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April 2024 by danielle b.
Excellent shop that offers all types of lace and related needlework supplies. Beautiful enough to wander through as a museum. Fabulous staff that are welcoming and quite warm. All prices are fair and reasonable.
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January 2024 by Ella G.
This place is spectacular!!! My partner and I stopped in not really expecting anything but wanting to browse and we were blown away by the selection. Lacis stocks all kinds of textile-oriented craft supplies, including ribbons, trim, thread, cord, buttons...basically you name it they have it. I've been wanting a loom to darn socks etc for a while and found one here that came complete with a huge range of colored threads for just $25. I also picked up some lovely velvet ribbon for a great price, some felting needles and a kit, a glass frame pendant, and eucalin fabric wash -- just to give an idea of the variety. Beyond shopping, Lacis has enchanting displays of lace and textiles, dolls, and basically all things vintage handmade. We will definitely return for the guided museum exhibit. Also they offer classes!! I would highly recommend this to any crafty person out there. The prices are great, the staff are super friendly and helpful, and it's a wonderfully immersive and fascinating shopping experience.
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November 2023 by Sockna Dice
Really more a store than a museum, but lovely nonetheless! Gorgeous collection of vintage items and materials for putting together vintage outfits. Needlework supplies, reproduction vintage petticoats, antique lace and lace making supplies.They take donations of vintage items, although the clerk accepting my donation was extremely slow.
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September 2023 by Tatiana Pak
My friend and I went to visit the place out of curiosity. We were amazed by the variety of things that were displayed and sold. This place truly is a wonderland for the people who love sawing, knitting, crocheting, and all other textile arts and crats.People who work there were very nice and helpful. The place has a very good atmosphere - unique, charming, and friendly.P.S. We come to the place without a project or idea. In the end, we got inspired to make something beautiful.
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April 2023 by Olivia Brantner
This place is amazing! I can’t believe I have lived in the Bay Area for 15+ years and did not know it existed! It was only during a recent foray into making period clothing for events that I came across Lacis and I am so glad I did!Lacis is an absolute treasure trove of historical sewing and crafting tools, notions, materials and patterns! They even display and sell some actual extant pieces! You really need a few hours just to take in all that they have to offer. And, while I did not get to see the museum, I did get to peek through the doorway just a little and I honestly can’t wait to go back when its open to explore it.The ladies who work there are incredibly nice and are just chock-full of knowledge! Go in with questions because they have answers and are so eager to help! My first visit was way too short since I was just popping in after work before they closed but I plan to come back on a weekend and spend some good quality time here once I am a bit further along in my project. I especially love that they have corset-making supplies like cut boning that you usually have to otherwise order from the web and Coutil by the yard! Very hard to find either in brick and mortar stores.Prices are very reasonable and the quality and variety are exceptional. I can’t wait to come back!For those coming by car, the parking spots out front are metered (not sure about the week but up until 6pm on weekdays).
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March 2023 by Erin R.
This place has everything and anything you could want for knitting, crochet, lacemaking, embroidery, embellishing garments and they have a wonderful museum as well. Staff are incredibly knowledgeable and fun to talk to, They are all enthusiasts of craft and there are experts to talk to you for anything you could imagine.
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March 2023 by Tiffany H.
Lacis is an incredibly unusual and special place for textile artists and folks interested in the historical side of garments. I remember first hearing about Lacis circa 2003 on a LiveJournal community for corset making. They were marked as a supplier with all sorts of bits and bobs for that specific interest - fabrics, boning, busks, aglets, you name it. They have a ton of other hard to find and niche supplies too. I collect textile and fiber-related hobbies and was really tempted to impulse buy an entire bobbin lace-making setup from them at one point but realized I should probably have someone actually walk me through that before spending a silly amount on ultra-time consuming interests that are only relevant to what I mostly make about 5% of the time. Other specialized tools and supplies they carry include smocking machines, tambour embroidery frames and hooks, Battenberg lace kits, Sashiko embroidery kits, beautiful laces by the yard, vintage silk flowers, tools for restoration/conservation of antique garments, parasols, a ton of historical patterns, cord makers, Kumihimo braid supplies, rug making supplies... If you're a nerd for textiles and historical techniques that are likely at risk of disappearing, this is the place for you. The shopping side of the company's website was a nightmare to navigate though and wasn't conducive to ordering online. The store page is basically still the same with the throwback frame format that went extinct long ago. When I went to their brick and mortar location for the first time while living in the Bay Area it kind of felt like the website - a bit cluttered, sort of chaotic, but so much fun to look at things. I wish I had more free time when I lived in the area because they offer some of the coolest class topics (this is NOT the place for sewing 101). For example, upcoming topics include beetle wing embroidery, ribbon embroidery, and constructing a bustle-era skirt. I wish more places like Lacis existed!
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February 2023 by Anastasia Talan
Lacis is one of a kind store where I find everything for sewing corsets. Their collection of vintage lace and trim is stunning.They carry lots of vintage clothing from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.The ladies are knowledgeable and truly into art.
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January 2023 by Nerd G.
This place is a treasure trove of needlework supplies. I was gobsmacked to find it - who could have imagined a specialty store like this could have survived in Berkeley all these years! I guess the owners own the building (smart and fortuitous). It's a cavernous, well-organized store with pretty much every kind of needlework supply you can imagine - sewing, crochet, knitting, needlepoint, millenary... you name it. Plus books. And samples/museum exhibits and classes. WOW. Everyone I've talked to there has been extremely helpful and gracious and clearly enjoys their work. Go visit and buy yourself some pointy metal things. Do some crafts.
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November 2022 by Tim P.
Fantastic display of old and rare lace pieces -- Some for sale. Docent tours available. A must for any costumer. Tons of hard to find needle supplies. If you are at all curious about what used to be a rare and exceedingly expensive symbol of affluence (think the Tesla for centuries past) this is the place for you. I finally could see the difference between real needle and bobbin lace.
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November 2022 by Angel M.
It's little gems like this that make life worth living. The gentleman who led the bird tour is absolutely delightful but hard of hearing so speak up haha!
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October 2022 by Becca S.
This store is such a gem!!! I could spend hours looking through everything there. Lacis is a really good combination of vintage stuff (buttons, lace, etc), and also all of the notions you need to make all sorts of crafty things. It's been years since I've been on a museum tour, but I remember that was also well worth the time. The staff are also super sweet.
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August 2022 by Shane Carr
The main museum gallery appears to be open by reservation only. I came here without a reservation after searching for "museums in Berkeley". There are a few exhibits of vintage lace and textiles scattered throughout the gift shop area, which sells a large variety of needlework supplies. To live up to the expectations of the name "Museum", the owners should organize their permanent exhibits into a dedicated gallery space, offer an audio guide, and ideally make the whole gallery available for walk-ins.
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July 2022 by Wendy Williamson
I love Laci’s! Great museum and they have everything to create a handmade craft.
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April 2022 by Delilah F.
Beautiful and unique museum! A lot of history in this museum of lace and textiles. If I could sew, I would certainly purchase material from here to make several outfits. However, the reason for four stars is due to not being greeted or asked if I needed any assistance, although four staff members walked right by me. Overall, very nice and cute place to visit.
