Dona Z. Meilach

Dona Z. Meilach was born in Chicago. She received a degree in philosophy from the University of Chicago. After her children were grown, she resumed her education and received a master's degree in art history from Northwestern University. She began publishing articles about art in magazines and newspapers such as Redbook, The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.

In the early 1970s, she wrote one of the first contemporary books on macramé, Macramé: Creative Design in Knotting. It was very successful, and launched her career as an author. She wrote several more books about macramé, and then branched out to wood furniture, leather, stone sculpture, ethnic jewelry and other subjects. In the 1980s, she wrote some computer and software buying guides. She also wrote cookbooks. Toward the end of her life, she wrote six books about the art of ironwork and blacksmithing.