We’re thrilled to announce the winners who’ve brought their visions to life with elegance, passion, and a whole lot of style and hard work to compete in our Solstiss Academy.

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The guipure lace is woven on Leavers looms. It is recognized by big stitches, thick liners, often in cotton, and with no tulle. It is an open lace with textured relief work.

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What makes Valenciennes lace the ultimate trim? The style is a type of bobbin lace recognizable by tight floral patterns and open-squared ground from the town of the same name. Due to its delicacy and size, it's popular for lingerie.  Its characteristics include opaque motifs with no relief, small size usually 8-10 centimeters wide, with fine diamond shaped ground net. The style originated in the beginning of the 18th century and is now produced on Leavers looms. It can be made in galloons, insertion, bands, or beading lace. 

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We are so proud to showcase our winners of The Solstiss Academy at the Lace & Embroidery Museum of Caudry! Our opening reception was a huge success and the 2024–2025 Solstiss Academy is underway. 

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Lacemaking may be an old craft, but it's being reinvented everyday. Solstiss continues to develop new and innovative techniques, such as lace with silicone, metallic threads, vinyl, latex, leather, flocked; embellished with beads, sequins, feathers, and paint. Look at some of these available examples!

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To the Revolution!  The textile industry was one of the first to transform during the Industrial Revolution (1760–1870), becoming completely mechanized by 1830. Starting in Lyon, France with the Jacquard system (1801) then in England with the bobbinet loom (1804), John Leavers perfected his Leavers loom in 1834, establishing Leavers lace.  The Leavers loom combines Bobbinet tulle loom technology with the Jacquard system, and some of these looms from the Industrial Revolution are still used today. Although much of the craft of lace creation has been mechanized, the expertise is still passed down from generation to generation, including both machine and hand techniques.  Solstiss operates more than 100 Leavers looms, representing about 40% of the looms in the world. 

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Alençon lace, or point d’Alençon, is a needle lace from Alençon, France, about 100 miles west of Paris. From the end of the 17th century, it is characterized by predominant floral patterns (often rose), gimp threads added to the ground net for more opacity, and lack of transparency. At the Universal Exhibition in London in 1851, it was named the "Queen of Lace". Most recently, UNESCO recognized the unusual craftsmanship of this lace and added it to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.  

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Handmade lace dates back to the 15th century, with lace makers using bobbins or needles with linen, silk, gold, and silver yarns. It was rare and expensive due to its intensive labor to make, and was considered so valuable that it was also a form of currency. Lace manufacturing was eventually transformed during the Industry Revolution, as were other industries. Stay tuned!    Above: The Lace Maker (1662) by Caspar Netscher and Portrait of Jacob Olycan (1625) by Frans Hals. 

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Chantilly is a beautiful and very light lace named after the Chateau de Chantilly, about 30 miles north of Paris. This highly popular lace is made distinctive by its fineness, transparency, and outlined patterns. Originating in the early 17th century, it is now the most well-known type of lace, notably with delicate floral patterns, but geometric and abstract patterns are also available.   

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