Lace legacies: How partnerships enhance understanding of craft and heritage

Abstract

Nottingham was once the centre of a global lace industry employing tens of thousands of people in its manufacture. Therefore, its slow decline and sudden demise in the early years of the twenty-first century impacted upon both the sense of identity of the citizens who were involved in its success and those who enjoyed its resonance. The cultural venues whose collections celebrated this once powerful industry closed and their collections were rendered invisible. This amplified the sense of being bereft of both individual and regional identity, but also the cohesion it brought to the city. It is within this context that we share a number of collaborations between cultural, educational, community and business partners to begin to address this sense of loss, to improve the visibility and legacy of Nottingham lace and continue to tell its story with renewed vigour and through the voices of those who worked within it. Through two funded projects Lace Unravelled and Textile Tales, we provide testimony from those still involved in lace production, now reduced to less than a 100 people, and from former lace workers. These current and former employees reflect upon the values implicit within lace manufacture, then and now, of skill, craft and a pride in work.