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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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Boston Strong: Part 2

4/11/2014

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By Camille Myers Breeze

On the morning of April 7, 2014, Museum Textile Services staff met on the steps of the Boston Public Library before joining the crowds of visitors and press in attendance for the opening of the exhibit, "Dear Boston: Messages from the Marathon Memorial." During the previous month, we conserved 19 textiles left at the temporary memorial site in Copley Square following the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15th, 2013.
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From left to right: Intern Johanna Myers, Technician Josephine Johnson, Visiting Conservation Assistant Lisa Yeats, and Conservator Cara Jordan.
The press conference began with a speech by Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, who was followed by Massachusetts State Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey. All three spoke about what it was like in Boston immediately following the Marathon bombings, and the great job the first responders did in the ensuing days. New England Museum Association Executive Director Dan Yeager, then came on stage and aptly concluded the press conference by thanking those who had contributed funds and services to the exhibit, including our colleagues Will Twombley of Spokeshave Design, Adam Osgood of Historic New England, Independent Curator Rainey Tisdale, and Independent exhibition curator Anne Starr. 
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New England Museum Association Executive Director Dan Yeager speaking to MTS Director Camille Myers Breeze in the exhibit, "Dear Boston: Messages from the Marathon Memorial."
As we strolled through the exhibit, it was important to remember that this was not your average art opening. Eye witnesses and people who had been injured by the two terrorist bombs strained to see inside the display cases where notes and signs were displayed along side many textile items, such as shirts, baseball caps, and teddy bears. At the center of the room was the exhibit's main feature, a square platform with hundreds of pairs of running shoes stacked in rows, signifying how the running community and the general public had come together following the bombing in support of a city, a community, and our historic Marathon.
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Josephine Johnson and Lisa Yeats did most of the work that Museum Textile Services contributed to this volunteer effort.
In the spirit of the impromptu memorial at which these display items were originally displayed, visitors were invited to leave messages on paper tags and tie them to one of the three trees along one wall of the exhibit hall. This was a powerful way to evoke the outdoor feel of the marathon memorial and allow those of us who didn't make it to Boston in the weeks following the bombings to finally take a moment to say what we were feeling.
"Dear Boston" is joint effort of the Boston City Archives, Boston Art Commission,New England Museum Association, and Boston Public Library. Generous funding was provided by Iron Mountain. For more events marking the first anniversary of the Boston marathon bombings, visit #BostonBetter.


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Boston Strong, Part 1

3/31/2014

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By Camille Myers Breeze

When I was approached in May of 2013 to participate in a voluntary effort to preserve artifacts left at the temporary memorial site in Copley Square following the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15th, I said yes without hesitation. Dan Yeager, Executive Director of the New England Museum Association, facilitated communication among regional museum professionals.
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Image courtesy of fastgreyz.blogspot.com.
The Archives and Records Management Division of the City of Boston Office of the City Clerk oversaw the dismantling and preservation preservation effort for the memorial artifacts. First City Archives staff and volunteer from across the museum spectrum documented and packed artifacts into donated boxes. The boxes were loaded into trucks donated by Polygon Corporation and transported to Polygon's facility in Georgetown, MA, where they were air dried with a dessicant. Next they were fumigated by Historic New England in their anoxic fumigation bubble to eliminate the possibility of insect, mold, and bacterial activity. After fumigation, the artifacts were transported to the Boston City Archives in West Roxbury where staff accessioned the material into the collection and stored in their climate-controlled facility. 
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Image courtesy of USAToday.com.
Our colleague Rainey Tisdale soon took over curatorial responsibilities for the exhibit, "Dear Boston: Messages from the Marathon Memorial," which will be at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square on April 7 through May 11. Memories of the minutes and days following the two explosions, three tragic deaths, and the subsequent manhunt for two suspects, are still vivid. The challenge for this exhibit will be to present the initial emotional response and tell the story of the attack in a way that also reflects hope and strength. 
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Image by Museum Textile Services.
In early March, Museum Textile Services technician Josephine Johnson retrieved a box from City Archives volunteers containing nineteen artifacts from the temporary marathon bombing memorial. Inside the box are hats, shirts, baby onesies, and even a Starbucks apron inscribed with messages and memories of the often-anonymous donors. Over the next three weeks, Josephine and visiting conservation assistant Lisa Yeats, photographed, surface cleaned, humidified, and gently straightened out these artifacts so that they can now be safely preserved and exhibited without their condition detracting from the message they are sending.
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Image by Museum Textile Services.
Over the next few months, numerous memorial efforts will take place across the Boston area to commemorate the events of the marathon bombings and to help continue the healing. For more information, visit BostonBetter.
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2012 NEMA Conference

11/13/2012

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By Camille Myers Breeze

Burlington, Vermont, was the scene of the 2012 New England Museum Association conference, where five MTS staff members, and many former staff, gathered last week.

In the very first session time slot, Camille and Cara joined other conservators in presenting "Condition Reporting Meets Speed Dating." For 90 minutes, attendees traveled from table to table spending 10 minutes learning about condition reporting different artifact types. Our presentation on Condition Reporting Textiles, is available as a short slide show in the Resources section of our web site. 
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Camille visits the University Products booth where Pat Foster and John Dunphy held down the fort.
With our speaking responsibilities out of the way early, we relaxed and took in several sessions on topics as diverse as working with university museums, crafting a collections management policy, and social media marketing (we're way ahead of the curve on that one thanks to Erica Holthausen and Honest Marketing Revolution!)
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Cara and Camille horsed around at Shelburne Farms. There was free cheese, of course.
There was plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the local museums, restaurants and breweries.  ECHO Lake Aquarium was the sight of the opening reception, where we petted star fish and chatted with colleagues. Our newest hire, Operations Manager Andy Grilz, proved to be a huge asset in the trivia game! The following day, Camille and Cara visited Shelburne Farms a 1,400-acre working farm and nonprofit education organization. We learned they also have an inn and restaurant, which is just the excuse we need to return to Burlington in the near future.
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Courtney waiting for a chance to hold the jousting lance.
The most entertaining session we attended was probably "Cats & Dogs Living Together: Exhibit Design as a Collaboration between Educators & Curators," presented by Curator Jeffrey Forgang and Education Director Devon Kurtz of the Higgins Armory Museum. Suffice to say we we're considering a holiday field trip to see their interactive exhibit, Extreme Sports: The Joust.

If you weren't fortunate enough to attend the NEMA conference, you can still access the handouts by downloading the NEMA Conference App from the NEMA website. We hope to see you at the 2013 NEMA conference in Newport, Rhode Island!
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Museum Textile Services, LLC

P.O. Box 5004
Andover, MA 01810
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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
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    • Textile Conservation Basics
    • Textile Stabilization
    • Textile Storage
    • Displaying Historic Costume
    • Displaying Flat Textiles
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