What colourful bobbin lace thread and a hand loom have in common

I really ought to be delighted. I’ve „saved“ over 70 kilos of beautiful linen thread for bobbin lace-making. And yes, I am delighted – yet at the same time, this large consignment is a sign of many small and large, loud and quiet farewells. In the case of this beautiful yarn, one of the already few European manufacturers of this raw material is beginning to bid farewell. Gerhard Meisinger is a trained weaver; he worked in Austria’s last linen mill and later began establishing a small brand for bobbin lace and weaving using Italian linen yarn. Goldschild is the name of his company. He is now over 70 and technically already retired. Although he is thinking of calling it a day, Gerhard cannot quite let go. Partly because he knows that no one will take over. The market for his yarns has become too small. Lace-makers have few successors, and so he is running out of customers. He no longer even stocks the linen yarns for weaving. All his commercial hand weavers have now stopped, and the small-scale hobby business is too laborious. So it is becoming increasingly difficult to get good materials, no matter which textile craft you’re involved in. No materials, no handicrafts, and the barrier to entry for newcomers to these hobbies is rising.

At „Handweberei Moser“ in Wegscheid, very close to „my“ weaving museum, this long journey in the textile industry has also almost come to an end. According to Franz-Xaver Moser, there is no shortage of orders, but rather a lack of a successor. As one of Germany’s largest hand-weaving mills, with 16 looms and a company history spanning almost 70 years, the Mosers’ departure leaves a significant gap in the region’s craft tradition. Wegscheid and Breitenberg were once one of the most important centres of linen weaving, with over 800 weavers. In a few years, that number will have fallen to zero. It is not a question of preserving something that nobody wants anymore – the Mosers’ sales are strong and their customers come from all over Germany. Unfortunately, there are simply no young weavers left who would want to take over such a traditional business in the tranquillity of the Bavarian Forest.

One business after another is closing down. Our world is becoming poorer in beauty, in textiles crafted with care and deliberation, and in the stories tied to every handmade tablecloth, every metre of fabric. I wouldn’t be myself if I simply accepted the Mosers’ departure without a fight. The Wegscheider region needs at least one more weaving mill, and even if we can’t run it quite the same way as 80 years ago, with a few new ideas we should still be able to continue the story…. Stay tuned…. I’m already thinking about it!