Education

1998-2002    University of Rhode Island   Kingston, RI
M.S. Textile, Fashion Merchandising and Design, Textile Conservation Concentration

1993-1997    Baylor University    Waco, TX
B.S. Family and Consumer Sciences, Fashion Design Major

Experience

2003—Present   Private Practice    Dallas, TX
Principal Conservator, Textile Preservation Services of Texas

Private practice providing comprehensive consultation, conservation and installation services of costume and textile related objects for museums, historical societies and private collectors

2003—2006    Dallas Historical Society   Dallas, TX
Visiting Curator of Textiles

Re-house, photograph, assess condition, analyze, update Past Perfect Museum Software, prepare costume and textile items for display, perform conservation treatments on the Dallas Historical Society’s costume and textile collection, and supervision of volunteers within the costume and textile collection

2002-2003    American Textile History Museum  Lowell, MA
Assistant Conservator, Textile Conservation Center

Active in all aspects of a self-supporting regional conservation center. Responsible for the examination and development of written treatment proposals. Assisted with the supervision and training of staff, interns and volunteers during preparation and installation of a costume exhibition at ATHM and numerous other costume and textile conservation projects for outside clients. Assisted with digital project documentation, on-site installation and conservation treatment of various projects

2000—2001    American Textile History Museum  Lowell, MA
Conservation Technician, Textile Conservation Center

Provided technical assistance in the treatment of textiles and costumes, complete photographic, digital and written documentation, construct display, exhibit and storage mounts

1998-2000   University of Rhode Island   Kingston, RI
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Textile Science Laboratory

Set up and supervise weekly laboratory classes, grade lab write-ups and exams

1997—1998   Supreme Court of the United States Washington, DC
Intern, Curator’s Office

Duties included, giving tours and lectures to the public, assisting with the research and design of new exhibit, “High Courts of the World”; and cataloguing of various items found in the Supreme Court Collection

Select

Publications

“Hall of Fame Baseball “Silks” Conserved at TCC”, The Overshot, Newsletter of the American Textile History Museum, Vol. 7, No. 1, Winter 2002, 9.

“The Identification and Removal of Deodorants, Antiperspirants, and Perspiration Stains from White Cotton Fabric.” Primary author with Margaret Ordoñez, paper presented at Strengthening the Bond: Science & Textiles, North American Textile Conservation Conference 2002 in Philadelphia, PA and Winterthur, DE, April 5-6. Published in Strengthening the Bond: Science & Textiles, Preprints, 119-31.

“Conservation of a Submarine Nose Cover” primary author with Steve Finnegan and Susan Wellnitz, The Overshot, Newsletter of the American Textile History Museum, Vol. 7, No. 2, Spring 2002, 4-5.

Select Costume Projects  

April 2005—July 2008
Re-housing costume collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX

January 2007
Assisted with dressing and installation of costumes and accessories for the exhibition, “Balenciaga and His Legacy Haute Couture from the Texas Fashion Collection”, Meadows Museum, Dallas, TX

October—November 2004
Assisted with dressing and installation of costumes and accessories for the exhibition, “Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years, selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum”, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL venue

April 2003—2006
Direct curatorial staff, interns and volunteers at the Dallas Historical Society and complete re-housing, photography, assessing condition, updating PastPerfect Museum Software, preparing items for display, and carrying out conservation treatments on the Dallas Historical Society’s costume and textile collection

September—October 2003
Supervised Textile Conservation Center conservation staff, interns and volunteers on conservation treatments, fabricating custom made mannequins, dressing and installation of costumes and accessories from the American Textile History Museum collection to be included in the exhibit “Reflections: Fashion, Dolls and the Art of Growing Up”, at the American Textile History Museum, Lowell, MA

2001—2002
Conservation of a Tory Officers Uniform Coat, ca 1777, Tory Officers Waistcoat, ca 1775, Man’s Velvet Coat, ca 1784, and a Women’s Hooded Cloak, ca 1750-1780, from the Connecticut Historical Society collection, Hartford, CT, involved custom dyed fabric and threads for extensive treatment of costume items

Select Lecture and Presentations

March 2009
Workshop Lecturer, “Connecting to Collections: Collaborative Conservation,” Texas Association of Museums, El Paso, Texas

March 2008
Workshop Lecturer, “Do You Have a Conservation Query?,” Texas Association of Museums, Galveston, Texas

March 2005
Workshop Lecturer, “Rolled, Flat, Boxed Textiles: Designed for Challenge,” Texas Association of Museums, Dallas, Texas

November 2003
Workshop Lecturer, “Custom Archival Costume Forms: Casting and Carving Methods,” University of Texas at Austin, Textile and Apparel Department, Austin, TX

March 2003
Guest Lecturer: “ The Conservation of Lt. Munson Hoyt’s Tory Officers Uniform”, History Next to the Skin: Topics in American Costume, 1620-1865, Symposium at the Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CT

October 2002
Workshop Assistant and Lecturer, “Costume Mannequins: Innovative Methods For Constructing and Casting Custom Archival Forms,” Textile Conservation Center, American Textile History Museum, Lowell, MA

Office and Committees

July 2004—2008
TSG Webmaster collaborating with volunteer web site committee to create custom web page for the Textile Specialty Group, The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works

May 2002—August 2004
CSA Bookstore Technical Design Assistant, assisting with redesign of Costume Society of America web page

2002—2005
Textile Specialty Group Nominating Committee, The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works

January 1999—June 2000
Elected Vice-President, University of Rhode Island Graduate Student Association

Professional Associations

AIC, American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works

AIC, Textile Specialty Group

AIC, Conservators in Private Practice

WAAC, Western Association for Art Conservation

TAM, Texas Association of Museums