Did You Know There is a Brooklyn Lace Guild?

It’s always fun to learn about an organization right in our own backyard, that most of us probably know nothing about. Did you know that there is a Brooklyn Lace Guild?

The members of this group meet at the Old Stone House in Park Slope, creating intricate lace pieces using both 3D-printed and traditional wooden bobbins. Co-founded in 2016 by Devon Thein, Elena Kanagy-Loux, and Kaelyn Garcia, the guild has grown to 70 members of all ages and genders.

The guild welcomes antique lace collectors, history enthusiasts, textile artists, and beginners. Kanagy-Loux, a historian and PhD student, notes a “renaissance of interest” in lace-making, particularly among younger members.

Despite machine-made lace replicating some aspects of handmade lace, guild members value the craft for its uniquely human qualities and community building aspects. Kanagy-Loux emphasizes the technical brilliance of historical lace-makers, comparing their intricate work to circuit boards.

New York has a significant lace-making history, including Carolina Amari’s establishment of a needlelace industry for Italian immigrants on the Lower East Side in the late 19th century, Puerto Rican Mundillo artists, and Jewish immigrant lace businesses.

The Brooklyn Lace Guild continues to preserve these techniques, with members serving as both craftspeople and historians of this traditional art form. Find out more about this interesting organization, preserving history while using modern techniques as a nod to the future.