Here are some biographies of male lacemakers who currently do no not have their own website.
Premsyl Knap
In my works I incline to historical ornaments, which remind us of the charm of long past days, which fits my feelings and my disposition as well. From time to time, though, I also try new approaches and explore new views on contemporary textile techniques.
Lately I mostly knit or create a bobbin lace and embroidery. These three techniques are the key sources of my development and my current creative interests.
I hope that my path, which is interwoven with the finest threads which I turn into lace, playing with lights and shades, will be long and full of adventurous discoveries. Here are some examples of Premsyl’s work
Ernst Ziesler
These pictures were taken by me at the Museum.
To find out more about craft in Norway there is the West Norway Museum of Decorative Arts and the Norwegian Council for Folk Costumes. There is also an article on Bunad which features Ernst Ziesler (in Norwegian).
Leonard Bazar
Like most lacemakers, I was interested in textile crafts from an early age, learning to knit at home before being taught the regulation squares at primary school – first dishcloths, then for blankets for refugees. I was making Aran sweaters for myself by the age of eleven, and still design and make my own jumpers. I taught myself to crochet and tat, and though tatting did not take off, I did crochet a couple of table cloths as wedding presents for relations. I first became aware of bobbin lace in 1971 through a magazine article which set out the basics, with instructions for the little fan. While it had no immediate effect, it planted a seed which grew when 12 years later a Sunday supplement published an article inspired by Dryad's lacemaking kit, which I duly bought. I supplemented this with a selection of books, some provided inspiration, but Pam Nottingham’s Bobbin Lacemaking, Technique and Design of Cluny Lace by Paulis/Rutgers and then Suzanne Thompson’s Introduction to Honiton Lace provided instruction. I was introduced to other lacemakers by Pat Gibson, then just a colleague of a friend, sending me a ticket to a lace day, which, with membership of The Lace Guild, convinced me that teaching was needed! I attended local authority classes in central London after work (those were the days!) given by Margaret Susans who encouraged her pupils to make the type of lace that suited them, and go to other teachers where necessary – I attended Pat Perryman’s classes with her. Indeed, I have been very lucky in being able to attend classes with some of the best teachers for the traditional English laces, Marjory Carter for Bucks and Barbara Underwood for Beds, and Pat Gibson, before her move to Wales, and Kay Dennis for needle lace, the one I could not learn from a book. In general, when it comes to making lace, I still prefer the fine white traditional patterns that first attracted me to lace, and having little talent that way, feel no need to "design" though I do tend to adjust existing patterns for particular projects, but more to get the end result I want than as a pleasurable activity in itself. I do feel it important that lace does keep its character as a textile craft, and have made the odd piece to wear myself on festive occasions - the braid for the dress shirt started life in Le Pompe, coming via Gil Dye's Elizabethan braids workshops at a Convention.
I made the lace for the Lace Guild's Movement poster, from Tenniel's drawing of Alice running twice as fast to stand still, and also a handkerchief developed from the Thomas Lester unit on page 44 of "Traditional Bedfordshire Lace" by Barbara Underwood." That said, I enjoy the variety of lace - and arguably other textiles - made with bobbins, of all sizes, shapes and colours. Threaded needles are used to embroider, seam and mend as well as make lace, and I see no reason why wound bobbins should be confined to producing what qualifies as lace - but that's another story.
Pablo Gustavo Cocconi
Priit Halberg is a male lacemaker from Estonia. Not only does he make lace but so does his wife and three sons. They have mounted their very first lace exhibition at the Estonian Folk Art Centre's gallery in Tallinn.
Priit describes lacemaking as a hobby and an addiction! A good way to get rid of everyday stress!
He and his wife and have founded a non-governmental organisation in order to bring the old traditional laces that are preserved in museums back to life.
Chris Davey
My path in to lace started thus:- I have been a hobby woodturner for about 30 years and about 25 years ago was asked to make a bobbin
for an elderly lacemaker, Miss Bodfish, at our local church to replace a broken one on her pillow for her to complete a christening gown.
This lead to me being asked to make bobbins for a group of lacemakers who met at her house.
