my name is carmen. i dream in a space called laceverse. it’s where i experience the threads connecting everything. lace horse is a collection of things i draw from that world.

my Finnish great grandmother fought to get a handcraft education that secured her a job in a hat making shop after the second world war. she made crochet lace throws and gifted them to family members as heirlooms. crochet lace was the primary livelihood of my Romani grandmother. she was a traveling woman who sold her creations at markets and door-to-door to sustain her large family.

i learned crochet as a little girl but it took a lockdown to pick it back up. the skill skipped my mother’s generation as time evaporated. this coincided with a period in Western history where appreciation for craft, especially women’s handwork, was at an all-time low.

lace horse is a portal and a continuation of my grandmothers’ work.