Monthly Newsletter • March 2024
Lacis Museum of Lace & Textiles
A Letter To Our Friends
We hope the increasing sunshine of Spring has begun to give you some hope after the dark of winter. Though all that rain was badly needed, the gloominess does start to wear away at one...!
Here at Lacis, we recently celebrated Lunar New Year with relish, and Valentine's Day too. Well, more like "Galentine's" Day, given how much our staff treasures each other, and female friendships in general!
This year of the Dragon is sure to be a biggie. We take it as a positive sign that we've seen such a wonderful influx of new visitors and old friends lately! Our appreciation and commitment to this community continue to deepen with each passing day.
All of you who visit us, take classes here, all of you who mend, who make... those of you who write to us, and express such gratitude for what we do here... and even those random passers-by who drop in, and are overwhelmed with awe and wonder!... YOU are what make Lacis Museum so special. We love your energy. We hope to honor it and return it tenfold. Accordingly, there's an abundance of momentous new endeavors in the pipeline. Let's make the Year of the Dragon one to never forget! Keep reading for more details!
Our Year of the Dragon display, shown above, graced our front counter in celebration of the Lunar New Year festivities. The curly Filbert branch that we spraypainted gold was gifted to us by embroidery instructor Laura Tandeske, whose garden is a great labor of love and a testament to her love of nature.
Laura Tandeske's original embroidered art embellishes her Army Surplus garments. This particular piece perfectly embodies the spirit behind our new bi-weekly Monday Craft Circles!
One of our driving goals for 2024 is to expand opportunities for us to connect with our textile arts and crafts community, and provide a safe and welcoming space for folks to engage in textile self-expression together.
We're also going to offer bi-weekly Monday Craft Circle sessions — every other Monday, in other words, from 1:00-4:00 PM — where folks can come and work on their needle arts projects. Bring the socks you've been putting off darning, the embroidery you're so excited to get started on, the crocheted afghan that's been taking you far too long to finish. You'll be in excellent company, and we'll gladly cheer you on from the sidelines! Plus, we're huge snoops who love to see what everybody's making.
We owe a huge thanks to Laura Tandeske, our embroidery teacher extraordinaire, who has not only spearheaded this initiative but generously volunteered to facilitate these groups. Without you, it wouldn't be possible!
We've set the schedule for our fundraiser sale event: it's happening on September 7, 2024! Save the date, folks!
Not only that, but we're asking for volunteers to help us in our preparations. We know lots of folks have offered to volunteer with us in the past, but much to our regret, we weren't at that time able to cope with the demand. Yes, it sounds oxymoronic, but operating at the utmost limits of staff capacity made it harder to take on other people's offers of help!
To give you an idea of the kind of help we're asking for, imagine steaming and photographing wedding dresses, or helping us sort through our massive backlog of donated textiles. Or, depending on your skill set, maybe you can become a volunteer docent in our exhibits, which would free up our staff to dedicate their time to preparing for the fundraiser!
Special Visits
Last month, we had a visit from Carol Scheider and her husband Bill. And what a special visit it was...! Carol spotted a necklace we had for sale - it was a pendant that her mother had made in the '60s!
Her mother was Lorraine Schneider, and when the anti-war movement was gaining traction in Berkeley, she created this iconic design in a poster called "Primer," that melds a stylized floral and the text, "War is not healthy for children and other living things." The piece that preceded the pendant was originally greated for a mini-print show — just a bit smaller than this pendant.
Lorraine and her friends founded the activist group, "Another Mother for Peace." Their revolutionary pacifist mandate was "to educate women to take an active role in eliminating war as a means of solving disputes between nations, people and ideologies."
It was so exciting to meet Carol and hear the story behind this pendant necklace and her visionary mother, who belonged to a generation of women determined to change the status quo. This pendant is proof they were creating precious objects of beauty in this world -- laden with meaning and the power of their determination -- and were fighting for a more beautiful world.
Another Mother for Peace still exists: anothermother.org.
Customer Projects
A brilliant young sewist builds otherworldly ensembles out of upcycled vintage lace
The age of the doily as a scratch-protector for wood furniture and as an oil-absorber/crumb-catcher under pastries is OVER. But what to do with all that lacework??
Frequently made of cotton and, unlike the fast fashion products that fall apart within a few wear-wash cycles (and eventually turn into toxic waste polluting our biosphere), all of these silly doilies are going to age gracefully and, in the meantime, just take up space.
