News & Announcements

❋ YOU'RE INVITED ❋

Exhibit grand opening

Friday, November 17
6 PM - 8 PM

Lacis Museum friends, we cordially invite you to come see the unveiling of this staggering floor-to-ceiling display of collars, cuffs, ties, jabots, handkerchiefs, and more!

This exhibit is housed in our downstairs gallery, and admission is free. RSVPs are not required, but please feel free to RSVP to show your support and help us plan better! We'll be serving light refreshments.
Read more about Transcending Fashion here. We hope you can make it!

❋ SPECIAL EVENT ❋

Reading & Book Signing with the Author!
RSVP now!

Celebrating Julia Park Tracey's new
historical fiction novel from Sibylline Press...

Admission is free!
Monday, October 30, 2024
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Wear your best Victorian and Civil War-era garb - bonus points if it's in black! - to enter a raffle contest. Winners get a free signed copy of the book and a year's Museum Membership.

The Bereaved, based on Julia Park Tracey's own family history, tells a story of immense interest to all our patrons whose passions include the 19th century, fashion, period costume, and sewing.
Read more!

June 19, 2023

★ FREEDOM DAY ★

Juneteenth — short for "June Ninteenth" — commemorates the date of the arrival of federal troops in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to assume control over the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. This came over two years and six months years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The holiday honors the end of slavery in the United States. In 2021, it became enshrined as an official federal holiday.

TED-Ed: What is Juneteenth, and why is it important?

36th Annual Berkeley Juneteenth Festival

Juneteenth: Celebrating African American Quilters & Creatives

Celebrating Juneteenth with quilts: sewing freedom, unity, and joy

"We was taught there's so many different ways to build a quilt. It's like building a house. You can start with a bedroom over there, or a den over here, and just add on until you get what you want. Ought not two quilts ever be the same. You might use exactly the same material, but you would do it different. A lot of people make quilts just for your bed, for to keep you warm. But a quilt is more. It represents safekeeping, it represents beauty, and you could say it represents family history."

—Mensie Lee Pettway

"Flower Garden" variation quilt by Mensie Lee Pettway, 1975. It measures 87" x 83", and is composed of nearly a thousand hexagon pieces.

Mensie Lee Pettway (b. 1939) of Rehoboth, Alabama.
Portrait by David Raccuglia, 2000.

May 26, 2022

Just so you know, Lacis friends, we'll be closed on MONDAY, MAY 29 in observance of Memorial Day.
Enjoy your long holiday weekend!

May 10, 2022

Thank you so much to everyone who attended our opening event for our brand-new exhibit, Day's End: Personal Glamour Exposed. If you would like to take a tour, reach out to us — we'd love to share it with you! The clothes we wear out in society in order to make a public statement are naturally well-documented. But are the clothes we wear in private any less important to our textile culture and sense of self? What might what we wear at home say about us, our interior worlds, and our personal lives? Come and find out!

PLEASE NOTE!

Since Christmas and New Year's Day both fall on a Sunday this year, the Lacis Museum of Lace & Textiles will be closed on Monday, December 26th, and again on Monday, January 2nd, in observance of those holidays.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause those of you who wish to visit us on those days. But in any case, we wish you a happy holidays—we'll see you again soon!

June 3, 2022

A little birdy has told us some great news. Our exhibit The Bird in the Textile Arts at the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles has been extended! Originally slated to close on July 9, 2022, the exhibit has been extended indefinitely to accommodate our elevator construction. If you are a fan of embroidery, weaving, lace, textile arts in general—and, of course, birds—this exhibit is a must-see!
Tours are by appointment and conducted by Jules Kliot, the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles director! Please call the Lacis Museum shop at (510) 843-7290 during regular business hours to schedule your tour.

Tours are $3.00/person and must be reserved in advance
Tours can be scheduled for Mon. through Sat. at 1:00PM or 3:00PM
Tours have a (2) person minimum & (10) person maximum
For Museum Members and up to (4) guests, tours are free!

The Peacock pictured here is a close-up of an embroidered silk Chinese sleeve panel from the LMLT collection [26339]. You can find it in our gallery!

June 3, 2022

The masks are back! Due to the increase in Covid-19 cases, Alameda County has issued a new mask mandate:

"It is required that everyone 2 years of age and older wear a mask, regardless of their vaccination status, in most indoor public settings and businesses."

It was nice to see our visitor's faces for a while there, but we'll be happy to see you all breaking out your stylish masks again, too. While people generally have been relying on masks as an effective form of personal and community protection, the craftier sort has also used them as a form of self-expression! Surely the creative mind knows no limitations.

April 2, 2022

BREAKING NEWS: Construction has finally begun on the eagerly-awaited elevator to the second-floor gallery and classroom space of the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles. Pardon our dust!
While we have had to move items and fixtures on the first floor to accommodate the work area, don't worry! Everything is still here—but perhaps not where you saw it last. Our staff is ready to spring into action to help!
Elevator, going up!

And, strictly for your amuseument, some unrequired reading:

A Tale of Two Elevator Museums in NYC

8 of the World's Most Extravagant Elevators

What Impact Did the Elevator Have on Society?

Some of the world's worst elevator control panels

February 16, 2022

We're experiencing a bit of déjà vu over here! On Wednesday, February 16, California will end its indoor masking requirement for vaccinated people. So, we feel compelled to restate some information we posted on our Facebook page from way back in June 2021:

"Just in case you were wondering, at the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, masks are now optional for customers who are fully vaccinated (as defined by the CDC), but we know some of you may prefer to keep your masks on a little while longer and that's okay! We'll still be fully masked too! We just ask everyone to be mindful of one another."

