Conservation Assistance Day

Do you have a prized family possession you’re not sure how to care for? Or perhaps you’d like to know more about a piece of furniture or some silver you inherited. Two conservators from the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh will be at the Mountain Gateway Museum (MGM) in Old Fort on Saturday, May 18, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to answer questions and offer expert advice about how to preserve family heirlooms and antiques.  

Textile conservator Paige Myers and objects conservator Jennifer French will meet with patrons by appointment, which must be scheduled in advance by calling the museum at 828-668-9259. Appointments are limited to 30 minutes and three items per person. If a patron has both textiles (i.e., clothing, quilts, flags, or anything made of fabric) and objects to be examined, a separate appointment must be made with each conservator.  

Myers and French have more than 50 years of conservation work between them. Myers has spent 30-plus years working with textiles, including clothing, uniforms, quilts, and flags, at the NC Museum of History and the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. She was a professional customur with Raleigh Creative Costumes; is the textile advisor to Hope Plantation in Windsor, NC; and presents textile workshops in North Carolina and throughout the Southeast.

French has 22 years of experience working with collections at the NC Museum of History; the NC Division of Historic Sites; the Cleveland Museum of Art; the National Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian Institution; and the Wiltshire County Council Conservation Centre in Wiltshire, England. She examines and treats archaeological, ethnographic, and historic objects, as well as objects of fine art.

For the safety of the public, the following cannot be brought: objects with live ammunition, unexploded dynamite,, or other armaments; textile or wooden objects with mold, bugs, or pests; or any hazardous chemicals, such as acetone, barium, strychnine or ether. The conservators will not provide estimates of the objects’ value.