Featured Projects

A wide variety of textile and mixed media projects represent the breadth of our work. Much of our studio time is devoted to concentrated multi-hour treatments, sometimes over 300 hours per textile, reconstructing shattered silks or frayed flags. These projects are discussed and updated with curators, owners, and designers, to meet visual, aesthetic and structural benchmarks.

The Conservation of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Personal Clothing, 2022-2023

A collection of ‘relics’ belonging to Mother Seton was slated for a new exhibition and museum at the Seton Shrine and Museum in Emmittsburg, MD. A delicate c 1800 cotton voile christening dress, her c 1800 silk satin dancing slippers, her silk woven shawl, and her iconic black linen bonnet. Each was very fragile and thoughtful discussions ensued about permanent display vs limited display of originals and production of facsimiles. In the end, everything was done! To open the new museum, the originals were beautifully displayed. Now they are being switched out, so that replicas are on permanent display and the precious ‘relics’ are stored carefully for the long term.

CFT treatments were extensive – careful re lining of the fragile linen bonnet and silk shawl with a fine new lining; cleaning, numerous repairs, relining, and full slanted display mount for the christening dress; humidification, re shaping, surface cleaning, design and fabrication of non-visible slipper mounts for display, custom storage boxes and supports. CFT is so grateful to work on the personal items of the first American saint, and a remarkable woman and educator.

Portrait of Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton wearing a black bonnet.

Cream colored christening gown mounted on a blue display panel inside a glass museum case.

Cream colored christening gown before treatment, showing discoloration.

Cream colored christening gown after treatment.

Mother Seton's ivory silk slippers with pointed toes and embroidered monograms laid flat on tissue paper with removed stuffing.

Mother Seton's ivory silk slippers displayed upright in a glass museum case.

Mother Seton's ivory silk slippers laid flat in a white open box.

Mother Seton's ivory silk slipper displayed on a white plinth alongside two miniature portrait medallions, a decorative brooch, and a small translucent bottle in a museum installation.

Mother Seton's ivory silk slipper during treatment process.

Reconstruction of Mother Seton's ivory silk slipper during treatment process.

Mother Seton's ivory silk slipper with pointed toes and embroidered monograms.

Mother Seton's pointed cream satin slipper with embroidered monogram.

Deconstruction of Mother Seton's pointed cream satin slipper with embroidered monogram.

Fannie Criss, Turn of 20^th c Dressmaker and Designer on Display at the MET Museum NYC, 2022

In America, An Anthology of Fashion, was a sensational celebration of American couturiers, many not well known, like Fanne Criss Payne. CFT devoted a year++ to conserve a suite of Fannie Criss dresses, belonging to the Valentine Museum in Richmond. The conservation had to address extensive loss, degradation, fragility, and conserve each ensemble so that they not only looked sensationally beautiful and authentic to the original maker, but structurally sound enough for 3-dimensional mannequin display, in period cinematic vignettes.

The conservation of one dress by Kaitlyn Seymour, took over 300 hours. This project was a great source of pride for CFT, knowing that the extensive documentation, research, and hand reconstruction and conservation work shines a light on a significant American modiste.

Two mannequins dressed in early 20th-century formal attire, a cream embroidered gown and a dark suit, are staged in an ornate period room at the Met Museum.

Close-up of a torn historic lace bodice showing structural damage, loose threads, missing fastenings, and areas of discoloration along the neckline and closure.

Close-up of a historic lace bodice after repair.

A mannequin dressed in an early 20th-century white lace gown and decorative hat stands in a museum period room at the Met Museum.

Full view of a historic cream-colored lace skirt with floral motifs, showing areas of discoloration, staining, and structural loss along the hem and panels.

Full view of a historic cream-colored lace skirt laid flat after conservation treatment.

A hand gently lifts the hem of a cream-colored historic dress, revealing the interior lining, stitched seams, and pleated ruffle detail beneath the skirt.

Mannequin dressed in an embroidered historic gown displayed in a period-style interior.

Museum gallery installation featuring mannequins dressed in historic garments at the Met Museum.

Federick Douglass National Historic Site, ‘Cedar Hill’, National Park Service, Washington DC

It was a great privilege to conserve the intimate household textiles and clothing of Frederick Douglass, renowned abolitionist, writer and orator. In the 2000’s the NPS undertook extensive preservation of the house, grounds and collections. CFT treated a wide range of deeply personal objects – his suit, shirt, vest and suspenders, shoes, hankie, gloves, straw hat from Haiti, quilts and woven floor matting. The house, which he purchased in 1878, now a living museum, is much the way he lived in it. View the NPS Frederick Douglass web page.