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NEMA 2015: A Categorical Success

11/12/2015

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All five current staff members from Museum Textile Services made the trip to Portland, Maine, last week for the 97 Annual Conference of the New England Museum Association. A mere 90 minutes north of our studio, the vibrant and historical city of Portland is a favorite summer destination with great restaurants, bustling street life, and many cultural institutions. The unseasonably warm November weather was an added bonus that made our excursions and dinner treks even more memorable.
The conference marked the official launching of Andover Figures, the costume-mounting system developed by MTS Director Camille Myers Breeze and KHG Arts Principal Katrina Herron Gendreau. Our good friend John Dunphy, Vice President of University Products, provided a space at his booth for us to display four manikins, and fielded questions when we weren't there from potential customers. In 2016, University Products will be selling Andover Figures, allowing us to reach a nation-wide market.
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John Dunphy, Vice President of University Products archival supply company, generously shared his booth in the NEMA exhibit hall to allow us to display our Andover Figures.
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Camille's next matter of business was the annual breakfast of the NEMA Independent Museum Professionals group. She and her two co-chairs updated attendees on the group's 2015 projects and enjoyed a tips session from long-time business colleague Marilyn Hoffman of Museum Search and Reference. Camille was delighted to find two new people to join her on the IMP committee for the remainder of her tenure.
The following day, Camille and Kate presented their talk Articulating Bodies: Developing and Disseminating New Tools for Historic Costume Display in Small Museums​ to a standing-room-only crowd. Also participating in the presentation was author and museum archivist Jennifer Emerson, who Camille met while working at the Denison Homestead in Mystic, CT. Jennifer began the meeting in street clothes and allowed her silhouette to be traced onto a board. Later, she returned dressed in a replica 1814 outfit and her silhouette was again traced. 
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As attendees learned about the importance of proper costume display in museums, they began to understand how drastically the human figure is manipulated over time. Jennifer's final appearance was in a replica 1876 ensemble complete with bustle and bonnet. The final tracing made clear that understanding the historical silhouette takes some research but results in much more authentic--and safer--costume display.  ​
Kate and Camille made a selection of reference materials available for conference attendees through the NEMA web site, including a PDF of their Powerpoint presentation and the Resource Guide and Product Sheet from the Andover Figures booklet, which is free with all manikin purchases.

Camille's final responsibility of the 2015 NEMA Conference was a presentation called Speaking Textile Conservation. After colleagues David Dempsey and David Colglazier gave illustrations of condition description terms relating to paintings and objects, Camille showed slides of every term included on the MTS Handout, Textile Conditioning Terms. Her slide show and a series of related handouts are also available through the NEMA Website.
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​We couldn't leave Portland without a meal at Duck Fat, where we enjoyed poutine, roasted Brussels sprouts, smoked meats, seasonal soup, and beer and cider. One of the best things about Portland is that we were all soon home in time to recuperate over the weekend.
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Andover Figures: Custom Museum Forms to Fit your Needs

10/28/2015

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November 1, 2015, marks the official launch of Andover Figures, a new costume-mounting system developed by Museum Textile Services Director Camille Myers breeze and KHG Arts Founder and Principal Katrina Herron Gendreau. 
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Katrina Herron Gendreau and Camille Myers Breeze, co-founders and creators of Andover Figures.
Safe and effective costume mounting is essential to creating a successful exhibition of historic clothing. With every garment being completely unique in size, shape, and construction, we cannot rely on a “one size fits all” solution for displaying period garments. Additionally, the fragile and unique nature of these objects makes collecting, caring for, and exhibiting them one of the most labor- and resource-intensive undertakings in any museum.
In developing the Andover Figures system, our aim has been to meet these concerns as well as to provide accessible training and resources that allow everyone to effectively and more easily care for and share these engaging and unique objects. Our manikins and suspension forms fit juvenile, women’s, and men’s garments. They can be customized for any historical silhouette with easy-to-find, museum-quality materials. You can reuse Andover Figures again and again, making the already-low price an even better investment.
To determine which Andover figure is right for you, answer the following two questions—What type of garment you are displaying? Where are you displaying it?

