Our Favorite Things: Preservation Supplies Edition

Welcome to our first installment of OUR FAVORITE THINGS.

You get a car! And you get a car! And…

Wait a minute. Sorry, I’m not Oprah (and TBH, cars are NOT one of my favorite things, ever.)

While this blog won’t having you look under your chair for a special gift, à la every talk show in the 90s, hopefully it will give you some good ideas for products to consider while you journey into clothing preservation and beyond.

Our Favorite Things:

1. Document Case with with DuraCoat™ Acrylic Coating
   From Gaylord Archival

   I can’t even tell you how many of Gaylord’s document cases I’ve purchased on the job over the last two decades. I keep one at home for my historic images (have I mentioned that I also teach photo history and preservation classes?) They’re the best for storing small collections of documents and images. The DuraCoat™ coating also keeps out moisture so if you have important documents in your home, this is a must-have.

   (Disclaimer: while I have been a Gaylord customer for 20+ years and do not receive for mentioning them here, they do carry Hangerbee products. So perhaps I’m extra biased.)

    

2. 70″ Acid-Free Muslin Wedding Dress Bag

   From Foster-Stephens, Inc.

   I love these garment bags so much that we will be adding them to our shop soon. I have one hanging in our office and it turns out that they’re really tough to photograph. Ha! But as soon as I get my photographer over here, they’ll be live. Anyway, I am very impressed by the fabric quality and the ample room for dress trains and extra-poofy skirts, and the button-down front makes them the classiest option around.

    

3. Adjustable Four Flap Enclosure

   From Archival Products

   Shop Local! This Des Moines-based business produces beautiful and safe storage solutions for archival materials. I’ve spent a lot of my career working with archives and rare books, and was lucky enough to get my hands on some of these beautiful enclosures. If you have rare books and special documents in your life, be sure to check our these products.

    

4. Andover Figures
   From Museum Textile Services

   Admittedly I’ve never had the chance to use this costume-mounting system (like dress forms or mannikins to the non-museum folks), I’ve been following this company online for years and was very excited when they debuted an affordable, artifact-safe, and downright lovely-looking costume-mounting option.

   If you’re looking to properly mount clothing for display but are finding other options to be cost-prohibitive, be sure to contact the conservators at MTS.

And there you have it! Our first favorites post. What preservation products and services did I forget? Please let us know!