Looking Back at 2020 and Covid Delays

In hindsight, what we did to cope
during the early days of Covid.

We had to think of ways to reuse items that should be disposable…  It was impossible, for instance, to get gloves.  Most places made you register as a medical facility to purchase.

Mitchell washed disposable gloves in alcohol, so instead of tossing we set them in a bucket, added alcohol, swished them clean and set to dry. We had gloves all over a towel on the the floor in the reception area!

We almost ran out of alcohol, which we use in many things, so took to saving it in glass jars.

We FINALLY got gloves and alcohol for the biz… without either there would be no shellacking!

Hard to explain to the dozen clients we had in line!

We use small and large
canning jars in our business — both for mixing shellac and paints. Jars became impossible to find except on Amazon, and they price gouged at $40-70 for a dozen, as opposed to $14-25… Crazy.

Why the shortage?  Lack of people to make jars? We had to go back to charge clients for jars (a first), which made many grumpy!

This was so on many products.

The second issue was having to find products.  We like to purchase from small vendors, but many did not have product.  Having to find items shortened my work day by several hours… Three hours several times a week equaled shortened billable hours for our clients!

We are happy to be catching up and finally making schedules that we hope to keep!  *Shhhh, don’t tempt the scheduling gods*

I am starting to write regular posts and hope that we never see another year like last year!

It was exhausting.
And I gave thanks for having work, and our health.

 

Written by Kate Powell  ©MPF Conservation.
May be printed for your own use ONLY, not for use on blogs without permission.

About dkatiepowellart

hollywood baby turned beach gurl turned steel&glass city gurl turned cowgurl turned herb gurl turned green city gurl. . . artist writer photographer. . . cat lover but misses our big dogs, gone to heaven. . . buddhist and interested in the study of spiritual traditions. . . foodie, organic, lover of all things mik, partner in conservation business mpfconservation, consummate blogger, making a dream happen, insomniac who is either reading buddhist teachings or not-so-bloody mysteries or autobio journal thangs early in the morning when i can't sleep
This entry was posted in antiques, art, conservation techniques, decorative motifs, Interim Report, painted objects, preservation, process, reparation, restoration techniques, wooden objects and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Looking Back at 2020 and Covid Delays

  1. lois says:

    This was surprising what became in short supply. The price gouging is so aggravating!

  2. Dan Antion says:

    I hope the worst is behind us, Kate. You guys went through an awful time.

Leave a Reply