Historical Highlights

A few of our favorite Historical Highlights can be seen below. A full list can be found by clicking on the "Historical Highlights" button.

1953 Formation of a lace study club was suggested by four members attending the annual meeting of the National Federation of Doll Clubs. They were Beulah Besch, Mary Kramar, Lucille Peterson and Marjorie Siebert.

1954 These four charter members launched the Old Lacers first meeting on August 14, 1954, and after a brief business meeting, they enjoyed sharing Lucille's and Beulah's lace scrapbooks and Marjorie showed her Grandmother's book, A History of Lace by Mrs.B. Palliser.

1957 The first mimeographed newsletter was produced.

1959 The name of the club was changed to National Old Lacers and dues were raised to $2.00.  A committee was chosen to formulate by-laws.

1970 With many members joining from other countries, the name was changed to International Old Lacers.

1974 The first three-day convention, including lace making workshops.

1978 The 25th anniversary.  Dues were raised to $6.00 and members now numbered 1,300.

1980 The organization received non-profit status.  Dues were raised to $8.00 and Mrs. Zitella Ridell became editor of the Bulletin.  The business address of the organization was established in Colorado.

1993 The 40th anniversary was celebrated.  Membership numbered 1,445.

1994 The Irish Lace Guild became the first overseas chartered chapter bringing the total number of chartered chapters to 46.

2003 The I.O.L.I. celebrated their 50th Anniversary at the Hasbrouck Heights Hilton in Hasbrouck, New Jersey.  The convention was hosted by  three New Jersey lace organizations: The Lost Art Lacers, Metropolitan Chapter of the I.O.L.I. and The Cranberry Lacers.  Two new Honorary Memberships were bestowed on: Irma Osterman and Lia Baumeister-Jonker for their many contributions to lace, lacemaking and the I.O.L.I. There are now 72 charter chapter groups.  There were 1,638 members of the I.O.L.I.

2012 The Minnesota Lace Society’s theme ”Star of the North: from the twinkle of an idea to a sky of lace” was featured when they hosted the Annual Convention in St. Paul, MN. The display room included 46 pieces of the International Poppy Project championed by Ulrike Voelcker. Exhibits memorializing Honorary Members Doris Southard and Irma Ostterman were also present. Two new groups received their Charter: the Cross Eyed Lacers of Missouri and the Shuttlebirds Tatting Guild of Washington. The membership voted a name change to International Organization of Lace, Inc. A new logo design that will be unveiled at the 2013 convention. Membership stands at 1,107 members and 78 Charter Chapters.

2013 The 60th Anniversary of the organization was celebrated at the Annual Convention hosted by the Beehive Lacers at the Sheraton Salt Lake City hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. There were over 260 participants including 32 teachers. This was the first convention to be held under the new I.O.L.I. Convention Administration program in which duties and risk are shared between the host group and the national group. A new logo was unveiled as well as a new website featuring the new name of the organization. Membership was 1179 with 78 active Charter Chapters.

2020 Due to the historic COVID-19 pandemic, the Annual Convention which was originally planned to be held in Mesa, AZ was postponed to 2022. Instead, with the generous help of many I.O.L.I. Board members an “unconventional convention” UnCon 2020 was quickly conceived and held online. This featured three speakers, the teachers’ showcase, a lace contest, Iso-LACE-tion lace exhibit, the AGM, a virtual vending room and even a faux banquet. Two new Chartered Chapters were added: the St. Louis Lacers of MO and the Granger Lacers of SC. Charter Chapters number 77 and members 1,032. Even during a pandemic, almost 75 thousand volunteer hours were logged with the organization. The Executive Board started using Zoom for meetings throughout the year thus reducing in-person meeting time during future conventions.

2021 Almost 600 lacemakers from around the world met online for UnCon 2.0. With more time to plan, this year the online events were bigger and better! By teaming up with the Lace Museum, over 300 students participated via Zoom in over 40 classes featuring 15 international and 12 US teachers. Virtual Events Committee supported our membership by providing excellent Lace lectures with many continuing to be available on the expanded I.O.L.I. website. Each day started with a ‘trip’ to an international museum. Devon Thein and Trenna Ruffner each received a 50 year pin. Membership increased 24% to 1,219 members.