Tag Archives: #pacificnorthwest

Susan’s Antique Crazy Quilt Repair

End of this year I had the pleasure of repairing on our client’s Grandmother’s antique quilt. Pleasure because as I worked on it the imagined original beauty came alive;  pleasure because our client is interested and excited! Our antique quilt … Continue reading

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Dutch Spindleback Ca 1600

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

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Yves Telemak Beaded Voudo Textile: Ezilí Dantor

This beaded sequined textile by Yves Telemak was one of the most delightful projects I have worked on! Intricate folk art, with thousands of sequins and pearls each with a tiny seed bead! And the colors!  Modern art and folk … Continue reading

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Louis XIV Chest, 3, Veneer and Finish

We move now to Veneers and Finish! Previous posts on the Louis XIV chest can be found: 1, Woodworking; and 2, Pest Infestations. Veneer for amendments was created by MPFC ahead of time for the project, as it was thicker … Continue reading

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Louis XIV Chest, 2, Pest Infestations

The chest of drawers is a seventeenth century French Louis XIV, shown above after treatment in its full glory. We continue from the previous post on the Louis XIV Chest, 1, Woodworking. This post covers samples of treatment for pest infestation. … Continue reading

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Textile Conservation: Victorian Tea Cosy, 5, Beading

Continuing from our earlier post on searching for beads… This post, harder repairs. Side “A” had many more difficult repairs. Below is an example of what I shared with our client regarding the worst of her issues on the tea … Continue reading

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Textile Conservation: Victorian Tea Cosy, 4, Beading

I started on the easier side, “B” from the previous post, but now I move to the side that is far more damaged, side “A”. Note: These images are not in chronological order in this post. We will cover some … Continue reading

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Louis XIV Chest, 1, Woodworking

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

Posted in antiques, art, conservation techniques, decorative motifs, Interim Report, painted objects, preservation, process, reparation, restoration techniques, wooden objects | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Flax Wheel

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

Posted in antiques, conservation techniques, decorative motifs, Interim Report, painted furniture, painted objects, preservation, process, reparation, restoration techniques, traditional varnishes, waxes, wooden objects | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Textile Conservation: Victorian Tea Cosy, 3, Beading

Continuing from our earlier post on searching for beads… The cosy has two sides, arbitrarily labeled “A” and “B” for reporting and discussion sake in the report. Some of the areas of the tea cosy have disintegrating linen warp and … Continue reading

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Textile Conservation: Victorian Tea Cosy, 2, Beads

Continuing from our earlier post… The difficulty in finding beads to match vintage beads is astounding! Clients and those creating new works are unaware that every day our commerce is trying to save cash by only stocking what is popular. … Continue reading

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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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A Folding Journal of an MPFC Project

Guest post from Kate’s Art Blog, dkatiepowellart. I don’t enter many competitions, but the Sketching Work competition for the Centre for Transformative Work Design out of Perth AU was easy for me as I sketch our lives and work quite … 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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Throwback Thursday: Backgammon

A military couple had traveled all around the world with this backgammon set. When they retired they finally wanted the worn board restored. Simple in some ways, it had to be accurate and smooth. We excavated the old, conserved the … Continue reading

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Throwback Thursday: Child’s Rocker

This week may be children’s week, as I am posting a throwback to a child’s rocker as well. The mother grew up with this rocker, but had made a new needlepoint for the seat. She wanted the old needlepoint cleaned. … Continue reading

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Heirloom Child’s Chair

The chair came to us through the heiress (hereafter called LB) to the Frank Crowe Mason Monterey Collection. The sweet chair was made by her grandfather… Someone had recovered it, but thankfully the original stuffings were intact! She wanted it … Continue reading

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Textile Conservation: Victorian Beaded Angel Needlepoint

One of the sweetest pieces we ever treated. A widow had several items conserved for the children in the family. This lovely beaded needlepoint had many condition issues: dozens of moth-eaten areas, ripped or broken canvas, a good deal of … Continue reading

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Frances Normandin’s Bell Hanger

Frances Normandin, great-grandmother to our clients, designed and created the needlework bell hanger (ca 1930-1940) as a gift for her 15-year-old son,  Fred Louis Normandin, Jr., or “Bub.”  Fred was named after his father, the first grocer in the Mount … Continue reading

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Planter’s Chair: 8 Showcover

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with upholstery buildup of the inside … Continue reading

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Planter’s Chair: 7, Buildup, Tufted Back and Seat

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with inside back excavation. The inside … Continue reading

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Planter’s Chair: 5, Buildup, Seat

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with frame and finish conservation. Mitchell … Continue reading

Posted in antiques, conservation techniques, decorative motifs, French Furniture, process, restoration techniques, upholstery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Planter’s Chair: 4, Reparation and Finish Work

We are properly conserving a French-made Planter’s Chair, circa 1860. (You can begin here, if you like.) We’ll follow the chair through excavation to the new show-cover. We left off in the last posting with the excavation of the seat. … Continue reading

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Taking Care of Your Antique Quilt

  We are redirecting you to our new and improved article: Antique Quilts: Care and Repair   And further reading on:  Textiles + Quilts + Beaded Objects    ©MPF Conservation.  May be printed for your own use. May be reposted … Continue reading

Posted in CAUTIONS, conservation techniques, mold, reparation, restoration techniques, textiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Quilts as a Microcosm of History

I am sure that more eloquent history writers than I have written on the role of quilts as historical objects.  I want to share my perspective on the single object that we: see the most distress over condition issues, even … Continue reading

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M is for McLoughlin’s Melodeon: A-to-Z Challenge

John McLoughlin was the Father of Oregon, and his history is celebrated at the McLoughlin House in Oregon City. We conserved the Prince & Co. Melodeon he gave to his granddaughter, part of a larger collection housed at his home, … Continue reading

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K is for Ken Ellis’s Embroidered Textile Art: A-to-Z Challenge

We had the pleasure to conserve two pieces of Ken Ellis’ textile art for a private collector: the Shore Family, above, and Elizi Danto, bottom.  It was a simple treatment, to clean as best we could some staining from a … Continue reading

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Marguerite McLoughlin’s Sewing Cabinet Speaks

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

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Beaver Washstand for the McLoughlin House

©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

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