‘Not all doom and gloom’ for last UK lace business – but historic skills are fading away

Cluny Lace is the only remaining lace makers in the country.
By Henry Green
The last lace business in the UK warns the historic trade is ‘fading’ as it struggles to source machinery and trained lacemakers.
Cluny Lace, a family-owned business in Ilkeston, has been running since the 17th century and supplies the likes of Ralph Lauren, Burberry and Dior fashion houses.
But while the company says times are difficult for the trade, the owner spoke to Notts TV to clarify reports they “shutting up shop” this week.
In a Facebook post quoting a Financial Times’ article about the business, which was headlined as saying it was “shutting up shop”, the company said it is “not shutting up shop quite just yet”.
Cluny’s creations formed the trim on Kate Middleton’s wedding dress, and Angelina Jolie and Vivienne Westwood have also been photographed in the company’s designs.
A hundred years ago between 60,000 and 100,000 people worked in the lace trade in Nottingham alone. There are now five lace makers left in England – all of whom work for Cluny Lace.
Charles Mason, who runs the company today, told Notts TV while he does believe there is an end on the horizon, the company does have some years of life left.
He said: “Our future is finite, the skills are disappearing and nothing can be done about it.
“It isn’t a good field of work for an engineer to go into because the machines aren’t infinite,” he added.
“If we were to take on any new employees, why would they want to be trained for a job that is going to die?”
However, Charles said it was “not all doom and gloom” for the historic business.

He added: “We will go for as long as we can, there are no mechanics who could fix the machines if they had any trouble but until we struggle for machines, we will continue running,” Charles said.
“It’s just a fact of life, it is a shame but that’s the way it is in the modern world, people don’t want fine laces any more,” he added.
Charles says he accepts the company will eventually struggle to continue with modern fashion changes and brands opting for a cheaper synthetic style of lace that can withstand washing machines.
Asked whether his company would venture into manufacturing synthetic lace, Charles said: “We won’t at the moment as we can’t compete financially with synthetic brands from abroad.”