“Handicrafts of Belgium” is a film that will focus on crafts such as lace, pottery, and glassware that is made in Belgium. The film is narrated by Peter Allen (:24), issued by the Belgium Government Information Center in New York City (:26), and is a D.P.M. Production (:36). It opens with a picturesque shot of a windmill (:40) and the notion that although Belgium is an industrial country, farming and agriculture still played an important role (:51) as there were worldwide food shortages. A wooden shoemaker is seen chopping logs and carrying out the old tradition of making wooden shoes by hand (1:04). A view of the picturesque Bruges (1:39) is given and this is the ancient city of medieval architecture, canals, bridges and famed artists out of the Flemish schools (1:45).  This city is considered the capital of lace and this tradition had been preserved for four centuries (1:49). Legend in fact supports the idea that lace originated here (1:56). Young women are seen learning the craft (2:00) in class and their finished products are shown (2:34). An older woman called Sabine is the oldest lace maker in the city (2:50). As she has had years of experience, she uses no pattern and creates without looking down at what she is doing. Intricate lace work that was made for the New York’s World Fair of 1939 is displayed and worth a fortune (3:20). Often times lace was combined with linen to form tablecloths (3:31). A quick scene of a poppy field (3:38) leads into Belgium’s industrial center (3:57). Although factories here used mass production, the skilled artisan was still prized as a man is molding a clay pot by hand (4:03). After the clay hardens, it is painted (5:03) and sent to the potting oven to be baked (5:09). The skilled potter’s handle man steps in to form and fit handles to each (5:17). The completed works are shown (6:17). Road signs point to Leige and Marche (6:43) as the film heads to Leige which had appeared in American newspapers frequently during both world wars (6:50). Here, Val St. Lambert Glassworks consists of 42 giant furnaces which make glass (7:22). To be a glassmaker it took 15 years of apprenticeship (7:28). The young executive of Val St. Lambert shows the eight steps required to complete a goblet (7:44-8:36). Glass cutters are at their stations buffing and polishing glass by hand (8:45). An etching specialist does his work by hand (9:14). The showroom is depicted showing old pieces that prove the craft of glass making here is in fact a long standing tradition (10:16). The film concludes with the Val St. Lambert logo cut into a glass piece (10:29).

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