Emerging Conservation Professional
Fashion Archives Internship
Maryland Historical Society
Baltimore, MD
After obtaining my BA from the University of Delaware, I headed to Baltimore, MD for the summer of 2019 to complete a graduate level internship in the Fashion Archives of the Maryland Historical Society. The aim of the internship was to rediscover the historic fashions hidden away in the non-ideal storage conditions of the historic Enoch Pratt House, survey their condition, and then process and rehouse them in the main collections storage area. Throughout the summer, the other interns (AnnaLivia McCarthy, Emily McCort) and I participated in workshops in fashion history, collections management, and textile conservation led by our supervisor, Research Associate of the Fashion Archives Emily Bach. Additionally, I performed social media outreach through weekly blog posts, and conducted an independent research project on the archival storage of furs in the collection, which had previously remained untouched. This experience was incredibly educational and enjoyable, and certainly informed my future career in museums and conservation.
My duties included:
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Surveying the condition of individual historic garments
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Vacuuming and mechanical cleaning of historic costumes
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Padding costumes with acid-free tissue and storing in blueboard boxes
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Write weekly blog posts to educate the public on our project and the institution's collections
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Conduct an independent research project and present findings at a public lecture
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Assist with the preparation and installation of the exhibition, Spectrum of Fashion: Celebrating Maryland's Style
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Attend workshops on fashion history, collections management, and textile conservation.
Some of the skills I learned/improved here include:
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Historic costume handling
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Condition reporting
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Mechanical cleaning of historic textiles
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Preparing custom mounts for non-standard garments and accessories
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Hand-sewing
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Conserving losses in historic textiles, including reweaving and patch-placing
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Exhibition installation
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Dating historic garments
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Social media outreach
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Fashion-historical and object-based research
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Public speaking and presentation skills
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Time-management
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Working closely with a small group
Below are links to blog posts I wrote throughout the summer which have been published on the MdHS Fashion Archives blog online. I also gave a public lecture on Blog Post 4, so click the button below to view the recording of my presentation.
