Restoring glory
Antique refurbishing contains world of specialists
From a home stuffed with antiques to a solitary prized possession in one room, conserving and restoring furniture, lamps, photos, pictures and fabric treasures is to enter a splintered field of specialists. Every valuable, every antique comes with its own history and its own set of challenges that require an expert to gauge how best to proceed with preserving the essence of the piece while ensuring it can be handed down to succeeding generations.
The work on any type of antique involves intensive hands-on work, drawing on materials that may not be easy to obtain and employing special knowledge. Determining a price to repair or restore an item depends on the work to be done.
“We’re all very specialized. I do textile conservation, anything that has a textile in it. I really do love to do tapestries,” said Sarah Stevens, owner of Zephyr Preservation Studio on Remsen Street and available online at www.zephyrpreservation.com.
When it comes to deciding an antique’s future, the owner must decide what they want.
“Antiques sort of depends on who owns it and what you do with it,” Stevens said. “If you’re a collector for your own personal use you will want to be able to sit on a chair. If you have a chair that’s more wood frame than fabric you would want to start with a furniture conservator before you brought it to me.”
You would go directly to Stevens for work on a christening gown or a coverlet, both recent and current private projects.
“I just did a christening gown. They wanted to get it fixed to use it,” Stevens said.
A framed document such as a baptismal certificate, a letter showing a relative’s handwriting or a photograph requires the touch of a paper conservator. That’s when you might turn to Michele Phillips of the Paper Lab in Troy, whose contact information is available through the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) at www.culturalheritage.org.