The Conservator Behind the Curtain
This workshop was presented by Conservators in Private Practice. Because of our diversity and wide range of professional experience, there is always something to be learned from these CIPP workshops. This year’s participants were asked to bring in a “homework assignment” before attending, namely to describe what it is that we do as conservators. Led by Susan Lunas of Many Moons Book Conservation in Eugene, OR, we broke into groups of three to brainstorm about how best to describe ourselves
to a potential new client.
My group included Jill Hari and Matthew Brack, who are both on ten month fellowships at the Straus Center, Harvard Art Museums in Boston, MA. We talked about how to tailor descriptions toward the individual client, and agreed that the first step in contact with new clients is simply listening in order to determine who they are and what they need. Conversely, we can’t just assume the new client knows who we are and what we do.
Five guest speakers gave informal talks on the subject of building a private practice. Scott Haskins and Rick Vogt shared the opinion that marketing through print advertising had been expensive and brought little or no response. Scott is a big advocate for social networking and maintains a blog about conservation projects in his Santa Barbara, CA studio. He also started a website to promote his book, Save Your Stuff.
Rick Vogt, of FC Vogt Co in Richmond, VA, talked about the importance of building company values and local relationships. He stressed presenting ourselves in a
compelling manner, following up after treatment and keeping track of clients. According to Rick, the biggest reason a client leaves is not unhappiness with a treatment, but because the client doesn’t feel “valued.” Rick recommends being sure to complete work on time, have good communication, and remain accessible to our clients.
Jeanne Martinez-Kilgore, a book and paper conservator in New Mexico, shared her experience with volunteerism as both a way to share expertise and to develop a client list. Unfortunately, over time, her volunteer activities escalated to a point where she had to step back and reassess the types of services she could afford to provide at no charge. As noted recently on the CIPP dist list, she recommends presenting short topics to small community groups such as schools or churches as a form of public outreach with a minimal investment of time.
Maria Valentina Sheets shared the story of how her disaster response to an electrical fire at the Biblical Museum in Houston, TX grew into a highly publicised long term angel project for treating the museum’s collection. She eventually created a long range plan for the collection and set up an on site conservation studio which enjoys broad support from the community.
John Crowe calls himself a “successfully recovering conservator.” After a stint in Colonial Williamsburg, he became the Director of the Chipstone Foundation, a private organization in Milwaukee that is dedicated to showing its late founders’ Decorative Arts collection. Under his direction, Chipstone has partnered with the Milwaukee Art Museum in an innovative collaboration. John has also created an online Decorative Arts Library which went digital with 700 visits in 2001 and currently boasts 1.8 million users.
On that note, this technophobe is attempting my first blog…
Daisy Craddock
www.craddockpaintingconservation.com