Saturday 28 December 2013

A WIN-WIN merchandising situation for our early Nottingham Lace products


 Elizabeth tells the Story 


"Elizabeth Cooke - Nottingham Lace " The story of the creation , development & history of a highly successful small business initiative into a national retailing project 

Plus the resulting demise created by a Foot & Mouth epidemic)


The birth on "Elizabeth Cooke - Nottingham Lace" actually evolved from a promotional product design project undertaken for the English branch  of the Italian company  - Golden Lady (Manufacturer of Ladies Hosiery) based in Huthwaite/Notts.

The company's English Managing Sales Director was looking for a small inexpensive  Nottingham Lace related "Give Away" incentive gift to accompany the launch of their Hosiery products in a major well known London Retail Store.

The reaction by the 259 lady consumers who received the "promotional gift" was so dramatic that my wife suggested she wanted to pursue the initiative further by designing and adding several other  "low value" Nottingham Lace products to a unique gift range for the tourist /visitor  market.

Together we achieved this resulting and  "Sandra Elizabeth" approached several outlets in Nottingham to gauge their reaction. At this point the initiative was named “Georgio Romani” adopting some of the roman era of Burton Joyce. The next stage is still a little mysterious in that we were approached to enter the products in the Nottinghamshire Tourist Authority to enter the range in the "Best of Nottinghamshire Product" competition. After several anxious weeks the event " Award " evening arrived, and to cut a long story short - our Nottingham Lace products ( Georgio Romani) were adjudged the winner amongst half a dozen or so others competitors

The very next day was if the world had suddenly become aware of the existence of our small Nottingham Lace interest , with press wanting to come and interview , Hodsock Priory and other  Historic Houses ringing up asking if they could sell our products. As a direct result of this initial interest it was decided to approach all local NT houses with a view to establish and consolidate our existence within the tourist sector. Every NT property we approached began to stock our product and achieved a small number of sales, however it quickly became obvious that there was a vital ingredient missing in our sales efforts – product merchandising
 Fortunately after a relatively short period we developed a unique SOLUTION  - this solution   spontaneously  developed and  was recognise by all our potential stockist as an effective  NO RISK WIN/WIN situation – a sales/merchandise offer which became impossible a genuine Gift Retailer to resist.
 Over the next couple of years we had established 149 retail outlets nationally all taking our goods when and which needed regular routine replenishments  - a scheme with ZERO redundant/obsolete stock for anyone 


HOW DID WE DO IT?    thats to follow later ;-) 

in the meantime why not visit my latest project at 

                                            www.quintessentialenglishlace.co.uk

Friday 27 December 2013

The Demise of Nottingham's Lace Market

 THE DEMISE OF NOTTINGHAM’S LACE MARKET

  The Lace Market district was developed during the nineteenth century. Essentially what
had been a domestic trade became industrialised with the development of machinery for
mass producing lace. This in turn led to the need for large buildings to house the machinery
and workers. There was also a need for extensive warehousing. The architecture and
streetscaping of the Lace Market was a responses to these needs. Nottingham became one
of the leading centres of Lace production in the nineteenth century. The major producers vied 
with each other to build the grandest factories. Often the owners copied the front elevations
of stately homes on the frontages their factories. The factories themselves were showplaces
of industrial pride. Most of these structures are remain although the industry itself has
virtually disappeared. The built environment remains as a reminder of a historic industrial
legacy.

The physical core of the Lace Market built environment was and is represented by a
number of large & distinctive industrial buildings that had been developed in the nineteenth
century for the purposes of producing and distributing Lace for national and international
markets. The industrial wealth of nineteenth century Nottingham had been closely linked to
the lace industry. The lace industry in Nottingham suffered a rapid decline in the early
twentieth century. There was no obvious use for these large buildings. By the nineteen fifties
many had fallen into disuse or multi - occupancy

