Passing on a Keepsake

In previous posts I’ve talked about how I actually use some of my heirlooms or in other cases I wasn’t sure what to do with my heirloom.

Today I want to talk about another way to use an heirloom or a keepsake. I recently found a favorite childhood necklace of mine. You can tell it’s been well loved from the stains and fraying of the ribbon.

Again this is not something that has monetary value, it just has sentimental value to me. I loved ballet as I child. I read every ballet book in my elementary school library. I watched ballet as often as it was on the local PBS station, mostly The Nutcracker at Christmas.

I dreamed of being a prima ballerina, but sadly lessons were never available in my small community. But somehow this necklace always made me feel special. I don’t remember where the necklace came from - the store, who gave it to me, or if it was given to me on a special occasion. But I remember the feeling it gave me every time I wore it - like my dreams were still possible.

My twin daughters are starting to develop an interest in dance and ballerinas in particular. So with this keepsake I’m going to take it apart and make three separate necklaces. One for each of my daughters and one for me. I'm going to be given it to them on their birthday. I'm sure they won't grasp the true specialness of these necklaces this birthday (they'll be four), but hopefully years down the road they will understand.

And I hope the necklaces makes them feel just as special as it made me feel all those years ago.

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.

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

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

Heather Marie Wells

Search This Blog