On April 5th the Schoenenkwartier’s celebrity shoe exhibition “Put On Your Red Shoes” ended its extended run in the lovely town of Waalwijk in the Netherlands. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the region was historically a leather and shoe production centre, providing footwear to surrounding countries and North America. You can read more […]
Storage Room Project: Part 2
Now that former conservator Ada Hopkins has retired, I am tasked with trying to fill the role that she defined during her time at the Bata Show Museum. For my first Conservation Blog I thought I would update everyone on the Storage Room Project that she wrote about in April 2022. The new storage room […]
Documentation Photography, Part 1: The Image Capture Process
A pair of black leather high top athletic shoes, c. 1920s, photographed in three ways to capture all of their characteristics. In my last blog installment, I announced the 2022 Digital Photography Project that is run with the assistance of the Government of Canada’s Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations employment program. Since that blog […]
Conservation of a Pair of 18th Century Shoes
I am retiring this summer and thought my last conservation treatment should connect to the first one. Thirty-four years ago I was hired to work on the women’s 18th century collection. It was a unique moment, as there was a BSM collection but no exhibition space. Myself and another conservator conserved the footwear that was […]
Summer 2022 Young Canada Works Project at the Bata Shoe Museum
This summer I am joined by Emma Pakstas and Eric Watters, both graduate students in Toronto Metropolitan University’s Photography Preservation and Collections Management program at the Creative School. Their work with me on the Digital Photography Project here at the Bata Shoe Museum is funded in part by the Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations […]
Writing a Condition Report
It’s important to have written and visual documentation on the condition of an artefact. This allows one to keep track of any changes to the materials, particularly for footwear composed of modern materials. Condition reports are written for incoming loans when other institutions and private collectors lend to upcoming exhibitions at the BSM. We also […]
Travels with the BSM: Taiwan
I have had the good fortune to be able to travel as a representative of the BSM to install artefacts or exhibitions in museums around the world. The first trip was to Taipei, Taiwan in June 2001. The Canadian Trade Office (CTO), based in Taipei, contacted Mrs. Bata to see if it would be possible […]
Technology and Design for Speed and Agility
Canada’s champion skater Ralph McCreath in the mid-1940s wearing the newer type of boot and blade. © Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame We are celebrating the official launch of our new virtual exhibition Boots & Blades: The Story of Canadian Figure Skating at bootsandblades.ca. The exhibition is in French and in English and contains information […]
Storage Room Project: Phase 1
Right off the bat, I want to apologize for the quality of the photographs. The room in which we are working has extremely limited lighting, which results in murky images! In February, we removed all the tables that had been used for temporary storage in the future permanent storage room. The first step in retrofitting […]
Storing a Collection of Skates
In 1995, just before the BSM opened to the public, the entire artefact collection was moved from its temporary location to its new permanent home. Previously, space was limited and the entire skate collection was stored in boxes. Now with new shelving and more space, the dilemma was how to safely store these artefacts so […]