Nottingham Lace Tablecloths Link - www.quintessentialengllshlace.co.uk.co.uk


The TRUTH surrounding NOTTINGHAM LACE

Nottingham Lace Story

Elizabeth -  “The truth surrounding “Nottingham Lace”
From the early/mid 1800 Nottingham became THE hotbed for Machine Made Lace with exports world-wide), this continued until the industry’s demise with the onset of the war years.
It should be noted that the true and original Nottingham Lace Machines  were “14 point” and have 17920 threads. They were 8 Metres long, and if one thread unfortunately breaks the whole machine is stopped, while the damaged thread is located and replaced. ( costly – yet there was no other answer ).
Nottingham lace is usually referred to as  “Leavers”and / or “Cluny”  although later the operation of Nottingham Lace manufacturing, also began to include/utilised the “Rachel” technique
However, even though manufacturing numbers are dramatically reduced today, several highly reputable, specialist manufacturers/suppliers of “world renowned Nottingham Lace” still operate today, with one single yet reputable manufacturer actually based in Scotland
It is from individual styles of lace manufacturers, which we access the quality materials used within our collections and are offer DIRECT to the consumer
“Nottingham  is  also theperfect place for the"finishing" of lace,as the city and area is  built on “bunter sandstone”, this physical environment and location creates the “brightest” water, free from all organic matter, yet containing Chlorine and Ammonia. These two natural constituents present in the water, assist greatly the bleaching and cleaning process which produces "quality finishing"
“Nottingham Lace is famous world-wide. Yet of the two processes necessary to the manufacture of machine-made lace – making and finishing - only the latter was solely concentrated in Nottingham. The functions needed to convert the large dirty webs of lace from the factories into the fine, finished fabric so beloved by the Victorians and Edwardians were to be found in numerous locations in the Nottingham conurbation. Hence, the famous Nottingham lace girls in their pristine white blouses and long skirts thronging the streets of Nottingham’s Lace Market were but a part of the finishing section of the industry and not the actual makers of lace” ( ref Sheila A Mason)
Today the Nottingham's lace industry is compact, with a small numbers of individual specialist supplier/provider companies -  our personal and business friends
“NOTTINGHAM LACE IS THE GENERIC ORIGINAL”
IT IS and has been THE BRAND LEADER for 200 YEARS
***Nottingham's lace is copied and imitated in countries world-wide, and offered as authentic Do not be mislead..***
 
 
Nottingham is a City built on its Lace Making heritage. Illustrated are several buildings which are known as the “Nottingham Lace Market” we will continue to perpetuate this great heritage.
The world trade in lace was centred in and around Nottingham. It's reputation for innovation and the creating of machine made lace was unequalled and envied world-wide.
The “Nottingham Lace Market” attracted Buyers from all over the world and is a multiplicity of huge and impressive purpose designed warehouses and now designated a “conservation area” of National significance.

The huge Victorian buildings, the culture, skills and ingenuity of generation on generation is testament to the unique Lace Heritage of Nottingham and the surrounding areas.
However now-a-days manufacturing and production have moved on a pace. Gone are the huge major lace manufacturing companies and machinery. The vast majority of these huge buildings , whilst still in existence, have now been converted and adapted to a 21st lifestyle
Today’s Nottingham Lace industry still exists, but it is no longer the colossus of old,  yet todays genuine product, lacks none of its historical quality, persisting as a truly “specialised niche” industry serving/providing customers world-wide products with genuine individuality
Why settle for a lesser alternative?. Nottingham Lace was and still is created with the past skills and ingenuity with a current generation which is also “generic”......

Elizabeth -  “The truth surrounding “Nottingham Lace”
Nottingham Lace is world renowned for quality and individuality