Victorians loved themselves some clutter, but in the modern age, masses of objects without a clear purpose can be a bit stressful. And as anyone who has explored Lacis already knows, we're up to our necks in these crocheted circles and runners and antimacassars. It's actually quite a perplexing problem.
Grace Basom knew instictively what to do with this surplus: elevate it into beautiful, sustainable fashions.
We were so enraptured by this ethereal photoshoot suffused with light. It perfectly suited the styling of her resourceful fashions, like the garb of a post-apocalyptic angel. It strikes us as what queens in the era of Mad Max might wear.
Grace's work with vintage doily pieces (shown left) does way more for us than Prada's Fall 2023 skirts that also happened to incorporate doilies (right). Sure, Prada can jump on this trend, but Grace is pulling it off in a way that shows far more creativity and commitment — let's call it devotion to the doily!
Customer Projects
Mary Carey visited us from Denver, Colorado, and we were so glad to be able to show her our selection of pearl buttons.
She's part of a button club back home, and together they made the most amazing MOP button scissor fobs. She regularly gives these gorgeous creations away as gifts — and she's made well over 50 in her time!
Imagine our thrill when she gifted us one such button fob, though! We were honored. It was instantly nominated our official keychain for Lacis's front door. Now when we open and close every day, we shall do so with utmost ceremony. Such elegance and beauty, and ingenious craftsmanship. (Cleverly, the buttons are bound together with wire, so you can always undo the construction if you wish to actually use the buttons in another setting!)
Mary generously took the time to mail us instructions on how to make such button fobs. You better believe we're going to try it out — we have access to so many gorgeous (single) buttons here at Lacis, and not enough projects with which to use them up! 
Exceeding kindness, letter-writing skills, and liberality with beautiful, one-of-a-kind handmade gifts, believe it or not, aren't the end of Mary's exceptional qualities. She's also an excellent storyteller.
She held us rapt with fascination as she regaled us with tales of buttons. For example, smuggler's buttons! Have you heard of those? "Soldiers in the Civil War carried gold coins in them in order to buy favors should they be captured. World War I soldiers carried diamonds and precious gems, spies carried poison, and World War II fliers carried compasses in case they were shot down." — Antique perfume buttons! There's a negative space under which peeked through a piece of velvet, daubed in fragrant scent. — But best of all, the Victorian lady's practice of assembling buttons on a charm string. You could only bestow, collect or trade for them... no outright buying allowed. We love that!
We think Mary ought to be invited to give a TED Talk on buttons, honestly. The unexpected, startling and sweet stories hidden behind the history of buttons will blow your mind!
Mary, thank you ever so much for your magical gift of a beautiful button fob, inspiring stories, and friendship. Your love for buttons is infectious and we'll never look at them in the same way again!
Staff Projects
Staffmember Peggy Johnston artfully blended two garments into one to create this spectacular sweater-jacket combo!
It's the perfect marriage of knit sleeves and a knit-lined hood with a denim jacket. The body of the sweater and the sleeves of the jacket both had their own issues, but together, all problems were solved — it just made so much sense. And the end result was, as you see here, something totally unique, cozy, and resourceful!
We hope Peggy's project inspires you to look at your own collection of not-quite-perfect garments in a new light. If their imperfections make you hesitate to wear them, but they contain sentimental memories, or have other irreplaceable qualities, maybe all they need is to be combined with another piece! It's a great way to exercise your creative design and sewing skills — and reduce textile waste. That's another win for sustainable fashion, in our book. Great job, Peggy!
Notable Donations
Ann Grassel donates an Edwardian coat made in Germany — and three precious lengths of Armenian needlelace
If you've been following our Instagram account, then you've already seen the German-made walking coat that dates roughly from the 1910s that Ann Grasse generously bestowed upon Lacis. Our staff had the best time admiring this incredible garment, and also forensically analyzing it.
Most of its important features are quite obvious. It has an asymmetrical front closure, Watteau pleats down the back, and is made of extremely fine wool, only ever to be spot-cleaned, and never washed. But what did we discover, upon closer inspection?
