Overview

Following the career of the Irish lace designer and inspector Emily Anderson (1856-1948), this book traces a network of designers, makers, organizations and institutions involved in the late-19th and early-20th-century Irish lace industry and explores their contemporary relevance. Molly-Claire Gillett maps the Irish lace industry’s connection to stakeholders such as the British Department of Science and Art, the Cork School of Art, The Irish Agricultural Organisation Society and the Irish Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, pairing a close study of patterns and techniques with an investigation of broader issues in design education, philanthropy and women’s professionalization. Concluding with a consideration of contemporary Irish lacemaking – now proudly claimed as an element of Ireland’s intangible cultural heritage – Gillett tells the story of a 20th-century shift in the conception of lace design as ‘art for industry’, and lacemaking as an economic necessity to both practices as expressions of identity, creativity and community-building. Richly illustrated and framed within the narrative of Anderson’s life and career as a woman designer and civil servant during a pivotal moment in Irish history, Irish Lacemaking is an essential resource for students and researchers in craft, women’s history and Irish Studies.

Full Product Details

9781350465510

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Reviews

Extremely persuasive and engaging, carefully crafted to provide us with a dynamic forward movement of the story with extra details interwoven where they further deepen the immersion into the rich world of Irish lace and crochet. * Lynda Fitzwater, Senior Lecturer in Communication and Culture, University for the Creative Arts * A highly original and exciting approach to an unresearched area of textile craft history. * Andrea Peach, Professor of Craft History and Theory, Konstfack University College of Art, Sweden *

Author Information

Molly-Claire Gillet is a Postdoctoral Fellow co-located at the University of Galway, Ireland and Trent University, Canada. She works at the intersection of making, place and pedagogy, researching craft in Irish and Canadian rural women’s organizations.

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