It is based upon the invention of a John Leavers.
Throughout the last two hundred years “Cluny Lace” in particular has combined the best of old traditions with new technology in producing exquisite designs of Leavers “Cluny”“lace all-overs, etc”
For those with a historic or mechanical interest a Leavers machine is in fact two machines; a wide machine working on the principle invented by Mr. John Leavers in 1813 twist together the threads to form a fast net, PLUS a jacquard machine - adapted for use on the Leavers machines sometime between 1836 and 1841. This include the facility and opportunity to create individual patterns.
The jacquard machine is attached to the Leavers machine by 60 < 160 steel bars - each 4 thousands of an inch in thickness. It is via these steel bars that the warp threads are threaded at pre-determined intervals.
The instructions as to the movement of the steel bars/warp threads are given by a pack of laced cardboard cards punched with holes which revolve around a cylinder, -  this particular concept inspired modern computer technology. The lateral movement of these warp threads is held fast and twisted by the bobbin threads of the Leavers machine and turns the basic net appearance into exquisite patterns of beautiful Nottingham Lace
Elizabeth says.. .. OUR GUARANTEE
We have always been dedicated to supplying collections of Nottingham Lace products direct to the consumer at attractive prices, We implicitly guarantee, that all our materials/products are sourced from/with well established, “bona-fide”, Nottingham Lace  companies producing/supplying their Nottingham Lace products –
Your will be instantly aware that we base the wide choice of our adaptable Collections on the basis of today’s lifestyles. Both formal and informal dining tables can be dressed quite simply, often using matching Table Runners, Placemats and Napkins settings for both informally or fully formal dressings .
Todays manufacturing and production facilities have now moved on a pace. Gone are the huge major lace manufacturing companies and machinery The vast majority of these huge buildings , whilst still in existence, have now been converted and adapted to a 21st lifestyle and use
Today’s Nottingham Lace industry still exists, but is no longer the colossus of old, yet todays  genuine product, lack none of its historical quality and reputation, persisting as a truly “specialised niche” industry providing customers world-wide with products of genuine individuality
Why settle for a lesser alternative?......
Nottingham Lace was and still is created with the skills and ingenuity of a current generation, which is also “generic......”
The invention of machine made lace affordable to middle class homes. However it did offer an alternative and opportunity  for example – In 1889, the three sons of a successful English carpet weaver started a textile business in the USA. The three brothers imported lace looms from Nottingham, England to pursue their vision of producing machine made lace textiles. This  story is similarly repeated throughout many overseas countries – “Opportunists, purchasing “second hand” redundant “Nottingham Lace machines” from here in the UK exporting them and re-assembling to produce their product which they term as genuine Nottingham Lace.”.  .. Uumh!  “Handmade lace used to be a thing of luxury that only the wealthy could afford in their homes.
Yes just in case you missed it the first time ………………..
“Handmade lace used to be a thing of luxury that only the wealthy could afford in their homes. The invention of machine made lace affordable to middle class homes. However it did offer an alternative and opportunity  for example – In 1889, the three sons of a successful English carpet weaver started a textile business in the USA. The three brothers imported lace looms from Nottingham, England to pursue their vision of producing machine made lace textiles. This  story is similarly repeated throughout many overseas countries – “Opportunists, purchasing “second hand” redundant “Nottingham Lace machines” from here in the UK exporting them and re-assembling to produce their product which they term as genuine Nottingham Lace.”.  ..   Uumh
The story can be repeated in several European countries also. But the results are always the same – imitations of the original  
 
