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Liz writes: At my first lace fair, Springetts, September 1989, I met Shelia Perrin, of SMP Lace. I was carefully watching how much I had to spend and trying to get the most for my small amount of money. I was trying to work out how to afford pillow, bobbins, books ... well everything and she told me to get my basic bobbins so I could start making but find a maker I really liked and sign up to their bobbin a month club. Her advice was to buy the most expensive bobbin I could so that in years to come I had built up a collect that meant something to me. "Even if you just buy one bobbin a month", Sheila siad, "at the end of the year you will have 6 beautiful pairs of bobbins, then at the end of the next year, 12 pairs and so on." I've been making lace for over 30 years. I now have a fantastic collection of bobbins. But those first SMP bobbins, my travel bobbins and my honitons made from different woods are at the heart of that collection and all because Shelia took time to talk with me.  My first Sarah Jones bobbins featuring her signature orchids © Liz Baker When I first started to make lace, a bobbin from Sarah Jones or Heather Power cost £4.50. Doesn't seem like much now but in those days, my rent was £400 a month. So a bobbin was about a tenth of my monthly rent. I came back from that first lace fair and told my mum about everything I'd seen and how I only had the absolute minimum of equipment (and that had been bought on a pay as you go basis through a club at my work). I told her what Sheila Perrin had said. My mum, the angel that she was, said that she would pay for one bobbin a month as a birthday present so I could buy one a month myself and I'd build up my collection of bobbins quicker. Two of my tulips with the LH bobbin being the replacement © Liz Baker I chose to buy the Orchids myself and my mum paid for the tulips. Years later, I lost one of the tulips in a house move, a few years after I also lost mum. I reached out to Sarah and asked about replacing it. Sarah explained that she had stopped painting the tulips a while back but if I could work out which I was missing she would see if she still had her original sketches. So, I got out all the tulips, photographed them, sent over the photo and descriptions, Sarah found her sketch and a few weeks later I got my replacement bobbin.
Tulips were a particular favourite of both myself and my mum and each time I handle those bobbins I remember the kindness of my mum in buying them and that of Sarah in repainting a lost bobbin. We recently ran a poll on the FTM facebook group asking 'why do you buy bobbins' and 6.2% said that they do because they are members of a bobbin a month club. This is why bobbin a month clubs are so important.
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Jo writes:
As we are getting a lot of questions about this I’m posting this. I buy most of my bobbins at lace fairs and lace days. Keep an eye out for events, and try to attend - there are fewer and fewer of these due to decreased footfall, please support them! You can buy bobbins online - Lace Suppliers Spotlight (mostly new from suppliers) and Bobbin Lace Market (mostly second hand) on Facebook are great groups. The ID summary, on this website, shows which makers / painters are active and on our facebook group, any maker with a * after their name are still making and selling bobbins, and we have included their website, Etsy shop or email address as appropriate. You can also get second hand bobbins (and books and pillows) from the Lace Guild. I’ve not seen bobbins for sale in a shop in 15+ years, but you might get lucky. Hope this helps Jo Buckberry writes: As we are getting a lot of questions about this I’m posting this as an announcement, with comments turned off. I buy most of my bobbins at lace fairs and lace days. Keep an eye out for events, and try to attend - there are fewer and fewer of these due to decreased footfall, please support them! You can buy bobbins online - Lace Suppliers Spotlight (mostly new from suppliers) and Bobbin Lace Market (mostly second hand) on Facebook are great groups. If you look our ID Summary page we've marked if they are currentyly active and we have included their website, Etsy shop or email address as appropriate.  You can also get second hand bobbins (and books and pillows) from the Lace Guild.
I’ve not seen bobbins for sale in a shop in 15+ years, but you might get lucky. Hope this helps |
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