Long Thread Podcast: Elena Kanagy-Loux, Lacemaker & Historian (classic)

When you picture lace, what comes to mind: an old-fashioned once-white piece of Victorian embellishment? The elegant, possibly itchy decoration on a wedding gown? If you are a needleworker, you might picture an array of bobbins leashed to a cluster of pins and arrayed on a pillow, or a tatting shuttle, or a steel crochet hook. All of these images would be correct—but capture the tiniest slice of the world’s laces.

As a PhD student, Elena Kanagy-Loux considers lace through the lenses of history, culture, and gender. How have textile artisans around the world developed lace strutures? Who was making lace—and who was wearing it? (For what matter, what is lace, anyway?) Beyond our assumptions about lace are delightful surprises: Wearing lace previously denoted power and wealth rather than femininity. Traditional lace may include a riot of color. Although they look delicate, lace fabrics can be surprisingly durable.

Outside her academic pursuits, Elena takes a more hands-on view of lace. Having studied a variety of methods, she fell in love with bobbin lace, which seemed to click in her mind when she sat down at a lacemaking pillow. Like most of our readers, Elena generally creates lace for her own interest and enjoyment, though she has accepted several notable commissions: a collar presented to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Columbia Law School on the 25th anniversary of her investiture to the Supreme court, and a collar designed for the Threads of Power exhibit at the Bard Graduate Center. In addition to her own work, she teaches extensively, finding an audience of needleworkers eager to learn bobbin lace or improve their skills. She co-founded the Brooklyn Lace Guild, which offers classes as well as a community of lacemakers

Elena often hears from non-makers, “Isn’t that a dying art?” She replies—in her classes, her needlework, and her wardrobe (which often includes lace in her colorful, contemporary style)—“Lacemaking is a thriving art!”

Links

Elena Kanagy-Loux’s website
Find Elena on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok Brooklyn Lace Guild
The International Organization of Lace, Inc. hosts conventions and maintains a list of chapters and events for those interested in learning about lacemaking.
France-based ODIFA, the International Bobbin and Needle Lace Organisation, focuses on lacemaking worldwide.
The Lace Museum offers online and in-person education in addition to its collection in Fremont, California.

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