Identifying Handmade and Machine Lace
The main types of hand and made machine lace
There are two basic types of hand-made lace:
needle lace which is created by using a needle and thread and variations on buttonhole stitch and
bobbin lace which is made by twisting and plaiting a large number of threads, each wound onto and weighted by a bobbin, on a stuffed pillow (the terms bobbin and pillow lace are interchangeable).
There are four families of lace machine:
1). The stocking frame, invented by William Lee in Calverton, Nottinghamshire, in 1589, to knit stockings. Unlike the hand knitter who knits one loop at a time, the stocking frame knits a row of loops in one operation on hooked needles. In the 1760s, with various adaptations, the stocking frame made lace by transferring stitches from one needle to another. Robert Frost made the first surviving piece of Nottingham lace by using a carved wooden cylinder to dictate the transfer of stitches. Later, a perfect net was made on the stocking frame and embroidered for sale.
A cousin of the stocking frame is the warp frame, invented in the 1770s. Instead of the stocking frame's horizontal row of needles and loops, it had vertical columns of loops which zigzagged to interconnect. It proved a very versatile machine; modern equivalents making not only fabrics but „string'bags for fruit and vegetables.
The Raschel machine was invented using the principles of the warp frame by A Barfuss in Germany in 1859. The Jacquard apparatus (see under Pusher machine below) was adapted to it in the 1870s. The Raschel machine could work at higher speeds than the Leavers machine and proved the most adaptable to the new synthetic fibres, such as nylon and polyester, in the 1950s. Most contemporary machine-made lace is made on Raschel machines.
2)The bobbinet machine, invented by John Heathcoat in Loughborough, Leicestershire, in 1809,makes a perfect copy of Lille or East Midlands net (fond simple, a six-sided net with four sides twisted, (two crossed). The machine uses flat round bobbins in carriages to pass through and round vertical threads. John Heathcoat moved his factory to Tiverton in Devon in the 1820s. Much expanded, it still makes net.
The Pusher machine is a variation of Heathcoat's machinecreated by Samuel Clark and James Mart in 1812. It takes its name from the rods which pushed the carriages through the machine. TheJacquard apparatus (a system of cards punched with holes invented for the weaving loom by J MJacquard in France in about 1800) was adapted to it in 1839 but it could only make the pattern and the net. The outline had to be put in by hand or later, by embroidering machine. Nottingham stopped making Pusher lace probably in the early 20th century but it continued being made in France.
The Leavers machine is an adaptation of Heathcoat's machine by John Levers (the a' was added to aid pronunciation in France) in Nottingham in 1813. The original machine made net but it was discovered that the Jacquard apparatus (invented in France for weaving looms by J M Jacquard in about 1800) could be adapted to it. From 1841 lace complete with pattern, net and outline could be made on the Leavers machine. The Leavers machine is probably the most versatile of all machines for making patterned lace. Leavers lace was Nottingham's chief lace product until recently. Now there is only one British firm (not actually in Nottingham) which still makes it.
The lace curtain machine, invented by John Livesey in Nottingham in 1846 was another adaptation of John Heathcoat's bobbinet machine. It made the miles of curtaining which screened Victorian and later windows. Nottingham stopped making lace curtains in the 1980s and curtain lace in the 1990s.  
3). The hand-embroidery machine was invented by Joshua Heilman in Mulhouse, France in 1828. It used pincers both sides of a piece of fabric, needles pointed at both ends, and single lengths of thread. A hand-operated pantograph dictated the movements of the needles which were grabbed by the pincers and pushed through the fabric. It makes a perfect copy of hand embroidery except that all the pattern repeats are identical. Lace is made by embroidering on machine-made net or on a fabric which is dissolved away by chemicals („chemical' lace) or burned away by heat („burnt out' lace).
The Schiffli embroidery machine was invented by Isaac Groebli in 1865. It uses two lengths of thread one on one face of the fabric, one in a shuttle on the other, to make a lockstitch. Like Heilman's machine it's movements were originally dictated by a hand-operated pantograph. Most embroidered laces are made using the Schiffli machine either on net or a soluble fabric.
Nottingham, Plauen in Germany and St Gallen in Switzerland make a lot of machine embroidered laces.
4). The Barmen machine was developed in the 1890s in Germany from a braiding machine. Its bobbins imitate the movements of the bobbins of the hand-made lace maker and it makes perfect copies of torchon and the simpler hand-made laces. It can only make one width at a time and does not have the pattern potential of the Leavers machine.
 
Other techniques used for making lace 
Crochet; made with a hooked needle, the basic stitch is a chain; used for all sorts of dress and furnishing trimmings; the finest is known as „Irish crochet' no matter where it was made; imitated by Schiffli machine 
Knitting; by hand; made by dropping and picking up loops; used occasionally for children's dress and underwear trimmings; sometimes used for furnishings 
Tatting; made with a shuttle and sometimes a pin and ring; it is characteristically made in rings or ovals, often edged with small loops; rather limited in pattern, usually used for collars and cuffs, but sometimes also as mats

Saturday 21 December 2013

Quaker Lace

Quaker Lace Patterns

The most popular pattern for Quaker Lace tablecloths is called the White House. The weight of lace is considered an indicator of its quality. The weight is calculated by the yarn count per inch. Quaker Lace's White House pattern has the heaviest weight. The name was inspired from the lace tablecloth that was used during the Eisenhower administration.
The next highest quality pattern is called Gardenia. This floral pattern is thicker than most of the other Quaker lace patterns. Another floral pattern is called Rose Rhapsody.
Another popular pattern for Quaker Lace is called Religious. This lace pattern consists of Christian symbols such as praying hands, churches, Bibles and crosses.
These elegant lace tablecloths not only look beautiful for a formal dining table setting, they also look amazing on other types of furniture as a decorative home accent.

