Did you miss Ask a Conservator Day this year? Ask a Conservator Day is in remembrance of the flooding of Florence on November 4th, 1966, which damaged priceless cultural heritage. The social media campaign inspires conservators around the world to engage with each other to exchange knowledge and celebrate the growth of the field. Check […]
Student Projects: Part I of III
Due to COVID physical distancing we are unable to host conservation interns at this time. I thought I would continue looking into the way-back machine to share the work of previous interns. Most conservation programs require students to fulfill a placement with an established conservator mentor as part of their curriculum. In 2006, a student […]
Bows for Beaux
From time to time, the BSM hosts interns from conservation programs looking for practical experience. In the early 2010s, when visiting a colleague working at the textile conservation lab at the Costume Institute, MET, in New York City, I was introduced to an emerging conservator from Colombia, South America. She expressed interest in visiting Toronto […]
Best Foot Forward
This man’s shoe was acquired by the BSM in 1983. The upper is made of a light blue silk brocade woven with a multi-colour floral pattern interspersed with metallic silver threads. The heel is covered with fine pink leather. The quarters, the back sides of the shoe, have tabs extending over the vamp that are […]
Empress For A Day: Korean Bridal Crown
This is a continuation of my previous blog: describing conservation treatments for the BSM exhibition The Perfect Pair. The exhibition design featured a ceiling height multi-tiered wedding cake in the centre of the gallery and each tier functioned as display cases containing white wedding shoes. Around the perimeter of the room were large showcases designed […]
Best Foot Forward: Dressing for a Special Day
These shoes were worn by Mary Evelyn Nichol (nee Griffin) to her wedding on September 18, 1929. In 1997 her daughter donated them to the BSM along with the wedding dress and other accessories worn for this very special occasion. These cream silk satin pumps have a high heel and feature a beaded butterfly attached […]
Japanese Footgear
In 1998 the BSM was contacted by the Japanese Footwear Museum (JFM), located in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. They wanted to establish a relationship to exchange footwear for exhibitions. The JFM borrowed 25 pairs of shoes ranging from the 1670s to the 1860s, including sports figures and notable people, for its exhibition Fascinating Shoes. In […]
Preparing for an Outgoing Loan: Part II
A previous conservation blog (April 18, 2021) discussed cleaning beadwork and infilling holes in the textile components on a pair of Tlingit moccasins. These Innu moccasins are also part of the next loan to the National Gallery of Canada (NGC). The damage on this particular pair was more significant: both collars were missing. Replacing them […]
Caring for Your Vintage Shoes
People frequently ask for advice on how to care for their vintage shoes at home. As a conservator, I’m reluctant to make recommendations sight unseen. Footwear is made of so many different materials and suggesting a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution is impossible. Conditions can vary greatly which informs how best to care for them. Leather can exhibit […]
Preparing for an Outgoing Loan
The BSM has had an ongoing loan project with the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, for more than 15 years. It’s a great opportunity to showcase the collection in a world renowned institution that receives thousands of international visitors every year, COVID-19 lockdowns aside! The next loan includes 9 pairs of moccasins, 1 pair of […]