Debbie Bryan keeps Nottingham's lace heritage alive in a new city centre home

Nottingham's name has been stitched into lace for two centuries, and few places celebrate that story as warmly as Debbie Bryan. Part gallery, part creative space and part tea room, this independent business has become a home for handcrafted textiles, jewellery and Nottingham lace.

The heritage runs deep. John Heathcoat invented the bobbinet machine in 1808 and John Levers adapted it into the Leavers lace machine in 1813, and by the 1840s lace making had grown from a cottage industry into an international export trade. The Lace Market, a quarter-mile of tall Victorian warehouses where lace was finished upstairs and shown to buyers downstairs, was once the centre of the world's lace industry, and in 1969 it became the city's first conservation area.

Debbie Bryan began her venture in 2007, after studying at the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University, where she gained a degree in Textile Design and a Masters in Fashion and Textiles. In 2009 she opened a gallery on St Mary's Gate in the Lace Market, and in 2014 a tea room followed, its afternoon teas quickly becoming a favourite. After 15 years in the Lace Market, the business moved to St Peter's Gate in 2024 to begin a new chapter in the heart of the city.

The galleries showcase fashion, jewellery, glass, ceramics and art by designers from across the UK and beyond, alongside textiles, jewellery and prints made in the shop's own studio. Lace lovers will find framed Nottingham lace fabrics, haberdashery trims and historic papers, and the business houses an impressive Nottingham Lace Heritage Archive. Visit Nottinghamshire notes that its vintage collection includes Cluny Leavers lace and Fewkes embroidered lace.

Today the business is led by Katie, who joined as Debbie's first apprentice in 2014, working alongside designer Hannah. Following Debbie's passing, they have carried on the creative vision she shared with them. "Her joy was our joy," Katie says.

Visitors can book Crafternoons, workshops such as cyanotype printing with lace, or simply settle in for tea and cake surrounded by beautiful things.

Debbie Bryan is on St Peter's Gate in Nottingham city centre. Workshops, afternoon tea and the online shop are on the Debbie Bryan website.