Making Lace after Socialism: Creativity, Gender, and the Politics of the Commons

This article explores the political economy of craft in the context of post-socialist liberalization, with a specific focus on the production of handmade, crochet lace in the village of Koniaków, Southwest Poland. The community, known for producing delicate, floral handmade lace items such as doilies and tablecloths, caused a stir when they introduced a new product: handmade, crocheted thongs ( stringi ). The provocative nature of this new product attracted attention from the Polish and international media, and provoked vigorous debates about authenticity, tradition, and the commercialization of vernacular crafts amongst local lace makers. Focusing on the “boundary work” done by these debates, this article surveys the various ways in which members of Koniaków’s craft community negotiate labor relations, commercial contacts, and institutional support. Emphasizing craft knowledge as a shared resource with social and economic benefits, I approach the production and sale of lace in Koniaków as a process of “commoning,” which involves all manner of collaborative and commercial practices that sustain the professional community. Moreover, I explore the strategies local actors use to navigate tensions between productive and reproductive labor, and examine the role skilled knowledge and capital play out in shaping craft practice in Koniaków. By combining classic feminist work on textile crafts with newer feminist economics, I argue that practices of commoning are vital for the creativity and survival of crafts in a post-socialist context.