Richard Shops Blue Lace Dress, National Trust Killerton House, Exeter

When researching C19th garments featuring machine-made lace in the Killerton House costume collection I was fascinated to discover this blue lace dress; intrigued by the sheer complexity of the construction of the fabric I was also overwhelmed with fond memories of visiting Richard Shops as a child. I spent just over two years recreating the dress in the form of this drawing; a consciously slow, meticulous and low-tech process which pays homage to the unsung labour of its original creators, and highlights the loss of craft skills such as lace-making in our increasingly mechanised and digital world.