Dear Lace Buyers, Back 12 years ago, when OIDFA met in Belgium, I consulted a local expert on the labeling of new lace for sale in Antwerp. I was told that if it said "Belgian Lace", it could be from other countries where there were lacemakers making the traditional Belgian laces. Further, Arachne correspondence revealed that a person on the list had a daughter whose job was to remove the country-of-origin labels on imported-to-Belgium laces, and replace them with the "Belgian Lace" label. I was told that if the label said "Made in Belgium", that had to be correct. So, there were two possible ways of labeling new lace for sale in the lace shops! --------------------------------- A few years later, OIDFA met in Sweden. We were in a lace shop in Vadstena where many were buying patterns for lace. I went to the shopkeeper and asked if I could purchase the finished example on display. She said that it was shopworn, but she had a new piece that she could sell me -- and she did. Of course, I had to dash to a bank for more money, but it was worth it to a lace collector (myself) interested in having a authentic piece of lace "Made in Sweden". I bought the pattern, too. In Bath, England, 2007 I was able to purchase lace made in Sri Lanka at the museum house known as the Jane Austen Centre. They were supporting relief fund raising for victims of the tsunami. This has been extensively discussed on Arachne, and may be in the archives. It is possible to buy Hungarian Halas lace in Kiskunhalas, Hungary, and in very high end shops in Budapest. This has been discussed on Arachne before. Laces were for sale in the Czech Republic, when we took the tour of that country after a OIDFA Congress. In the sales rooms of OIDFA congresses, it is also possible that some vendors will sell new laces made in various countries. In the U.S. almost 20 years ago, my local lace guild was visited by a lacemaker from Russia. Tourists were not permitted to bring much money with them, so she brought laces (which we were very happy to buy). Arachne has received correspondence from a woman in South America who wrote about laces for sale from that region of the world. ---------------------------------- Do not completely believe lacemakers who are isolated from the rest of the world (they do not know what lacemakers elsewhere are doing). Do not believe the fools representing print and broadcast media. They usually do not do research. Let common sense be your guide. Be sure to closely examine laces you are considering purchasing. If you belong to a local guild with a library that receives bulletins from other nations, even if you cannot read the languages you can often see that laces are made for sale. I recommend the bulletins of The Lace Guild (U.K.) and OIDFA, both of which are published in English. They carry many articles about laces around the world. Hope this will help our novice traveling lace collectors. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
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