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If you’re old enough to remember the internet during the early 2000s, you know that it was a fun time. MS Paint, Internet Explorer, Minesweeper, Neopets, MSN Messenger, and The Sims ruled the digital world, and smartphones with apps weren’t even a thing yet. Tapping into this shared nostalgia, crochet artist Nicole Nikolich (aka Lace in the Moon) creates oversized textile replicas of the era’s defining technologies, from flip phones and Game Boys to chat rooms and Bitmap interfaces.
A millennial herself, Nikolich understands the emotional pull of these early digital experiences. Her soft, hand-crocheted works translate that nostalgia into tactile works of art that capture the comfort and playful curiosity of growing up during the rise of the internet.
Nikolich recently exhibited four large-scale tapestries inspired by iconic computer game screens, including The Sims 2, the Windows Solitaire win screen, Minesweeper, and the Neopets Marketplace. Each piece recreates the pixelated details of these screens in colorful yarn, from familiar characters to nostalgic interface elements. Displayed at the Delaware Contemporary, the Can I Please Eat In The Computer Room Tonight show explored the optimistic, transformative lens through which many preteens experienced technology in the early 2000s.
“This installation is a memorial to this fever dream of a time period where you could only access the internet in a specifically designated computer room, often decorated in brown hues and overstuffed with knickknacks and office supplies,” explains Nikolich. “This space, an escape to another part of your life, often felt like an oasis to explore who you were becoming for the first time without the microscope and confinements of adults and societal expectations. Swapping sandboxes for CD-ROM games and mixed tapes. Inside jokes with friends in chat rooms and staying up until way too late messaging your crush in your own secret language. Taking selfies on the front facing camera and looking at yourself in a slightly different way for the first time. Learning about yourself and the world all from the glow of a little square box in the middle of a little square room.”
Nikolich’s unique craft even caught the attention of Microsoft, who recently asked her to create giant crochet versions of the Windows 95 desktop screen and Windows 11 home screen. The incredible works took around two months to complete, and were brought together to create a double-sided Windows-inspired blanket.
Most recently, Nikolich created a series of crochet cellphones, game consoles, and other retro devices for her first solo show at Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia. Open until March 29, 2026, the exhibition, titled user_history, brings together the artist’s largest body of work to date.
Check out some of the artist’s crochet art below and see even more by following Nicole Nikolich on Instagram.
Crochet artist Nicole Nikolich (aka Lace in the Moon) creates oversized textile replicas of the defining technologies of the early 2000s.
View this post on Instagram
Her soft, nostalgic works capture the comfort and playful curiosity of growing up during the rise of the internet.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
The artist’s work explores the memories of millennials as preteens and teens, and how we all learned about “the world all from the glow of a little square box.”
View this post on Instagram
Nikolich recently exhibited four large-scale tapestries inspired by iconic computer game screens, including The Sims 2.
@lace_in_the_moon where my crocheting sims2 fans at #gamer #crochet #art #tech #simstok @The Sims ♬ The Sims 2 Theme – Mark Mothersbaugh & EA Games Soundtrack
Her work even caught the attention of Microsoft, who asked her to create giant crochet versions of the Windows 95 desktop screen and Windows 11 homescreen.
@lace_in_the_moon The ultimate double sided @windows blanket is almost complete! Stay tuned to see the final piece #windowspartner #windows11 #crochet #windows95 ♬ Windows XP Type Beat – Arcade Era (Beats)
Do you remember this technology?
@lace_in_the_moon nostalgic overload incoming….. a peep at five pieces that show how early tech influenced my creativity (and love of color). the countdown is on, my show USER HISTORY opens in 4 sleeps!!! guys I made 36 pieces idk if ur ready #microsoft #crochet #y2k #mspaint #internet ♬ Matcha Boba – Becomfy
@lace_in_the_moon run don’t walk to go see this all crocheted computer room installation titled Can I Please Eat In The Computer Room Tonight? that is leaving the Delaware contemporary museum at the end of may! lmk what city should host its next viewing :)) #crochet #tech #internet #nostalgia #art ♬ original sound – lace_in_the_moon
@lace_in_the_moon now thats really somethin #art #crochet #fyp ♬ Send My Love (To Your New Lover) – Adele
Nicole Nikolich: Instagram | TikTok
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