Jelka Miš (1875-1956) was the founder and the Chief Manager of the Association of Embroiderers of Cavtat (1922-1946). The Association originally known as the Association Bee, assembling several generations of young girls from Cavtat and the Villages of Konavle, was established with the aim to teach them embroidery techniques and patterns, not only typical of Konavle, but also embroideries originating from neighbouring areas.

Jelka Miš was a teacher who dedicated her entire life to collecting examples of folk handicraft. She also collected patterns from original parts of traditional costume by using them in applied embroidery craft. Enchanted with female handicraft, she was an exquisite connoisseur of different embroidery and lace techniques, insisting on precision in the art of elaboration, which resulted in items of high aesthetic value.

Having exhibited the work of the Association at different exhibitions around the world, she contributed immensely to the promotion of women’s folklore handicraft. She posthumously left all her collections to the History Museum of Dubrovnik, which served as a basis for the creation of the Dubrovnik Ethnographical Museum.

Konavle county museum houses a collection of elaborate samples from Jelka Miš, which were embroidered by the members of the Association, all young students who first started to learn about the art of embroidery there.