In a message dated 7/12/05 11:19:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Newby that I am, I wonder if anyone has any experience with selling their > lace?. And is it possible that IOLI could somehow provide links to people > who > want to sell their lace, without violating its nonprofit status? > > Personally speaking, I am primarily interested in using handmade lace to > make > other items, possibly for resale, even more than making it for myself, at > least at this point since there is such a long learning curve ahead!....If > there > were a way to view and purchase modern handmade lace that is relatively > affordable, as compared to antique lace, I, for one, would be interested! > Dear Lacemakers, Just last year, I gave a piece of unusual and hard-to-find lace to a European friend who writes and teaches. Would I have given it to someone considering profiting from making crafts for resale? You know the answer, if you've read my postings through the years! A newby who has not yet familiarized herself with laces and lace history is not yet equipped to differentiate between rare laces and laces that were made by the mile. Those of us concerned about the preservation of rare laces (which DO turn up in American attics) remember nightmare stories of the people who have cut them up to make craft items that will be relegated to trash within a short period of time. To some readers of this list it does not matter (a few have been very vocal and insensitive about telling me so), but I would ask everyone to respect old laces and learn about them before you decide turn them into something else or cut them into short lengths to pass around. Much unique lace was lost during the two 20th Century World Wars, which North Americans seem to forget -- since whole swathes of our own landscape and artifacts were not affected. Our friends on this list who live and teach on other continents have been polite in not reminding us that the cost of antique laces suitable for use in studying and teaching is prohibitive in their countries, while North Americans are cutting up excellent examples. There is, in our Arachne community, a group of lace scholars in several countries who are searching far and wide for answers to several lace puzzles. An example is a piece of lace in the collection at the Metropolitan Museum, New York. It is telling part of a story or myth. One or two other bits have been identified, far apart. We've been looking for several years for missing segments to piece together the entire story the lace was illustrating. It appears to be an example of someone cutting up lace and handing it out to others, perhaps in the 19th Century, and just one unique piece ending up at the museum. There are reasons to be very careful with old laces we can pass on to future generations, display at lace days, donate to museums, gift to a lace teacher, loan - for use in illustrating a book, etc. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace & Embroidery Resource Center - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
