Bobbin Lace-Making as a Career // Good Prospects

Dear users, dear authors,
who among you really enjoys bobbin lace-making?
I have an article here that describes the job profile, career opportunities, and earning potential. Apparently, bobbin lace-making can’t be automated by machines because machines wouldn’t be able to produce such beautiful results. Fans of this technique probably wouldn’t buy machine-made bobbin lace anyway.
Read the article as a PDF
What do you think?

That’s really interesting. Bobbin lace-making does have a bit of a “granny” vibe to it. You always picture an old lady sitting at her bobbin lace pillow.
I had no idea it was a recognized apprenticeship...

To be honest, I didn’t even know that this was a recognized training occupation.
It’s definitely interesting and a great opportunity for young people to gain career prospects in the field of handicrafts! Personally, though, it would feel a bit too uncertain to me. For one thing, I’m certain (even if the article says otherwise) that better machines will eventually be developed in this field, and I also don’t know how long there will still be “enthusiasts” in this field.
On top of that, I think the “career opportunities” are relatively limited. The salary sounds okay, but for me personally, there wouldn’t be enough room for advancement :-) (But that’s also a matter of priorities.)

Even though I certainly wouldn’t wish that for the profession… I can imagine that this niche will continue to shrink.

Here in Austria, bobbin lace is very prominent in traditional costumes. Authentic traditional costumes still feature only hand-made lace inserts, and even the headdresses (which don’t always have to be made of gold) are crafted with such intricate detail.

That said, I tend to agree with Tina—sooner or later, machines will make their way into this field as well.

By the way, the traditional costume associations often make the lace themselves for new authentic costumes.

I find it fascinating to watch, though—I could do that for hours. But I really don’t have the patience to make it myself.

Best regards
Dagmar

I’m blown away. I never would have thought that. To me, bobbin lace-making is a dying craft. Simply because the end product has to be very expensive—it takes a lot of time to achieve a decent result. Who still spends money on handmade products these days???? Everything has to be cheap—or better yet, even cheaper. “Craftsmanship is a gold mine”: does that even apply anymore? It reminds me of my mother (born in 1931), who always used to say, “You just made that yourself.”

bobbin lace-making is one of those very old, very difficult crafts that are, unfortunately, dying out. I’d love to be able to do it.

But we’re talking about bobbin lace-making here. When I think about how so many young women (and the same goes for young men) today no longer know how to crochet, embroider, or knit—let alone sew on a button—and for some, a sewing machine is a truly evil contraption—I sometimes wonder if these skills will soon fade into oblivion. And that scares me.