The Demise of the Quaker Lace Company

Quaker Lace found success in the early 1900's because of the public's interest in lace products and the company's ability to make fashionable lace products affordable to middle class families. Unfortunately, changes in the textile industry and the declining market for lace products resulted in the first of many transitions for the company. In 1987, the factory at 4th and Lehigh ceased production of machine made lace on the Nottingham looms but continued to bleach, dye, cut and package the lace products, which were now being manufactured in Lionville, Pennsylvania and Winthrop, Maine. However, after several leading retail department stores which carried Quaker Lace products closed, the company finally had to declare bankruptcy in 1992.

A company by the name of Lorraine Linens bought the rights to the Quaker Lace name and patterns and attempted to continue the legacy of Quaker Lace products until it too had to file for bankruptcy in 2007.

Lacemaking terms

This is an opportunity to explain a few terms associated with lace - so here goes

Applique : Lace with springs , leaves and other designs sewn to the net .      Bobbins : Small elongated wooden or bone reels on which the tread is wound
Cutwork : Embroidery with part of the base fabric cut away.                          Darned Net : Embroidery on machined Net
Dressing : The cleaning, drying, stretching etc. of the brown net to produce the required finished dimensions
Duchesse : A mixture of bobbin and needlepoint laces.                                 Fillings : Different types of stitches
Furnishing Lace : Includes tableclothes, napery and bed linen.Curtains are made on huge curtain machines and some tableclothes and napery are also made on Leavers machines.           But the Raschel machine, increasingly dominant in the curtain trade is also capable of producing quite elaborate tablecloths 
Gauge : The fineness of the net. The larger the number of points the finer the lace    Guipure : Lace of a bold design with jointing bars open ground
Jacquard : The mechanism controlling the pattern by a system of differential thread selection 
Leavers : Named after John Leavers who invented a machine in 11813 still widely used. A modern machine has also more than 40,000 moving parts which twist thousands of individual threads to produce lace very similar in construction to the pillow laces of the past
Needlepoint :  Lace made with a needle and thread using  buttonhole stitches    Point : Term loosely  applied to fine quality lace
Pillow or Bobbin Lace : Lace made on pillows or cushion by twisting and plaiting threads attached to bobbins. To distinguish to needlepoint from bobbin lace use a magnifying glass. if the solid part of the pattern - that is the clothwork - is made up of looped threads the lace is needlepoint; if it plaited it is bobbin lace
Pricker : Short instrument used in bobbin lace making for putting holes in the parchment that in the required position to receive the pins
Pusher : Lace made on the Pusher machine , principally used for copying Chantilly lace in the 1800's
Raschel : The Raschel machine has been developed to produce at high speed a wide range of delicate, knitted laces in large quantities
Torchon : Bobbon lace of loose texture and geometrical pattern copied by machine      Warp  : The yarn around which the bobbin thread is twisted

Other lace terms  - Maltese, Mechlin, Chantilly, Lille, Cluny, Eidelweiss ( chemical lace), Valenciennes, Sandfly, Blond, Runner, Patterned,Pillow, Plain net, Point net, Comb, Runner, Scalloper, Slip winder, Stamper, Stripper, Threader, Warper,Winder, Spotted silk, Blond, Black, Quilling, Irish guipure,Ecru, Hexagon net, English net, Nottingham net, Buckingham lace,  Brussels net, Barmen lace etc etc.. .. 