Over the years I have made bobbins in the different traditional shapes for the various laces as requested.
About 20 years ago when asked to demonstrate woodturning at a Victorian Day in Romsey, run by the local Lions Club,
the only power for the Lathe was a small generator, and I decided to convert a Singer Sewing Machine treadle to power a small lathe to turn Bobbins. With one or two minor modifications this treadle still comes out for Demonstrations.
About 12 years ago I was asked by Diana Millner of the Lace Circle if I would bring the treadle to the Lace Tent of a Craft Show at Broadlands in Romsey. This became an annual event and 8 years ago my wife Margaret started making lace at the Craft Show under the expert guidance of Diana while treadled away. Margaret joined Molly Buckle's Lace Class and is now making various different laces and is also a Member of the Itchen Valley Lacemakers in Southampton. 18 months ago while I was suffering from Shingles, Margaret asked if I would like to make some lace.
A snake was finished that afternoon and a torchon Bookmark soon followed. I joined the Itchen Valley Lacemakers and entered their novice competition last September with a rocket I had designed myself
based on one of the bookmarks I had made in June. I am now working through the patterns in 'The Little Gray Rabbit Makes Lace' by Alison Uttley. I am hooked but still make the bobbins.
Sam Jakobsson
During the first Autumn I didn't understand anything, but around Christmas I started to get a hang of it. The lace teacher (who also was a man) fell ill some time later and we had another teacher for a while. She really get me going and made me understand what this handicraft was all about.
In 2000 I attended a two week course in the lace makers' Mecca in Sweden: Vadstena. The courses there are really for lace making teachers, but others are also welcome. The teachers in Vadstena are very skilful. Later in the summer of 2000, the OIDFA congress took place in Lund, Sweden. I attended it by sitting making the typical Vadstena lace, to show how it is done. It was so much fun, talking to lace makers from literally all over the world (Europe, Australia, USA, Canada, Japan).
I have made some patterns of my own in traditional Vadstena lace, but now my focus is on free lace. Two summers ago five of my lace pictures were part of an exhibition in the Vadstena lace museum, which theme was "Lace in the sqaure". Two of the laces were lace versions of Sudoku!
Last summer I made a large shell for the garden of the Lace museum in Vadstena, made from fishing net yarn (I wanted to have a material that could withstand rain).
I have also made a stole, for a friend who turned 50, with two fishes and five breads.
The next thrilling project includes make lace with metal yarn!
Sam Jakobsson, Huddinge, Sweden
David C. Collyer
David’s mother was a truly inspired teacher. Unlike many mothers, Jean realised that to knit a scarf was the most boring thing to attempt. Not only would it not get finished, but it could also succeed in discouraging a child from any further knitting. So she got her children to knit small items, like dolls’ clothes, which were much more interesting, quickly finished, and taught such techniques as casting on, casting off, rib, shaping, button holes, and ultimately Fair Isle. In order to teach children embroidery, Jean used to save the side of breakfast cereal boxes. Then the children would learn to surround any pictures with back stitch, fill them in with satin stitch and put a border of blanket or buttonhole stitch around the edge. The entire work would then be inspected to see if it was “show work” or not!
For someone who thought she was no good at maths, Jean certainly managed to teach an awful lot of it to her children. She used the 1950s book by Enid Gilchrist to make all their clothes, and would get the children also to draught the patterns in newspaper and then enlarge them accordingly. Or if they liked they could glue the miniature ones together for their dolls. She did not discriminate and taught these skills to all her children, regardless of gender.
In 1991 David held an exhibition in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, of the work of the male members of his family, entitled: “Men Make It Too!” His exhibited works included his early clumsy attempts at knitting and crochet, the development of his tatting from coarse cotton following patterns to original designs using the finest of threads; intricate counted thread work such as Hardanger, Danish pulled thread work, drawn thread work, cross stitch embroideries, reproductions of antique crocheted doilies and cloths, knitted lace using cottons finer than sewing machine thread, tape lace work, free form embroidery, patch work, applique, petite point, fine homespun Shetland lace, original designs in jumpers, and his Tenerife lace work.
