Endangered bobbin lace craft revived by young Londoners

Florian Barrows is another example of how the craft’s online presence is growing in London.

His lacemaking videos on Instagram and TikTok have attracted millions of views and more than 1.5m likes.

He said lacemaking appealed to him because it was a mental challenge that gave him space away from the online world.

He’d learned the craft as a child and picked it back up through the London Lace Club in 2024.

He said “you physically can’t doomscroll” when using your hands to weave lace.

“It’s like doing a Sudoku more than it is like doing a craft,” he said. “It’s less about crafting to create and more about crafting as a puzzle-solving exercise, and as a nice way to engage your brain.”

Barrows said short-form content has a “power” to make people more aware of heritage crafts. Since posting videos, he’s connected with lace makers across the world.

“I thought since it’s an endangered craft, it’s nice to try and get it back out there,” he said.

“So many people have messaged me saying they’ve just started lace, or they used to do it when they were a kid and wanted to pick it back up.

“I’ve got more people into lace, which is really nice.”