Skip to main content

My Blog is moving




I'm consolidating my blog into my website to create more efficiencies. I would love for you to join me over at my newly designed website: http://www.heathermariewells.com/!

I've got new information about my upcoming online class, Basics of Vintage Photo Care, as well as a number of free download resources.

I'll see you over there!


Popular posts from this blog

Looking Outside the Museum World

Recently at AAM 2009 in Philly I went to a session called "Eye On Design II." The point of the session was to have ten people from the museum world look outside the museum world for inspiration. The concept is not new to me and I think it is important for anyone to look outside their career field for inspiration. Frankly, it's a pretty simple way to keep the creative juices flowing. Until recently I have always looked to the education field for inspiration. I mean after all there are a lot of similarities. Both fields have the goal of instilling knowledge. Both often have inadequate budgets and all to often staffs are not really paid what they are worth. Through several educational podcasts that I listen to I've found teachers are fabulous resources for figuring out how to achieve wonderful things with no budget. But this session at AAM has inspired me to open my eyes even more and search out other fields that can inspire my work in museums.
Read more

No Idea What to Do With It, Yet

  Like a lot of people, I have heirlooms in my collection that I have no idea what to do with. The best example is probably something most people wouldn’t be able to identify by looking at it. It’s the steel toe from a work boot. In fact it’s the steel toe from one of my maternal grandfather’s work boots. My sister has the other one. Grandpa didn’t give them to us. In fact no one in the family gave them to us. My sister built her house on an acre of land next to where my grandparents lived, close to where Grandpa’s work shed had been. Our best guess is that these were from a discarded pair of work boots he wore while working on the railroad. The leather from the boots probably long since decayed leaving the steel toes. The archeologist in me kind of wants to dig around some more and see what else might be found, but I’m not sure my sister would appreciate turning her flower beds into a muddy mess. So in the meantime, I’m going to be using a soft bristle brush to get rid of any loose di
Read more

It’s Ok to Use It

  I’m often asked, “But what should I DO with my family heirloom?”  My response is always, “What do you want to do with it?” At this point people are often taken aback. I think they assume I’m going to tell them to lock it away in storage and never use it again for fear of breaking or damaging it. In some cases, that may be what might be best for the object. You have to consider the condition its in and what your goals are for it. If it is a book in poor condition, but you are hoping your great-grandchildren will get to see it. Then, yes, probably the best thing to do is stabilize it and store it, taking it out occasionally to check on the condition, but to try to manipulate it as little as possible.  Other objects don’t necessarily need to be treated so delicately. For instance, something I chose that belonged to my maternal grandmother was soup bowls. There were only two of them and they aren’t valuable. They're Anchor Hocking from the 1970s. They were her everyday dishes. So why
Read more