Koronkarnia, Bobowa: bobbin lace by Ewa Szpila

Bobowa is a small town between Gorlice and Nowy Sącz that Poles call the capital of bobbin lace. Bobowa lace (koronka klockowa) is made without a loom: threads wound on wooden bobbins are interlaced on a hay-stuffed pillow over a pattern held with pins. The tradition is on Poland's national list of intangible cultural heritage, and every summer lacemakers from many countries gather in Bobowa.

Koronkarnia is the workshop and small shop of Ewa Szpila, one of the town's best-known lacemakers. She is not from Bobowa and is an accountant by profession: she learned lace at courses run by the local culture centre, where she was chief accountant, though her husband's grandmother made lace too. Ewa began in 1998, and the passion turned into a profession: she has won the National Bobbin Lace Competition in Bobowa several times, received Ministry of Culture scholarships, won an international “fastest lacemaker” contest in Finland (2016) and founded the Polish branch of the international lace organisation OIDFA. For over twenty years she co-organised the International Bobbin Lace Festival in Bobowa. Her daughter Małgorzata continues the tradition. Ewa has her own definition of lace, “thread and nothing”, and designs her patterns to be as harmonious as possible.

Why go

• Workshops for children, teenagers and adults, individual or in groups, following her own programme. Besides lace you can learn crochet, knitting, tatting, macramé, kumihimo, paper flowers and paper wicker.
• Watch lace being made: the pillow, dozens of bobbins and a pattern slowly growing under the lacemaker's hands.
• Buy lace and everything you need to start: a beginner's kit with Bobowa bobbins, a pillow, a stand and a simple pattern.

In a session you learn what a lacemaker's workshop consists of: a pillow stuffed with hay, chaff or sawdust (once up to two metres long), bobbins, pins, a crochet hook and the indispensable pattern, since traditional Bobowa lace is never made without one. The basic stitches have their own names: płócienko (cloth stitch), siekanka, leaves, honeycomb, picots and garlands. The simplest is made by passing one pair of bobbins through the warp pairs, and that is where beginners usually start.

What to buy

Bobowa lacemakers use many old pre-war patterns unique to the area: “snails”, “garlands”, “oak leaves”, “angels”, “peacock feathers”, chrysanthemums, lilies, tulips and sunflowers. Linen thread is used for traditional doilies, cotton and metallic thread for jewellery, pictures, Christmas ornaments, earrings and hair ornaments. It is also the place for traditional gifts: lace angels for christenings and First Communion.

Practical information

Address: ul. Grunwaldzka 48, 38-350 Bobowa, in the town itself, reachable by car or bus from Gorlice or Nowy Sącz. Hours: Monday–Friday 8:00–16:00; workshops must be arranged in advance. Contact: +48 508 256 631, [email protected]. Workshop prices on request; supplies can also be ordered online (bobbin 6.50 zł, pillow from 40 zł).

Nearby

• The World Lace Festival in Bobowa, 6–9 August 2026: exhibitions, technique demonstrations, workshops and a craft fair.
• The Bobowa synagogue, one of the best preserved in Lesser Poland.
• Biecz, a medieval old town about 20 km away.
• The wooden church in Sękowa near Gorlice (UNESCO).

Official website: koronkarnia.pl

Photos: koronkarnia.pl.