Miriam Milgram

Balkan Headdress Tying and Lore

Interested in textiles from an early age, Miriam has made numerous research trips to the Balkans, including those for her Master’s Thesis and a Fulbright research grant to study dowries in Bulgaria. She has worked with Eastern European textiles at the Smithsonian (both as an intern at the Division of Textiles and as a Graduate Fellow in the Division of Community Life) and as guest curator at the Tamburitzan National Folk Arts Center in Pittsburgh. Her central interest is in the cultural implications and meanings to the makers and users of ethnographic textiles. Miriam practices most of the techniques that she studies, including fiber preparation, spinning, weaving, lace making, and embroidery.