Well, for one thing, this item was neither home-made, nor couturier-level craftsmanship. It was of a dressmakers' manufacture —
and, according to Grassel, a German one, at that. The embroidery disappears under the seams, meaning the fabric was covered in its decorations prior to final assembly. The cording is machine-sewn, though hand-sewing can be seen as well. The floral motifs — or are they three-leaf clovers? — are defined by flat plastic pieces — maybe some kind of celluloid? — couched down with fuzzy chenille yarn. The dots you see regularly interspersed within the double-outline of the design are wooden beads covered in silk, but balls of wool roving also feature as embellishments. Although it lacks a lining in some places, that just allowed us to peek behind the scenes and spy the canvas interfacing, which was very interesting in and of itself. The level of detail and the near-perfect condition make this specimen just spectacular.
There were plenty of treasures in Ann's donation, including the coat, of course, but there was one other element that made us gasp audibly: a few precious pieces of Armenian needlelace. There were three lengths of trim made of uniformly-sized medallion centers painstakingly arranged into a lovely dagged scallop — perhaps enhancements for a collar and cuffs? We leave it to your imagination.
You'll be seeing a lot more Armenian needlelace from us in the very near future, so finding these in Ann's donation felt especially portentous.
Currently on Exhibition at Lacis Museum
Available for viewing by appointment
Transcending Fashion: The Lace Accessory
Accessories define us and set us apart from others in the world of fashion.
From the Middle Ages to the present day, collars have been a significant part of fashion. The great ruff, a collar worn in the Renaissance, was the most outlandish statement of costume. Over time, collars evolved into many related objects of adornment that made timeless statements about our personality.
We invite you to experience a tour highlighting the stunning artistry of European lace collars and handkerchiefs, and their use as a means of expression, with pieces from the 17th century to the early 20th.
Available for viewing by appointment
Day's End: Personal Glamour Exposed
Ongoing until April 2025, Day's End is a joyful exploration of the sensuous and gorgeous things we wear in private, such as nightgowns, robes, and pajamas. It celebrates our most intimate items of clothing: the things never worn around strangers or out of the house.
On display at our main entrance
Aubusson Tapestry: The Stag At Bay
The Aubusson tapestry-weaving tradition has continued almost unbroken since the 1300s, when its small weaving industry was first established.
There was a hiatus in the 1700 and 1800s, but its 20th-century revival peaked in about 1911.
The piece you'll see here at Lacis Museum dates from after the 1950s, but the methods used in its manufacture are extremely close to those of the artisans centuries ago. In fact, in 2019, Aubusson tapestries were declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Is your interest piqued yet? Read more about the fascinating history of the The Stag at Bay tapestry in our June 2023 newsletter. And see it in person in our museum shop — it stands sentinel over the portal between our first and second rooms.
On display at our main entrance
Temari: A Toy Transcends to Textile Art
To put it simply, temari are balls made of wrapped thread. They're traditional Japanese playthings for nobility — a toy for children — and particularly a gift for a male child.
But they're so much more than that. Now, they're considered a highly auspicious gift, a rare and fabulously ornate textile art form. They carry with them an association with sacred and rarefied things: nobility and court maids, maternity and childrearing, good fortune and geometry...
As you come in through our doors, be sure to take a glance to your left. Inside the glass display case, we have arrayed a number of these prized temari. And if your curiousity is aroused, you can read more about temari in our April 2023 newsletter. And if you can't get around to Berkeley to see these jewel-like wonders, don't worry, we have pictures online.
Recently Sold in Our Etsy Shop
A Beaded Cardigan for Constance
Lovely customer Constance wrote on Feb 16, 2024: "5 out of 5 stars.
"I am thrilled with this exquisite beaded cardigan. It arrived in due time perfectly wrapped. Highly recommend this source for vintage clothing."
Thank you so much for your kind review, Constance! We hope you love your mid-century Angora cardigan. The beading is such a beautifully delicate pastel palette, and it's such a classic item for springtime.
For those of you envious of Constance's fabulous find, consider taking a dive into the history of the 20th-century cardigan. It'll give you a whole new level of appreciation for button-up sweaters! For starters, you must read this article on VintageDancer.com — and then listen to this podcast on twin sets from one of our favorite podcast series, "Covered." Who knew this demure garment pairing had such a wonderful stories behind it? College girls surely changed our culture forever. And of course, it couldn't have happened without Otto Weisz and Pringle of Scotland.
We have a sale going on for all our Victorian items listed on our Etsy shop!
So many wonderful 19th-century items have been marked down to tempt you. You should check it out ASAP, because this blowout only lasts until the end of the month! It's everything from garments to accessories and home decor items.
