Our armchair, affectionately known as the “lollipop” chair, was made circa 1880. George Jakob Hunzinger (born 1835 in Tuttingen, Germany), was a progressive designer out of New York who was often influenced in his designs by machinery; their geometry … Continue reading
This continues several posts on the preservation of a lovely Old Wood Mason Monterey Club chair from our client’s family. To see the excavation, go here. To view the finish notes, go here. For the seat buildup, go here. Progress … Continue reading
FRENCH WALNUT COUNTY BUFFET Follow along with our interim report for our client’s French Walnut Country Buffet: Previously, we began with Assessment… Our “before” images are our reference documents! EXCAVATION We removed the doors, and then the top of the … Continue reading
FRENCH WALNUT COUNTY BUFFET Our client’s French Walnut Country Buffet was created in the mid to late 17th century. The finish, likely original, has not been tampered with any modern finish materials… It has a lovely patina that we will … Continue reading
Edit, update from Mitchell: “The chair featured in this article is very old. It was probably well into it’s use at the time Henry Hudson first made his way up the river which became his namesake. It was originally a … Continue reading
The chest of drawers is a seventeenth century French Louis XIV, shown above after treatment in its full glory. The drawers are wide and deep, and one can imagine a wealthy woman having a lovely chest to place long full … Continue reading
This is a family heirloom, a spinning wheel made for spinning flax. Our client inherited the wheel and wanted the small piece broken repaired. It is unlikely that it will be used again, but it has to be strong enough … Continue reading
Our White Patriotic Jumper had repairs to be made on the tail, the tail-to-leg connection, all four legs, and his belly. When these repairs were completed, we could treat surface repairs and finish. The White Patriotic Jumper is a sample … Continue reading
As promised, an explanation of our assessment process, and of course, a horse is so much more interesting than a building part! Terri is a beloved horse from the Jantzen Beach Carousel; locals have fond memories of her! Terri is … Continue reading
We’ve inherited a box of old badly damaged pony legs with butted joinery which have been clad in copper and tin sheeting. The tacking lines along the leading edges of the butt joinery are so badly damaged by the tacking … Continue reading
After what was the best difficult moving days we’ve ever had (go here read about that), the horses and many shields and cresting boards are in our studio, which now has a large room called the “Jantzen Beach Stable”. When … Continue reading
Note: The images all have notations if you scroll through. “You want us to do whaaaat?” “Yes, that’s right, first, this mess has to be cleaned up!” We first arrived to assess the horses, because it starts with the horses, … Continue reading
Damage to traditional shellac varnishes — original varnishes made from shellac, and possibly with additional resins such as dammar, etc. — is often preventable. We see several common and preventable mistakes owners make over and over again. Before stripping, call … Continue reading
We had a call today from a prospective client who restored their récamier or fainting couch six years ago, with someone else. The news was sad. She had taken the piece to a local refinisher to have it refinished. The … Continue reading
by DKP This is a lovely family heirloom, an American Empire Seignouret Chair made in New York. It had a soiled needlepoint seat, a seat that was dropping through, and the frame finish needed treatment and preservation. The chair was … Continue reading
by DKP I am having lots of fun doing slide shows of our previous projects, which are diverse. Here are many Mid-Century Modern and Modern Classic projects from our files since we were liberated from old film cameras to digital … Continue reading
by DKP We had the opportunity to conserve the wonderful Eastlake style sofa-bed by A. Hansen Co., Chicago, Ill., below. Our client restored a Victorian in NE Portland, and this sofa-bed will grace her office. This is the sixth post … Continue reading
by DKP How do you get information on caring for your precious family heirlooms? We are asked how-to care for items frequently, in areas where we have little expertise (photographs, digital information, etc.). However, we know where people can obtain … Continue reading
by DKP We had the opportunity to conserve a wonderful Eastlake style sofa-bed by A. Hansen Co., Chicago, Ill. Our clients have restored a wonderful Victorian in NE Portland, and this sofa-bed will grace her office. This is the second … Continue reading
by DKP We had the opportunity to conserve a wonderful Eastlake style sofa-bed by A. Hansen Co., Chicago, Ill. Our clients have restored a wonderful Victorian in NE Portland, and this sofa-bed will grace her office. It was thought the … Continue reading
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Mitchell and I have slightly different personal tastes, and a good deal of overlap. He loves really old antiques, richly carved wood, ornately upholstered, tasseled, and I like modern furniture, with its sleek lines and rich colors. We both love … Continue reading
MPF Conservation is working to discover the original paint colors for the Hanley Farm exterior and for the foyer, and is assisting SOHS with a plan to preserve the stencils in the parlor. It is a wonderful historical farm with original furnishings, wallpaper, carpets, and accouterments — lovely! I walked the rooms one day snapping pics for fun: below are some wonderful objects. Let’s take a walk! Continue reading
by DKP You fell in LOVE. At the local thrift store, garage sale, or (yes even here) antique store. Antique stores, especially high end stores, should take care of these things or at least warn you, but we are going … Continue reading
Marguerite Wadin McKay McLoughlin was John McLoughlin’s second wife. She was born in 1775 in St. Lawrence, Quebec, to Jean Etienne Wadin and Marie Deguire, a French-Indian mix. She was the widow of Alexander McKay, a member of the Astor party, who died in … Continue reading
I did a search today and found an article about us and the Oregon Caves Chateau on the National Parks blog. It has been there for a few months; not sure how I missed it. It is nice to be … Continue reading
by DKP (Interviewing Mitchell) The first step in upholstery conservation is inspecting all the existing parts previously excavated, and cleaning all reusable parts. One of the things we like about this is that it supports a “green” business, part of … Continue reading
by DKP (Interviewing Mitchell) CATZ owner Sammy zips into the studio for the photo-shots. “O-U-T!” Part 2 finds us excavating the chair, which means to thoughtfully take the chair apart to be repaired with an eye to how it was … Continue reading
©MPF Conservation. May be printed for your own use. May be reposted if our url+copyright is used as reference. When we went to choose chairs for the event I came across this sweet child’s rocker by Heywood Wakefield. I asked … Continue reading
©MPF Conservation. May be printed for your own use. May be reposted if our url+copyright is used as reference. MPFC recently completed treatment of a washstand for the Mcloughlin House in Oregon City which came from the first steamship to sail … Continue reading
Truth be told, we own the business. They bring us the bacon, as they say (really it is chicken), and they complain that our hours are never billable. They don’t take enough breaks, though we constantly remind them by bringing them … Continue reading
©MPF Conservation. May be printed for your own use. May be reposted if our url+copyright is used as reference. Having time for the chairs for the Community Warehouse Auction “the Chair Affair” was a challenge with work and family. I … Continue reading
©MPF Conservation. May be printed for your own use. May be reposted if our url+copyright is used as reference. This is the first year I have participated in the Chair Affair to benefit the Community Warehouse, which benefits many needy … Continue reading
The trend in American conservation is to think of conservation as science. A more balanced truth is conservation is an art that uses science. Infill is one area that proves that theory. Simplistically, one reason infill is performed in a … Continue reading
How does one place value on memories? What do we say when families ask us if a piece is worth repairing? Usually they are trying to justify their expenditure by putting a value on something that will never be sold. … Continue reading
