Perhaps I'm overly optimistic, but I don't think lace is declining so much as that it is in the downswing of a pendulum-like movement.
I find that all hobbies and crafts are subject to the same variations. Remember how popular knitting was in the 1980s? In Vancouver in the 60s we had only 1 store that specifically sold knitting and embroidery supplies, then we had 2, then all of a sudden we had at least 10 stores. Then interest waned and most of the stores closed in the early 90s. We're back to just a couple. Here in Canada, even the major department stores that had huge yarn departments did away with them in the early 90s, but now knitting has become popular again. In fact, my local bookstore has become a "read & knit" store, carrying good quality yarns and knitting books as well as their previous books.
I think there will always be a core group of people who like to make things the way they used to, and now that so many lacemaking books have recorded the techniques, it will be easier in the future for people to teach themselves to make lace, even if the number of lacemakers dwindles. The availability of so many books is a big plus for lacemakers, now and in the future.
Another point: when I read the postings from our British arachnes, it seems as if the number of people learning to make lace is equated with the number of people taking classes. However, there are many good books available that will help you learn to make lace at home, and from the beginner's perspective, a book costs a lot less than a class. So there may be many people who know how to make lace, who have not appeared on the radar of club meetings and lace days.
Still another point: the Internet. People no longer have to travel to find suppliers, they no longer have to go to lace fairs to buy their supplies. Biggins and Tim Parker and almost all the suppliers are available right in their own home, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Yes, buyers have to take a chance if they are buying some item they haven't seen before, but those of us who are used to mail order have already swallowed that pill. So, maybe the reduced attendance at Lace Fairs is not wholly the result of dwindling interest in lacemaking, but a combination of "why drive to Location X and pay and entrance fee when I can stay at home and order what I want" and "I've already got all the supplies I'll ever need, and more".
Lacemaking, like all the feminine arts, has taken a quite a pummelling from the "Girls can do anything boys can do" attitude of the past twenty years or so. For a long time it has been very difficult for a girl to express a wish to do anything feminine. It has been OK if girls want to fly down mountain cliffs at 60 miles an hour on a bicycle, but absolutely not OK if they want to learn to crochet. Fortunately, I think the pendulum is now swinging the other way. It seems that young girls are now so empowered they feel they can do whatever they want to do - they don't have to prove themselves "equal to boys", but social attitudes at long last are beginning to include the notion that you can do anything you want to do, and there is less stigma to traditional feminine arts. At least, that's the message I'm getting from my teenaged nieces, who fly down mountains *and* crochet.
Adele North Vancouver, BC (west coast of Canada)
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