Early Development of Lace and Laces


In the late 16th century there was a rapid development in the field of lace. There was an openwork fabric where combinations of open spaces and dense textures form designs. These forms of lace were dominant in both fashion as well as home décor during the late 1500s. For enhancing the beauty of collars and cuffs, needle lace was embroidered with loops and picots.
[2]

Objects resembling lace bobbins have been found in Roman remains, but there are no records of Roman lace-making. Lace was used by clergy of the early Catholic Church as part of vestments in religious ceremonies, but did not come into widespread use until the 16th century in northwestern part of the European continent.[3] The popularity of lace increased rapidly and the cottage industry of lace making spread throughout Europe. Countries like Italy, France, Belgium, Germany (then Holy Roman Empire), Czech Republic (town of Vamberk), Slovenia (town of Idrija), Finland(town of Rauma) England (town of Honiton), Hungary, Ireland, Malta, Russia, Spain, Turkey and others all have established heritage expressed through lace.[2]
In North America in the 19th century, lace making was spread to the Native American tribes through missionaries.[4]
St. John Francis Regis helped many country girls stay away from the cities by establishing them in the lacemaking and embroidery trade, which is why he became the Patron Saint of lace-making.[citation needed] In 1837, Samuel Ferguson first used jacquard looms with Heathcoat’s bobbin net machine, resulting in endless possibilities for lace designs.[2]
Traditionally, lace was used to make tablecloths and doilies and in both men's and women's clothing. The English diarist Samuel Pepys often wrote about the lace used for his, his wife's, and his acquaintances' clothing, and on May 7, 1669 noted that he intended to remove the gold lace from the sleeves of his coat "as it is fit [he] should", possibly in order to avoid charges of ostentatious living.[5]
·         Antwerp lace
·         Binche lace
·         Bobbin
·         Brussels lace
·         Bucks point lace
·         Chantilly lace
·         Crochet
·         Mechlin lace
·         Needlework
·         Pag lace
·         Point de Gaze
·         Ribbons
·         See-through clothing
·         Silk
·         Tatting
·         Torchon lace
·         Valenciennes lace

                                                                                         Credit  to  unknown source …..   ….

Friday 20 December 2013

BJ Village steeped in Lace history

Worldoflace today
Today’s Lace industry in Nottingham is much more compact and specialised, but still very active and just as creative as in the earlier years. To explain: We live and operate from Burton Joyce - a small village within “The Box” and we have excellent relationships and associations with 'friends' within the industry - all within a short drive away .
For example:
Within our own village, it was a local 'friend'/supplier ( regretfully no longer with us) who provided the unique beautiful lace trim for “Diana the Princess of Wales” in her Wedding Gown, - we use laces from this source in our custom created 'Bridal veils and Mantillas'.
We only use genuine English Net for our Veils and Mantillas, supplied by another 'friend' based within Nottingham City ( 10 minutes away)
Another business associate, also local, a supplier/maker of exquisite Nottingham Lace trims, created the Lace trims for 'Fergie', The Duchess of York's Wedding Dress. We also use their trims for our Veils and Mantillas.
Our exclusive “Quintessential English” Nottingham Lace and Linen Table Cloths Collection, incorporates designs by Nottingham's "Doyenne of Table Dressings" - Tablecloths, Runners, Napkins, Placemats etc are based only 10 minutes away.
Our exquisite, attractive and fashionable “LACEY” /Wool and Mohair Stoles and Shawls are produced and supplied to us, direct from their Historic Frame Workshop/Factory, sited just west of the centre of Nottingham City. We know, that several members of the Royal Family, were/are regularly snuggled up in Baby Shawls created by this Company, this includes the 3 Princes presently and directly inline, Charles 'The Prince of Wales', 'Prince William the Duke of Cambridge' and now the newly born 'Prince George'.
"We invariably use all of these suppliers of quality 'All-over Laces' & Trims etc, within our Products Range, which resulted in us achieving 'The B est Local Product A ward' with our very first products.
Visit our website www.englishlace co uk 

Monday 16 December 2013

World Renowned Nottingham Lace

World Renowned Nottingham Lace Tablecloths


Are these tablecloths still readily available ? -  Of course !

Where ? From the specialists,  - naturally!

Who are the specialists ? - A well established Nottingham organisation with "LACE in their GENES"

Do they have an unrivalled product range ?  - YES ! 32 different designs with 213 actual variations

Do they have a website with shopping cart ? - YES of course

How do I contact them ? at http://www.englishlace.co.uk or http://www.Quintessentialenglishlace.co.uk

How long have in business ? 20 plus years

Interesting info  - Actually many ancestors were Stockingers and Bagmen throughout  in BJ thro-out

                              1800/1900      "Nottingham Lace is in our genes"



En situ image from a delighted customer in S France