Semester Long Project: Part 1 – Ideation 1. What is the name of your collection or repository? The Small - Town Institute Textile Conservatory House ( or ST I TC H ) 2. What is the basis or purpose of the collection or repository? What does it contain and how large is it? Get as detailed as possible. T his collection started with the death of a hoarder that resulted in a number of textiles , primarily formal wear from the previous two centuries , and the house being turned over to the town. Some items had handwritten notes or photographs of them being worn but were all placed together in a box without organization. A few local historians were hired to look over the acquisitions and organize them into something of value to the town. This involves determining any res toration work that needs to be performed and piecing together articles with their information if they exist. There are plans to turn the front portion of the house or the lower floor into a museum to display the best - quality pieces. The collection currently numbers a few dozen dresses, another dozen assorted items, and one box of papers and photographs. Although locals have been discussing donating items they have to this collection, it is unlikely to grow past 100 items in total. 3. Where is it located, both in the world and in relation to its institution? It is located in St. Andrew’s, New Brunswick , Canada, and it shares space with its institute in a repurposed historical building. In the future the house will be separated into a museum, a storage area, and a work center , but it still mostly resembles a house interior. 4. Consider the financial resources of the collection. Where does the money to run the archive/collection come from? Who has control and access to the budgets? NOTE: This needs to be fairly realistic. Even the best funded institutions have financial limits an d restrictions. Budget is rather small and dependent on local government who are expecting the museum to later bring in returns. There is enough money to do the necessary refurbishments to the building, but grants will be necessary to bring the storage, wo rk supplies, and display pieces to an archival level. Once it is set up it will likely be maintained by one historian and an assistant and depend on donations to supplement a small government stipend. 5. Imagine that you are in an upper - level position in this archive/collection/repository. Are you a “loan arranger” in charge of all collection activities? Are you the head archivist who manages preservation actions? Are you the leader of a community archive? Do you manage other people? Describe your position and some of your duties. Please also include details of the governing body of your institution (board of directors, department director, CEO, etc) At this time there is a head of the project that is coord inating between two local historians, the local government, and construction workers in the building. In the future it will be just them with possibly a summer intern, although the historians are retired and are likely to volunteer from time to time. Once established, they will take over any possible donations, simple preservation and conservation work, coordinating with any government demands, grant writing , and possibly coordination with any nearby or larger textile collections to circulate pieces. 6. If this fictitious setting is modeled after other collections/repositories, please list them. I was inspired by New Ca naan Museum, Connecticut Semester Long Project: Part 2 – Administration Mission Statement: The Small - Town Institute Textile Conservatory House (or STITCH) is a non - profit institute whose mission is to preserve the history of the town and families that reside therein. Through collections and research, projects and events, the goal is to teach and inform the public of the past and to celebrate it. Collection Policies: Description This institute started with the death of a personal collector that resulted in a number of textiles, primarily formal wear from the previous two centuries, and the house being turned over to the town. Some items had handwritten notes or photographs of the m being worn but were all placed together in a box without organization, although the garments themselves were stored in appropriate boxes the storage room was not controlled. It is in S aint Andrew’s, New Brunswick, Canada, and it shares space with its institute in a repurposed historical building , the house of the former owner T he interior of the house will be adjusted to better suit the needs of the institute although the exterior will be left as is. It is separated into a museum on the ground floor to display the collection on a seasonal rotation , a storage area for the items not on display , and a work center to clean and maintain pieces when they are not up for viewing. A few local historians were hired to look over the acquisitions and organize them into something of value to the town. This involves determining any restoration work that needs to be performed and piecing together articles with their information if they ex ist. There are plans to turn the front portion of the house or the lower floor into a museum to display the best - quality pieces. The collection currently numbers a round a hundred dresses, a dozen assorted items such as belts and shoes , and one box of paper s and photographs. Purpose This collection was left for the town and so is being repurposed into a museum of local history for both the locals and the tourists to enjoy year - round. Each item is researched to provide context of its history and the women who would have worn them , their history and influences on the present day. Collection The origin of the collection is dresses from the mid 1800’s to the modern day, however clear preference was given to the oldest articles that the previous owner had denoted considerable resources to their acquisition and maintenance. All the pieces that have available documentation are local to the town or have some form of local significance, so this is a choice that will be maintained with any future acquisitions. In additi on to the dresses there are a number of mostly textile - based accessories that might be added to in the future but will likely be used only to accentuate certain pieces in the collection while they are on display. Appraisal The focus of this collection is formal dresses from the pre - 1930’s, however there are several pieces from late as the 1970’s but were notably less important to the previous owner. Going forwards the collection has decided to only accept items from after the turn of the 21st century if in exceptional condition, possessing a well - documented local history, is some form of female formal wear. Any piece from the 1920’s or earlier that me ets the req uirements of being of local origin, and women’s formal wear would be accepted regardless of the condition of the piece in question. The decision on what would be accepted or rejected from joining the collection would be decided by a committee th at would meet twice yearly to discuss such things as new acquisitions. The committee would be staffed by those running the museum, and a few community voices. Works