Samuel Adams’s Mother Was a Fifield

Back in the early aughts, I was a Collection Care Specialist in Textiles and Fashion Arts (TFA) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. I was working on a National Endowment for the Arts grant to photograph and perform condition … Continue reading

Set Your Shift Sleeves in the Wrong Way? A Runaway Advertisement

Ever get that lovely hand-stitched shift near completion, and then realize: “Crap. I put the shift sleeves in the wrong way.” Out comes the seam ripper and it feels like your best-looking stitches ever are screaming as the blade slices … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday – By the Side of the Road

To sleep in your car – completely American? Or not normal? I was listening to Here’s the Thing, Alec Baldwin’s excellent radio program. I’m not much of a culture vulture for a New York City resident. I live here for … Continue reading

Museum Monday: Developing Staff Resources for Managing Collections

My colleague and friend Rob Waller of Protect Heritage Corp. recently sent me a book he collaborated on in 1996, Developing Staff Resources for Managing Collections. It examines institutional responsibilities to protect its collections through development of staff and how … Continue reading

Wanderlust Wednesday: Tucson

The end of March found my mom and I in southern Arizona. My great uncle Mr. B has a cattle ranch outside of Tucson, where he set up business in 1952 (read a post about the nearby historic site The … Continue reading

Transit Tuesday: Expansion Fantasy Maps – Train Geek Dreaming? Or Driving Force?

I have to ask the question above, because I truly don’t know the answer. I’m not a transportation expert (though sometimes I think I should have become one, rather than a museum professional). I grew up in the country, experienced … Continue reading

Museum Monday: Tyvek Pillows for Object Transport

Never use sad, crumpled up pieces of tissue again for object transport! Switch to Tyvek pillows. While this isn’t a new idea, I assembled at least fifty of these in the last couple of years. I work with ethnographic sculpture, … Continue reading