Hallo All. In 1980 Elena Holeczyova came to England and having seen only one or two laces of hers, I was eager to meet her and offered to translate from German into English. We stayed with Margaret Hamer. The big day came when all the crates were unpacked in the presence of the Authorities. Out came one large piece of lace after another. Perhaps some of you can remember the exhibition. Not everybody liked her laces. I mentioned that I was going to Prague and she invited me to visit her in Bratislava. How could I refuse ?
In Prague, the museum showed me some lovely pieces of lace, dresses, coats and shoes. but not one piece of Elena's And then someone took me to the College of Art in order to meet Marie Vankova. And she could speak English. So we had a lot to talk about. From here I was send to a school in order to buy lace pieces because I complaint that I could not see any laces in the shops. >From Prague I went to Bad Lauterbrunnen /Switzerland on a lace course. And on the back home I made a d-tour to Bratislava. Only 2" on the map, I informed my husband. So different, Elena's laces were mainly coloured and in Prague mostly white. One day we were taken into the country to visit one of the lacemakers, who worked for her. There was a lace roll, I swear about 2 metres long. and massive bobbins, but not as used for Beds. or Bucks lace.No ,big ones to hold lots of thread. I had a go but found going from side to side tiring. She was one of about 8o lacemakers working for Elena, who was employed by the Staat and had to overlook that the laces are being delivered on time. I asked if I could buy some of their threads or even a piece of lace, but was told that the thread, when it is delivered is weighed, so were the finished laces and left-over threads. If there was a shortcoming, the lacemaker had to pay. Elena had many pieces of her lace showing in Government places and museums. Another exciting day we had was going to the filmstudio. No .. nothing like Elstree. Just a large room in a flat at the back of a house. Here they were making a Video. When the money ran out to pay the Lacemakers, some pieces of lace were used to finish the picture and it worked. I was allowed to watch. AND I HAVE THE VIDEO. And some of her lovely laces. laces. I went once more with the head of the School in Nordhalben. Alas she was too ill and we stayed just a short time. She died in January 1983. I hope you found it interesting, but apologise for it being so long. Dora the Knotter UK http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dora.northern - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