Cited “Clothing & Textiles - New Canaan Museum and Historical Society.” New Canaan Museum and Historical Society , 15 Sept. 2024, nchistory.org/clothing - textiles/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024. “Heritage Sites Archives - Town of Saint Andrews.” Town of Saint Andrews , 2018, www.townofsaintandrews.ca/contact - category/attractions/heritage - sites/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024. “The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties - Technical Preservation Services (U.S. National Park Service).” Www.nps.gov , 27 July 2023, www.nps.gov/orgs/1739/secretary - standards - treatment - historic - properties.htm. Elaina Granse Semester Long Project Part 3: Outreach November 23, 2024 Audience To engage with families enjoying their winter break, STITCH will be hosting a family focused event at the house with tours of the historic house, an exhibit of winter dress through the years, with treats for afterwards where all participants can paint their own coco mug with their favorite winter themes. Justification This institute is located in a small resort town that sees a great population boom in the summer months , but during the winter months people are home with their families and children are out of school so there is a need for family activities. With a family - focused event around Christmas , it will draw in people who are looking for something to do while the family is together and free , and also generate interest in the institute during what would otherwise be a very slow time of the year. To interest younger family members, this would be a time to go all out with the festive winter displays , hiring a professional team of decorators Outreach Plan Details The goal of this event will be to increase winter attendance of the institute. By having a large event that is centered on families that are in the town off from work and school , it is hopeful that there will be increased community engagement in a time where it is normally low. This event will also be the start of the seasonal winter display of textiles and clothing in the institute collection. There will be t hree major parts of the even t creation: Advance P lanning , Set U p , and Day Of The planning in advance will involve all members of the institute, selecting what pieces to display during the event and ensuring they are in good condition, and who will take over organizing different aspects such as decoration and the activities The head of the institute will set the budget out of the available funds for such things and will likely authorize the necessary purchases of materials, and any staff overtime , as well as the hiring of a decorations company Another member will organize what personnel will be needed to run things during the event and will oversee enlisting volunteers from their community pool , before passing it onto the head for finalization. Lastly there will be a schedule made for setting up, to ensure all the pieces are set up on display, for the decorators to work around, in the limited time block. One person will also be designated to inform the community of this upcoming event, getting it on the community calendar and newsletter, as well as getting it on any social media the institute has. The event will be one full day the week before Christmas, with condensed set up and take down. Planning and preparation could be done in the month prior, preferably starting before Thank sgiving in case of unexpected surprises, but once items and services are purchased , the institute will close the day prior for full set up of exhibits and activities. After the institute closes the day of the event, the leftover food and crafts will be accounted for , with food either going home with staff, or stored for later donations or in house use. The decorations could stay up for at least a week, if not through New Year to maintain a festive atmosphere and be removed after hours Additional staff will be needed . Because of the number of children this will bring in, there should be one staff member in each public room in case of any incident. There should also be one staff member overseeing the activity with assistance from volunteers to manage the food. To keep costs manageable the institute intends to do as much as possible in house, bulk buying instant coco, marshmallows, cookies, white mugs, paints, brushes, etc. These items will be purchased by the institute and their usage overseen by employees or volunteers. This will hopefully be averaged at 5 dollars per person , for around $1000, with excess items being stored for next year or donated. The decorations will be outsource d to a company that can install them and then take them back down after the season to prevent necessary storage. This will be a large expense to get the decorations professionally done, but it will ensure they look nice, does not require the payment of staff overtime, purchase of items, and their off - season storage , for an additional $1000. (I was not able to get a quote for how much this type of service costs without reaching out to a company so my estimates on this expense are likely off) The measurable outcomes of this plan will be the attendance of the institute and increased public engagement. If this event is successful, the institute should record an increase of winter attendance by at least 1.5x the previous year, hopefully to double the amount. This should amount to 100 - 200 people during the course of the event. Examples https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1xUoS0SoY03O_8w5CBciycshnrUvl_Z9P_IcB4 Q0ow9o/edit?usp=sharing Works Cited Christmas Open House at the Ross Memorial Museum: I’ll be Home for Christmas - Town of Saint Andrews . (2024, November 19). Town of Saint Andrews. https://www.townofsaintandrews.ca/event/christmas - open - house - at - the - ross - memorial - museum - ill - be - home - for - christmas/2024 - 12 - 08/ Dinner dress | British | The Metropolitan Museum of Art . (2015). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/678885 Ensemble | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art . (2024). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/83177 Events & Programs - New Canaan Museum and Historical Society . (2024, June 28). New Canaan Museum and Historical Society. https://nchistory.org/events - and - programs/ Holidays on the Hill (2024, December 5). Minnesota Historical Society. https://www.mnhs.org/events/2910 Opera cloak | American | The Metropolitan Museum of Art . (2024). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/84236 Schiaparelli | Evening coat | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art . (2024). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/156619 Skating ensemble | British | The Metropolitan Museum of Art . (2024). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/84298 Town of Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada - A Seaside Resort Destination . (2024, January 17). Town of Saint Andrews. https://www.townofsaintandrews.ca/visitors/ Winter Solstice - American Swedish Institute . (2024, November 20). American Swedish Institute. https://asimn.org/experience/festivals/winter - solstice/