New products and publications
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"The collar is a powerful point of entry for exploring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's life and her tireless work on America's highest court. "The twenty-five neckpieces captured here — in over eighty stunning photographs by award-winning photographer Elinor Carucci — offer insight into RBG's legacy." |
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"In Dress Codes, law professor and cultural critic Richard Thompson Ford presents an insightful and entertaining history of the laws of fashion from the middle ages to the present day, "a walk down history's red carpet to uncover and examine the canons, mores, and customs of clothing — rules that we often take for granted. After reading Dress Codes, you'll never think of fashion as superficial again — and getting dressed will never be the same." |
Classes @ Lacis Museum
Learn how to embroider, make lace, sew costumes...!
And the end of this week we'll be starting up our first two-day Armenian Needlelace workshop!
It'll be Saturday, March 16th and 23rd from 12:30 to 4:30 pm. There's still a little space left, so if you're feeling drawn to making this beautiful lace, join us! Poet, weaver, scholar and singer Elise Youssoufian will lead you into the world of this very special, life-affirming tradition rich in cultural and historical significance.
We're proud to announce that our new bobbin lace teacher, Summer Ota, has begun teaching a series of lacemaking classes!
We're very excited to have bobbin lace back at Lacis Museum! As Lacis instructors tend to do, Summer consistently goes above and beyond. Her patient nature and compassionate spirit makes her one of those wise teachers you'll never forget. Students love her, so we're going to keep offering more installments in the sequence! Join in on the fun, build your skills so you too can take Bobbin Lace: Level 2!
Part 1 of The New Woman: Walking Skirts 1895-1905 was such a blast! As usual, our exceptional instructor, Catherine Scholar, adeptly guided her students through the material, ensuring everyone was well-prepared for their projects.
Some of the participants coordinated with her, so that together, they seamlessly integrated their related ongoing projects. Catherine provided them with invaluable tips and support, empowering them to progress further. It was incredibly inspiring to witness such collaboration and growth!
But one of the best parts was the wonderful surprise of seeing Jocelyn with her portable machine. In the event of a technological apocalypse, Jocelyn will keep civilization clothed with her manually-powered marvel. We fell down a rabbithole trying to figure out just what it was, of course. Willcox & Gibbs Chainstitch Sewing Machine, anyone?
Everyone's walking skirt projects were so different and so exciting. Can't wait to see y'all again for Part 2! The results are going to be just spectacular!
Laura Tandeske's four-day Embroidery Magic workshop was clearly such a rewarding experience for her students!
It was a blessedly intimate group, which allowed them time and space not only to really bond with each other, but to also develop their own projects according to their own goals and needs.
We loved seeing these kind folks all week long — always the highlight of our day was seeing their glowing faces, eager to get started in the morning, and flushed with the excitement of learning and accomplishment later on in the afternoon. It was clear that they would carry the vital lessons they've learned into their future work.
We can't wait to be able to offer this unique workshop again next year!
Textile Arts Calendar
Special events in the Bay Area and beyond
March/April/May: Milanese Snowdrop
Claire Bonito leads intermediate-skill bobbin lace-makers in making an exquisitely pretty snowdrop design, building on her series of online Milanese classes.
April 3, 10, 17: Milly Mermaid Bedfordshire Lace
Taught by Louise West, "Milly Mermaid" is a floral pattern, with adding and throwing out pairs throughout the design. This design takes approx. 90 pairs with multiple colors of thread, which can be different from those shown in the photograph to create your own individual mermaid. Or you could use one color throughout. Techniques include starting the edge in both directions, adding pairs for the ground, adding colors for the elements of the design, and floral Bedfordshire techniques.
Sunday, March 17: Cora Slocomb di Brazzà: Breaking Barriers with Gentle Arts and Social Activism
A presentation by biographer and documentary filmmaker Idanna Pucci.
At the closing of the 19th century, New Orleans-born Cora Slocomb, fueled with American pragmatism and her Unitarian belief, was driven to make a huge difference to the lives of families in her adopted land after her marriage to the Italian Count Detalmo di Brazzà. Inspired by the teachings of her Quaker mother, Cora focused on helping the hardworking women farmers on her husband's estates in northeast Italy.
The question that moved her: "How can these women make use of their precious time during the long winters when work in the fields is not possible?" In 1891, she opened the first women's Cooperative Schools in Italy, devoted to making lace.