If you plan on having people view all sides of your garment, the Andover Figures manikin is ideal. Voluminous skirts or other garments with complex shapes need the support of the manikin for proper display. Items such as pants, shorts, and bathing suits should not be displayed on a manikin because we do not recommend making a hole in the garment for a central pole to pass through. 
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Andover Figures manikin M1.
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Andover Figures suspension form S1.

​Andover Figures suspension forms are an excellent choice for exhibiting all types of costume including pants, shorts, and bathing suits. They are shallower than our manikins, but still provide an excellent support. Garments with voluminous skirts or complex three-dimensional shapes are not suitable for suspension forms.​

Every Andover Figure comes with a supply kit containing polyester batting, a sheath, an instructional booklet, and a piece of show fabric to put the finishing touch on the visible neck and shoulder area. Our fabric choices include brown, tan, cream, white, pink, and chartreuse.​

​The Andover Figures instructional booklet is a comprehensive guide to selecting and purchasing Andover Figures, choosing suitable garments for display, establishing the historic silhouette, and padding out the torso, bust, and limbs of your manikin or suspension form. Display considerations, such as lighting, environment, and theft prevention area also addressed. The resource guide contains information about where to buy the supplies mentioned in the booklet. It also contains a list of further readings in costume and textile care, costume history, and costume mounting.  
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Instructional booklet free with every purchase.
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Kate dressing an Andover Figures suspension form.
​Co-founders Kate and Camille understand that many museums need hands-on training sessions for staff and volunteers. We are available to teach your staff and volunteers how to mount garments for display using Andover Figures manikins and suspension forms. We also cover how to choose appropriate garments, reduce surface wrinkles, and perform surface cleaning. 

To learn more about Andover Figures, please visit our website www.andoverfigures.com or contact us at
andoverfigures@gmail.com. Complete measuring and ordering instructions are provided, as are links to the men's and women's order forms. Once you submit an order form, we will contact you and let you know which manikin or suspension form will fit your garment. Andover Figures can be shipped anywhere in the world. Local customers are also welcome to pick their order up to avoid shipping charges.
Visit us at the 2016 NEMA Conference in Portland, ME! Our products will be on display at the University Products booth in the exhibit hall. Kate and Camille will also be presenting a talk entitled, "Articulating Bodies: Developing and Disseminating New Tools for Historic Costume Display in Small Museums" at 3:15 on Thursday, November 5th.
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Museum Textile Services, LLC

P.O. Box 5004
Andover, MA 01810
admin@museumtextiles.com
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978.474.9200
  • About MTS
    • Our Team
    • Contact
    • Client List
    • Press Room
  • Textile Conservation
    • Architectural Interiors
    • Asian Art
    • Ethnographic Textiles
    • Flags & Banners
    • Historic Clothing
    • Quilts and Coverlets
    • Samplers & Embroideries
    • Sports Memorabilia
    • Tapestries
  • Collections Care
    • Vac & Pack
    • Surveys
    • Disaster Response
  • Education
    • LL
    • Porto
    • C3 >
      • C3 readings
    • HPRH
    • Becoming a Textile Conservator
  • Resources
    • MTS Magazine
    • Textile Conservation Basics
    • Textile Stabilization
    • Textile Storage
    • Displaying Historic Costume
    • Displaying Flat Textiles
    • Museum Pests
    • Disaster Response
    • Advanced Topics
    • Class Readings
    • Staff Publications
    • Resources in Spanish
    • MTS Videos and Slide Shows
  • Blog
  • Andover Figures™
    • Our Mission
    • The Andover Figures System
    • Choosing a Form
    • Purchasing Andover Figures
    • AF Contact Form