'Lace: Here: Now' tells the story of how lace continues to inspire, fascinate and excite contemporary practice in all spheres of art and design. The prolonged fascination in lace is of particular interest in the city of Nottingham where the machine lace industry emerged and flourished during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Nottingham once stood at the centre of the world's lace industry and this legacy is still evident within its built environment. The area called the 'Lace Market' bears all the architectural evidence of this commercial textile activity demonstrating the importance of machine made lace to the identity of Nottingham and beyond. Structured in two halves, this book outlines the significance of the rich heritage in Nottingham lace manufacturing, from industrial, social and cultural perspectives; as well as illustrating the value of the important archives held within the city, at Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham Castle, where the potential for inspiring creative practice is abundant. The second half of the book demonstrates how practitioners, designers and artists, have responded to these archives and documents the work that was produced for the exhibitions held as part of the lace:here:now season in Nottingham over the autumn/winter of 2012/13. Lace: Here: Now provides a unique insight into Nottingham lace, images from the beautiful and evocative lace archives and contemporary art and design practice. AUTHORS: Amanda Briggs-Goode is the Principal Lecturer and programme leader for the textile design programme at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) where she is responsible for the management of the programme which comprises of print, embroidery, weave and knit.

Deborah Dean is Visual Arts and Collections manager at Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery. 80 colour and b/w illustrations.