Supporting British Industry & Craftsmanship
Cluny Lace has been manufacturing Leavers Lace since 1845. It is the closest lace to hand made lace that a machine can produce.
Cluny Lace is a ninth generation business, owned and managed by the Mason family who have been making lace since the 1730s. Nottingham and this part of East Derbyshire was the heart of the lace industry which peaked just after the First World War. The company is still housed in a purpose designed factory built around the turn of the century to hold the specialised lace machines. Over the last 150 years, Cluny Lace has built up a data bank of hundreds of lace patterns - offering a catalogue of 365 designs for Haute Couture, Pret a Porter, Household Textiles, Haberdashery, Film, Opera and Theatre as well as Ecclesiastical laces.
"I have rarely come across a ninth generation business and Cluny Lace is a great example of a company that makes one thing, very well. It is no surprise that they supply the highest end fashion houses including Christian Dior, Burberry, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Givenchy - their laces are exquisite. It was amazing to witness the most delicate of designs being created on these enormous, thunderous machines - we had to shout to be heard over them. The whole factory was like a time capsule and a glimpse into the past, a real privilege to see it in person." Carmel King visited the factory with Kate Hills of Make it British in January 2024, and photographed it for The Archive.
