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. |  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. |
 | 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. 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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