Sunday, April 21: A Voyage of Discovery through Lacework: Isabella's Bed Cover
Belgian art historians and curators Ria Cooreman and Frieda Sorber present one of the most iconic lace works from the collection of the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels.
This lace was a gift for the Archdukes Albert and Isabella... At this time, it is still unclear who commissioned this exceptional gift, but the figures on the bedspread itself indicate that it was something special. Frieda will discuss how the bedspread is technically constructed while Ria Cooreman will sketch a picture of the content and history of this lacework.
Saturday, March 23: The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World
The best nonfiction book of last year was surely Virginia Postrel's. Humans coevolved with cloth, and her dramatic, sweeping coverage of every element of this ancient relationship throughout the rise and fall of civilizations will take your breath away.
A French draw loom, and countless other innovations — the drop spindle! The spindle wheel and drive belt! All manner of patent machines! — changed our relationship to cloth, to the world, and to each other.
Sunday, March 3: Membership Mixer
Join the ADSC for an afternoon of camaraderie! See your Art Deco Society friends, and meet new ones; chat with board members; learn more about ADSC's recent preservation activities and upcoming events.
If your membership has lapsed, renew now! Bring your Deco-curious friends! We'll be gathering in the lovely parlor of the Alameda Masonic Hall. (You will already be in Alameda for the first-Sunday Antiques Faire, right?) Come and enjoy an afternoon with friends and music!
Enjoy cocktails and mocktails, and light refreshments.
Vintage-style daywear or informal cocktail attire admired but not required!
Save the date! The ADSC's annual Art Deco Preservation Ball is coming up on Saturday, April 27!
Sunday, March 24: Costume Academy
For all those who love creating! Costume Academy is a one day event where you can learn techniques to take your projects to the next level. The day is composed of three sessions and includes a variety of class topics such as ribbon chatelaines, fairy wing flower crowns and digital project organization!
Saturday, April 20: Medieval Fantasy Romance
Join us for a Medieval Romance picnic on the seashore, surrounded by the beautiful nature of the North Bay! There'll be a Medieval meme competition, poetry reading, and refreshments. The theme being Medieval historical and fantasy, you're urged to refer to epic medieval tales for inspiration: Huon de Bordeaux's Oberon & Titania, the legends of Charlemagne, the romance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
Saturday, March 2: Grand Victorian Ball
Join us at a spectacular grand Victorian Ball at the historic Alameda Elks Lodge Ballroom and Salon, with brilliant 19th-century dance music by Franklin Beauregard Davis and The Brassworks, famous for their wonderful arrangements of classic Viennese Waltzes and of classical music for ballroom dancing.
Saturday, April 2: Amadeus: A Mostly Mozart Ball
Join us for an elegant assembly ball set in the world of Mozart and Salieri. The Divertimento Dance Orchestra will play a selection of Mozart's most beautiful waltzes and contredanses and some anachronistic polkas set to Mozart tunes. And, of course, we will dance the wildly popular Congress of Vienna Waltz and Sir Roger de Coverley.
Saturday, April 6: Make an Edwardian Wire Frame Hat
In this live, online workshop students will create an Edwardian hat that can be worn either tilted back halo-style or perched atop the head for a spectacular Edwardian silhouette. Based on an original hat in the teacher's collection dated 1900-1906, the style is 3-dimensionally shaped and flared rather than a simple round platter. It is very lightweight, sits easily on the head and fastens neatly with a hatpin. Students will structure and shape a frame of millinery wire, covering it with trim and tucked netting, finishing with a bandeau and fitted lining. Period style and trim options will be discussed.
A Message from our Director
Our current exhibit TRANSCENDING FASHION, reflects how we see ourselves in a period context. Currently reading Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History by Richard Thompson, which presents an insightful background to this exhibit. Defining ourselves through our garments was always left to others until the nineteenth century when the collar offered the tool to break away from the enforced dress codes and sumptuary rules.
Before fashion, it was the dress codes that defined our place in society by how we were allowed to present ourselves. Individual or innovative appearances unheard of. Offenses could be punishable by public stripping of all garments. When fashion permeated social norms these codes were reinforced. It was not till the 19th century, when the individual was freed from sumptuary laws and now given the opportunity to express the personal expression that forms the theme of this exhibit.
— Jules Kliot
A letter to our friends 
