Lace for the Lady—and the Gentleman, Too

• Event Date: Friday, April 20, 2007
• Time: 4:00 pm (CDT)
• Location: Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL
• Cost: Free Admissions

• Talk
• Exhibit-Related tag

Karen Thompson, curator, “Why Knot?”

Long before the era of the expensive sports car as a status symbol, a well-to-do man would likely have displayed his wealth with the latest fashion: an elaborate collar of handmade lace. It might have adorned his shining armor when he sat for his portrait or even when he went into battle. It might have been supplemented with lace cuffs and shoe roses made of real gold thread.

In this lecture Karen Thompson will highlight the importance of lace in fashion, economics, and employment. The lives of lace makers, lace dealers and lace consumers will be discussed, as well smuggling and sumptuary laws. Pictures of fashionable noblemen, women and children as well as detailed photos of lace will illustrate the technique and history of lace from the 16th through the 20th centuries.

Karen Thompson studies the techniques of lace as well as its history as it relates to other aspects of people’s lives. She is also an accomplished lace maker and lace-making teacher who has served as a consultant for the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. White House.

This event is held in conjunction with the Campbell Gallery exhibit “Why Knot?” The exhibit is co-sponsored by the Champaign-Urbana Spinners and Weavers Guild and the Spurlock Museum Guild. It is sponsored in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency