Category Archives: textiles

Textile Conservation: Victorian Tea Cosy

We have several interesting textile projects in the studio this year, and one of the most challenging is this Victorian Tea Cosy for a private client who has generously allowed the process to be shared. There are five posts to … Continue reading

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Crown Chair, Ca 1955, Los Angeles

The chair was made in Los Angeles, California, by the father of our client. He was an  upholsterer at the Crown Company in downtown lalaland. All the innards were cleaned and restored exactly as they were originally. The new showcover … Continue reading

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Thursday Throwback: A Family of Lawsons Graces the Farm

This is our continuing Throwback series where we post items that were in our studio before we had the blog. Grandpa’s Lawsons are born again for an orchard in Southern Oregon; Grandpa was on hand for delivery day, and even … Continue reading

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Modern Textile Art is Often Not Created for Conservation

One of the biggest challenges in conservation is when the artists were not thinking about their pieces being loved and collected, and eventually, cleaned and conserved, and work in mediums that are experimental (as in the case of early acrylics). … Continue reading

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To the Dogs!

They raise Labrador Retrievers; they want nice furniture; slips are the answer! These slips are made of strong sanded cotton twill with gingham accents peeking out, and a touch of feminine hiding in the back! All easily removed and sent … Continue reading

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Windsor Rocker

A sweet mid-nineteenth century faux bamboo Windsor sported touches of gold paint in the crevices of the “bamboo”. We do not know if it was original or added later. The chair had no breaks, and he joints were quite stable.  … Continue reading

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Washington State Flag, Second Drafts, Silk

We left off with the finished drafts on paper, above. New tracings from our master tracing are created each time so the tracing paper doesn’t wear and the marks are fresh, not fat and sloppy. Silk was primed using Gamblin’s … Continue reading

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American Mahogany Seignouret Chair

The Seignouret chair appears to be an actual Empire striped mahogany “gondola” chair made by Francois Seignouret in Louisiana circa 1830-1850, though it could also be a later version of the signature chair (design attributed to Seignouret) created by Prudent … Continue reading

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Sketching to Communicate with Clients

Does anyone create lovely sketches for their clients anymore? We often create amazing decorative pillows to accompany a conserved item. Kate created design sketches from images and samples, so that we could better talk with our client about ideas for … Continue reading

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