Blog
Notes from the studio.
Long-form posts about specific projects, treatments, and the occasional thing I learn along the way.
Paper Conservation on YouTube
Earlier this year I collaborated with Masters of Craft to produce a series of films showing some paper conservation treatments. Please take a look. Thank you to my client, who allowed me to be fil...
Part 2: The Conservation of the Naples Bed Hangings from National Trust Mount Stewart, Northern Ireland
Repairing the paper I can't believe it is June already — I have been busy working on the curtains for over six months and have now repaired one of the two curtains, plus the outer and inner valance...
Part 1: The Conservation of the Naples Bed Hangings from National Trust Mount Stewart, Northern Ireland
Please watch the video to see and hear about what I have been up to in the studio the last few months. Work has begun on one of the curtains, removing the bobbinet and the linings to reveal a littl...
A new project — the Naples bed hangings
The conservation of the Naples bed hangings from Mount Stewart, National Trust, Northern Ireland Have a look at this short film of me introducing my current project. Yes — they are made from paper.
Looking after and conserving family documents
The stories told by a First World War soldier's demobilisation paper This interesting piece of paper arrived in the studio in the autumn of 2020: a soldier's demobilisation account belonging to the...
Conserving a Poster
Repairing and lining a poster ready for framing This poster arrived in my studio over the summer all folded up. It dated from the early 1960s and it had belonged to the owner’s grandfather. My clie...
Creases, folds, dents and seagulls
Can you remove creases from contemporary prints? Something that comes into the studio regularly is modern and contemporary prints that have suffered from creases, bashed corners, dents, and handlin...
Emergency recovery after a disaster
What to do in an emergency if you spill something on a work of art on paper Last week I had a phone call from a distressed client who had managed to spill a glass of water over a beloved framed ma...
I'm on BBC Radio Wales
I was interviewed back in the summer for BBC Radio Wales' Science Café, and it was first aired on Tuesday 24 September 2019. You can listen again here. Rachel Howells and I were interviewed at the ...
The Importance of Labels
We have all seen them — but what should we do with them? Label pasted onto the glass of a frame Framer's label pasted onto the backboard of a frame, before treatment I recently worked on a project ...
Skiing and Chinese Scrolls
After excellent skiing in France, 2018 has started very busy. I am now listed on the Conservation Register and starting to get some interesting work through it.
Paper, paper all around — finding the perfect paper for the job
It was a busy week last week. On Thursday I travelled up to London to do three things: view a potential job, visit the British Museum exhibition The Business of Prints, and — most importantly — cho...
Conservation by Design 25th Anniversary Conference — and a sink
I had a brilliant time last week at the Conservation by Design 25th Anniversary Conference celebrations. There was a good mix of talks and the opportunity to visit the factory and see how the produ...
Antiques Roadshow, the experts, and selfies
On Wednesday 6th September I spent most of the day at Cardiff Castle queuing up to meet an expert. I took some of my collection along, even took my A-level project — and shockingly discovered it wa...
It's September and I've got no excuses!
Thanks to ReAct funding I have just completed a Social Media for Business diploma at Pitman Training in Cardiff. My last day was Friday 1st September, and after 27 visits, over 130 hours, and 13 mo...
At the cutting edge of paper
Yes that's me — well that's how I like to think of myself!