However, we would like to add that this time we are requiring both proof of vaccination as well as masks in our upcoming classes—and asking that everyone please mask up for our final tours of Worn to Dance: 1920s Fashion and Beading. And thank you all for your consideration and cooperation! In a time of trouble, the crafting, costuming, and sewing community has proven itself to be a most caring and compassionate one, and we are so honored to be a part of it.
We are so excited for a return to normalcy! Please stay safe, everyone—and we hope to see you soon!

City of Berkeley Face Mask Guidance

CDC: Your Guide to Masks

From February 1918 until April 1920, the Spanish Flu pandemic (or the Great Influenza epidemic) raged around the world. This fashionable pair—in fur, driving gloves, and elegantly turned cloche hats—have donned plain white masks. They would have appreciated how so many Lacis visitors have transformed their own masks from mere PPE to bold fashion accessories showcasing their creative talents!

February 9, 2022

Breaking news: the party's over! Our popular exhibit Worn to Dance: 1920s Fashion and Beading will be closing on Saturday, March 12, 2022. If you've been considering whether or not to see this marvelous display of over thirty ensembles, from flapper dresses to opera coats and wedding apparel, as well as dozens of fabulous beaded purses—or perhaps if you've already seen Worn to Dance and simply wish to revisit it one more time—this is your last chance, so book your appointment soon!
There's often a silver lining to bittersweet announcements, though, and in our case, this beloved exhibit will be coming down in anticipation of the installation of an elevator to service the second-floor gallery and classrooms. This will improve our accessibility for all visitors, and that's certainly something to celebrate! Construction dates TBA.

This film still of some exhausted partygoers comes from director Robert Z Leonard's 1927 silent comedy, Adam and Evil.
(Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

January 7, 2022

Welcome to the New Year, everyone! We have a lot to look forward to in 2022, not the least of which is the SFO Museum's upcoming exhibit, "From Pineapple to Piña: A Philippine Textile Treasure." This will be held in the Harvey Milk Terminal 1 gallery from April 9 to November. You'll see everything there from modern piña garments made by fashion designer and textile technologist Anthony Cruz Legarda to immaculately preserved nineteenth-century examples of piña blouses on loan from the LMLT's own collection. (Remember our own exhibition from July 2017 — May 2018, Piña: The Philippine Cloth of Pride, Endurance and Passion? You can revisit it here!)
Interested? Read more about "From Pineapple to Piña" on the SFO website. It promises to be an extraordinary exploration of a very special cloth with a very special history, too long neglected by Western fashion. Its moment of global exposure has come, and we're enormously proud to have contributed to it!

December 8, 2021

Hello, Lacis friends!
We're excited to announce that we now have eight new, interesting, and diverse classes in the works at Lacis for next year: everything from bobbin lace making, tatting, tambour beading, millinery, and more! 2022 promises to be an excellent year for growing your skills and pursuing your passion projects. These classes are already filling up fast, so don't hesitate to call us at (510) 843-7290 if you're interested, or simply want to know more.
And don't forget—Christmas and New Year's Eve are just around the corner, so if you're looking for the perfect thing to surprise your textile-loving loved one with (or even for yourself, perhaps?), we'll take this opportunity to remind you that an exciting afternoon of learning, creating, and meeting up with other crafty folks makes for a wonderful gift, not soon to be forgotten! Cheers!

October 11, 2021

After two years' hiatus, our favorite Irish Crochet instructor, Máire Treanor, shall be returning to Lacis in Spring of 2022! We are very pleased to be hosting Máire's ever-popular four-day intensive Clones Lace workshop once more.
Interested in taking advantage of this special opportunity? Download the registration form and let us know soon, as this class always fills up quickly. Only a non-refundable $50 deposit* is required to hold your spot. And of course, Maire's returning students—as well as current LMLT members—will enjoy a 10% discount.

*Non-refundable unless, of course, the class should be cancelled

September 9, 2021

Big news, everyone: classes have resumed at Lacis!
Take a look at the workshops we've hosted recently and are offering for this year—from ribbonwork to lace-making and embroidery, our amazing students and textile teachers have brought their creative and convivial energy back into our Museum. We love to see it and are so excited for these upcoming events!

July 31, 2021

We thank those of you who attended our opening reception event for The Bird in the Textile Arts. This beautiful exhibit, located on the ground floor in our south gallery, is now open to the public by appointment—and for Museum Members, of course, admission is free. Call us to book your tour.
After a long pandemic hiatus, workshops will soon resume once more at Lacis. We have always deeply appreciated the creative and congenial energy of our students, and will be happy to welcome back our wonderful textile instructors. We're also conscientiously taking every precaution, however, to ensure the safety of our community. Do take a look at our class offerings, and contact us if you're interested or have any questions.

July 1, 2021

Hello, Lacis friends! Welcome to our new website! We hope it works well for you. As with all new projects in their beta testing stages, we expect there might be some growing pains—so thank you in advance for your patience. And thank you for visiting!
Notice any errors or issues with accessibility or formatting? We welcome your input and suggestions. Of course, please be sure to mention what device or browser you're using. And thank you—we really appreciate your feedback!

April 5, 2021

After a long winter of curbside transactions and in-person shopping by appointment, our doors are open again at last! Between plans for an elevator installation, receiving and processing generous and fascinating textile donations, and running our thriving Etsy shop, we've been keeping busy.
We're also happy to announce that tours of the exhibit Worn to Dance: 1920s Fashion & Beading have recommenced. Read last month's Newsletter for all the latest details.

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News & Announcements