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 […]
Documentation Photography, Part 1: The Image Capture Process
In my last blog installment, I announced the start of the 2021 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 was posted, we have been busy capturing images of artefacts in the collection. In this blog and upcoming […]
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 […]
Successful Young Canada Works Project for Bata Shoe Museum
The Bata Shoe Museum’s long-term project to digitally photograph everything in the collection is moving ahead in 2021. Heading the project since 2007, I am so pleased to have two university students join the museum this summer/fall for a 385-hour Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations program, funded in part by the Government of Canada. […]
From the Vault: Lace Up Sneakers
Take a peek into our nearly 15,000 collection with our blog series, From the Vault! Every other week, we share interesting stories about one of our artefacts. What is the provenance of this pair? When did they enter the BSM collection? These low-cut, lace-up sneakers would have been worn for a variety of athletic and […]
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 […]
New Acquisition: Adidas Superstar by Chris Severn
The pair of retro adidas Superstars in original packaging, as customized for the BSM by their original designer, Chris Severn. Photo © Bata Shoe Museum. The Bata Shoe Museum recently received a donation by the pioneer of the adidas Superstar, Chris Severn! The Superstar was developed by Chris, Horst Dassler and a team of people […]
From the Vault: L.P. Perchellet Boots
Take a peek into our 14,000+ collection with our blog series, From the Vault! Every other week, we’re sharing interesting stories about one of our artefacts. What is the provenance of this pair? When did they enter the BSM collection? These pair of boots, along with five other identical pairs, was purchased for the museum […]
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 […]
From the Vault: Ceremonial Shoes
Take a peek into our 14,000+ collection with our blog series, From the Vault! Every other week, we’re sharing interesting stories about one of our artefacts. What is the provenance of this pair? When did they enter the BSM collection? This pair of ceremonial shoes was purchased for the museum by Sonja Bata in Yangon, […]