About | Support| Donations | Press | Collection
2982 Adeline St., Berkeley, California
Established in 2004, Lacis Museum of Lace & Textiles is a legacy museum honoring textile artist and entrepreneur Kaethe Kliot (1930-2002).
Now known as Lacis, the little textile emporium founded by Kaethe in 1965 operated as a haven for the burgeoning fiber arts community. It was a place of inspiration and ready encouragement, where she provided her support, imparted her wisdom, and generously lent her expertise to all.
The collection of the Kliot laces and textiles represents 40 years of dedication to the preservation of the most exquisite in human handiwork. It includes thousands of specimens from pre-Columbian Peru, the finest from 17th c. European courts, and examples of machine laces exemplifying the 19th c. industrial revolution.
An extensive library, focusing on lace, textiles and costume, includes over 10,000 items of books, patterns, articles, and other ephemera.
Essential and ancillary tools of the textile craft include those for all varieties of lace-making, as well as encompassing an extensive collection of sewing machines.
Our purpose & objective is to:
Preserve the spirit of Lacis as a place of support, knowledge and encouragement for all in the textile arts |
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Preserve and maintain the lace and textile collections of Jules and Kaethe Kliot |
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Preserve lace and textiles across cultures and periods, the patterns and tools of creation, the objects of their purpose, and the literature associated with them |
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Provide a resource center for research and documentation of these objects |
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Provide and maintain a Museum Shop for generating financial support |
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Solicit volunteers to work with staff |
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Encourage interest in lace and textiles by providing professional services for conservation and restoration, as well as design and consultation services for costume and accessories as appropriate for period re-enactments and bridal occasions |
To that end, we are commited to:
Supporting a permanent staff to oversee all operations | ||||
Presenting rotating exhibits drawn from the resources of the permanent collection | ||||
Hosting classes to encourage dissemination of the techniques and knowledge of the textile arts |
LMLT is incorporated in California as a Public Benefit Corporation [501(C)(3)]. Our operations are supported by The Kliot Family Trust, monetary donations, donations of saleable items, classes and workshops, memberships, and proceeds from the Museum Shop.
If you wish to make a monetary donation to our organization online, you can do so securely via PayPal by clicking the yellow Donate button below. However you might choose to support us, we sincerely thank you for your contribution!
LMLT is always interested in acquiring items for the Museum collection, or for resale to support Museum activities, from individuals, estates and auctions. Preferred items are those related to the Museum focus (that is, Lace, Needlework, Textiles, Costumes and Costume Accessories).
If you're interested in bestowing such an endowment to our permanent collection or the Museum Shop, please see our donation form here. (If additional pages are needed, you can use these.) Please print and complete the form and inventory to the best of your ability in advance, as staffing is limited. The donor assigns a value to the donation; as the recipient of your donation, it is a conflict of interest for us to counsel or provide a valuation. Additionally, any written information about provenance and origin that you can provide is extremely helpful and welcome.
Items we cannot accept include:
Extremely oversize/heavy items, such as: vintage/antique luggage, steamer trunks, treadle sewing machines, laundry mangles, etc. | ||||
Craft/textile arts magazines published less than 50 yrs ago | ||||
Large quantities of books, particularly those of more recent publication | ||||
Contemporary crafting supplies (acrylic yarn, polyester fabrics, etc.) | ||||
Contemporary clothing, bedsheets, tablecloths | ||||
Significantly stained or damaged lace, textiles; anything with smoke odor; anything affected by mold or pests |
If you're looking for another place to donate your goods, you might try contacting:
Urban Ore — ending the age of waste (urbanore.com) | ||||
The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse (creativereuse.org) | ||||
SCRAP — a non-profit creative reuse center and arts education nonprofit (scrap-sf.org) | ||||
Community Thrift Store — an independent and non-discriminatory non-profit establishment. When you donate with them, you can pick one of their 200+ charitable partners and get a tax receipt (communitythriftsf.org/donate/) | ||||
Habitat for Humanity — an independent and non-discriminatory non-profit establishment. When you donate with them, you can pick one of their 200+ charitable partners and get a tax receipt (restore.habitatebsv.org) | ||||
White Elephant Sale — The Oakland Museum Women's Board organizes a massive annual fundraising event to support the OM's programming — and they've been doing it for over 60 years! (whiteelephantsale.org/) |
We occasionally get inquiries about whether or not we can buy someone's vintage or antique items. As a nonprofit, we aren't in a position to purchase things for our shop or our permanent collection, but if you're looking to make money from your vintage or antique items, you can try:
Estate sale companies or vintage resellers that sell on consignment | ||||
Etsy or eBay | ||||
Facebook Marketplace |
We're still working on compiling our press clippings, but for now, here are a few stories about us you can enjoy, in no particular order:
These are just a few of items in the permanent collection of the Lacis Museum that the people of the LMLT community have generously contributed.
Each month in our official Newsletter, we spotlight some of these special donations by our supporters have made; here we invite you to view and enjoy these unique and illuminating pieces of textile history.
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© 2021 Lacis Museum of Lace & Textiles |
2982 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA 94703 |