

Behind the Doors of Heritage Malta’s National Textiles Collection – Curation and Conservation of Maltese Lace

An introduction to the Maltese National Textiles Collection, with particular emphasis on domestic lace.  This collection dates back to 1903 when the first donations were registered.  Importance is given to preservation and safeguarding this intangible cultural heritage from the curatorial and conservation restoration point of view.

Frieda Sorber, Belgium     Wednesday, 26 July, 2023  16:30 CET

Lace in Antwerp, 1550 to 1913

From cutting edge fashion to niche markets in Middle and South America and the northern Netherlands.  Antwerp never gave its name to a specific type of lace. Nevertheless, it was a hub for lace making and international commerce from 1550 to the early 20th century. The city played a major role in the development of straight laces, better known as Mechlin, Valenciennes and Binche. 

Black silk lace in Antwerp Archive

Vicky Taylor, Australia     Wednesday, 16 August, 2023     15:00 CET

Living Art Lace

To compliment the launching of The Janice Jones Lace Collection in Uralla, NSW, Australia, a video has been produced, Living Art Lace, for lace makers and textile people everywhere, showcasing contemporary lace as a vibrant art form. The makers speak about their contemporary lace art practices while paying homage to lace designers and makers who have gone before them.  Vicky will also describe the challenges of large scale installations. After the video, there will be a discussion with a question and answer session.

Marketta Palo and Tanja Aarnio, Finland

Saturday, 19 August, 2023 15:00 CET

Pitsi-Pirtti/Lace Cottage – Exhibition of the Bobbin Lace Designs of Eeva-Liisa Kortelahti  

Eeva-Liisa Kortelahti has been a name in the lacemakers’ world since the late 1970’s.  She has designed many original patterns and published 12 books as well as individual prickings and working diagrams.  This presentation is an interview with Eeva-Liisa, in English and French, as well as a virtual visit to her collection at Pitsi-Pirtti cottage. There will be an article in Bulletin 2/2023.

The lace pictured was created by Eeva-Liisa Kortelahti for the OIDFA World Lace Congress in Turku, Finland, in 1996.

Neus Ribas San Emeterio, Director Arenys de Mar Lace Museum, Spain    Sunday, 20 August, 2023     15:00 CET

Lace with Woman’s Voice

Designers, lacemakers, entrepreneurs, fashion consumers, educators, contemporary lacemakers, collecters. A walk through the history of Lace in Catalonia visiting special lace pieces of the Museum to make evident all (women’s) roles involved in the process of a lace piece.  In this trip we’ll talk about women like Carmen Tórtola Valencia who used the lace for her dances and collected laces and tissues, Francesca Bonnemaison a woman who founded schools for women where they learned bobbin laces. All women who loved, created, and sold laces whose work is preserved at the museum.

Martina Wolter-Kampmann, Germany      Sunday, 20 August, 2023  16:30 CET

Old Flemish Laces – the cradle of all important lace from Flanders 

Old Flemish lace already contains the basics for later development up to Binche.  Today, when we make bobbin lace, we mainly adopt the way of working from diagrams in books and instructions.  This lecture explains the background of why some edges or thread guides are made in a certain way, what actually is a ring in Flemish lace and its origin, and the very exciting connections between old Flemish lace and many modern genres.  Martina will show how Old Flemish lace is connected with many modern forms of lace as well as how they have inspired her to use greater flexibility in designs.