Abstract

Needlelace is a handicraft that is produced with simple hand tool in Gomec district of Balikesir province, can be applied in all areas thanks to its easy transport feature, requires intensive labor despite its low costs and has a high economic value. Balikesir province is among the provinces with high cultural tourism potential. For this reason, the production and sales rate of handicraft products within the scope of cultural tourism in the region is high. Needlelace has a very important share among these handicraft products. Today, when the necessary interest in traditional products has been lost, it is very important fort he products produced by hand to find market share against fabricated products and to receive sufficient attention. The interest in needlelace in the consumption culture contributes to the local women to become more entrepreneurial, social, productive and creative individuals. Within the scope of this research, needlelace which is an important handicraft in the villages of Ulubeyler and Kobaşlar in the Gomec district of Balikesir province, was researched and literature review was made on the subject. Within the scope of research, information about this handicraft was obtained by interviewing the women who applied needle lace by face-to-face interview method and 24 of the 45 needle laces identified were documented in the scope of research. As a requirement of traditional life, needle laces, which are mostly produced as a female head ornament, have been indentified with different usage areas with their color and motif features. In the research, the socio-cultural importance of needle lace in the region has been mentioned and attention has been drawn to the contribution of this handicraft to the economic and social lives of women.

Key Words: Handicraft, needle lace, motifs, women entrepreneurship