Vintage: An act of conservation?

[jamespowers]

One of the WORST things I've seen was at a giant yard sale a couple of years ago. Two ladies in front of me walked up to the seller with a complete set of early 50s dinnerware (I can't remember the pattern). It was pristine and beautiful and I gasped, realizing they were going to get the whole set for three dollars! Then one of the ladies gleefully said, "Oh, we're going to take them home and smash them for mosaics! WHAT!?!?! I can totally understand repurposing broken or unusable items into art ... but to destroy a whole set!?! ... and for 'art' that will likely only be appreciated for a couple of years before it's considered 'tacky' and thrown away!

:rage: :rage: :rage: :rage: :rage: Ridiculous. They could have gotten some ugly plates at any thrift store for that! Philistines! :eusa_doh:

 

[Marc Chevalier]

They give the ancient Philistines a bad name!

.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Well technically, making something old into art is still conserving it, in that it isn't going into a landfill. [huh] I'm not necessarily of the school of thought that it's bad per se to take something old apart and make it new. In my brain the jury's still out on that. With a perfectly serviceable piece of clothing though it makes me cringe. Not sure why I'm less horrified by pottery.

Course if it was Eva Zeisel or something I'd probably kill the person doing the smashing.

 

[Lady Day]

True conservation would mean that you are keeping your vintage clothes in hermetically sealed boxes in temperature controlled rooms. Anything less than how the Smithsonian would care for them means that you are slowly destroying them, sadly.

No, that would be historical conservation.

I believe that conservation, in the since it is being used in this thread, is a consciousness of the continued use and value of something past is 'new car smell' phase, and knowing that with regular maintenance and general upkeep, its life can be longer than its built in obsolescence.

LD

 

[jamespowers]

They give the ancient Philistines a bad name!

.

Ok then Spartans!

 

[Viola]

I thought those mosiacs were for cups with chipped lips or solitary saucers with neither a teacup nor a mark to show what the pattern is? MAYBE dollar-store stuff. Not whole sets in good shape. [huh]

That's rather sad.

I saw an artist selling "green" dishware that was old, chipped white porcelain dishes with the chips filled in with gold, rendering them serviceable again. I wasn't going to pay for a set like that, but I thought it was a neat idea.

 

[jamespowers]

I thought those mosiacs were for cups with chipped lips or solitary saucers with neither a teacup nor a mark to show what the pattern is? MAYBE dollar-store stuff. Not whole sets in good shape. [huh]

Yes but we are talking about fools who would make a hood ornament out of this:

:eusa_doh:

 

[Joie DeVive]

No, that would be historical conservation.

I believe that conservation, in the since it is being used in this thread, is a consciousness of the continued use and value of something past is 'new car smell' phase, and knowing that with regular maintenance and general upkeep, its life can be longer than its built in obsolescence.

LD

I think that HJ may have been answering my post where I did say I thought of what I did more as historical conservation than environmental conservation. I certainly don't go to the lengths museums do, but then I haven't come to own anything of such significance or in perfect enough condition to warrant said treatment. And while my form of conservation isn't of a Smithsonian quality, I do expect that the care I take of some of these items will significantly lengthen their lifespan, and that the next generation may get to enjoy some of my pieces.

 

[Lily Powers]

Yes but we are talking about fools who would make a hood ornament out of this:

:eusa_doh:

You mean that's NOT a hood ornament?![huh]

 

[Flivver]

I live in a neighborhood that was built in the 1940s. And because we New Englanders tend to stay put, some of the houses on my street are still owned by the original owners or their kids.

What really sickens me is what usually happens when an elderly neighbor passes away. Within days, the children hire a huge dumpster to throw away their parents' lifetime posessions. Then they either sell the house or move in themselves and completely modernize everything.

It's quite sad, really, in addition to being hugely wasteful.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

No, that would be historical conservation.

I believe that conservation, in the since it is being used in this thread, is a consciousness of the continued use and value of something past is 'new car smell' phase, and knowing that with regular maintenance and general upkeep, its life can be longer than its built in obsolescence.

LD

Oh sure, obviously I understand the difference, but that should never be confused with preservation. By wearing one destroys; it's a sad irony.

 

[Tiller]

Oh sure, obviously I understand the difference, but that should never be confused with preservation. By wearing one destroys; it's a sad irony.

IMO museums/tailors should have a few examples of a certain time period. Besides that though clothing holds no value if it isn't being warn by a person. It may last longer sitting in a box, but it was made and designed to be warn and used, and for me that is it's purpose.

Take care of it? Sure. Fix it up when it needs it? No problem, but for God's sake actually wear it!

 

[jamespowers]

You mean that's NOT a hood ornament?![huh]

lol lol lol lol Riiiiiigght. :kick:

 

[ClaraB]

It may last longer sitting in a box, but it was made and designed to be warn and used, and for me that is it's purpose.

Take care of it? Sure. Fix it up when it needs it? No problem, but for God's sake actually wear it!

Exactly!

 

[jamespowers]

Exactly!

I second that exactly.

 

[Lily Powers]

IMO museums/tailors should have a few examples of a certain time period. Besides that though clothing holds no value if it isn't being warn by a person. It may last longer sitting in a box, but it was made and designed to be warn and used, and for me that is it's purpose.

Take care of it? Sure. Fix it up when it needs it? No problem, but for God's sake actually wear it!

:eusa_clap Better living through wearing vintage! :eusa_clap

 

[Maguire]

I guess this goes with part of my hoarding instinct. For example when a neighbor down the block died, i got his hat and a few other things, but what struck me was two or three awards he recieved when he was a detective in the police, these big plaques which were just going to be tossed away which were displayed prominently in his home when he was alive. While i certainly have no reason to display them or keep them, i did, because to me it seems rather depressing that now that the man is dead, some accomplishment he was proud of simply gets tossed in the garbage without a second thought.

Two of my suits are handed downs that don't fit that well(too large) and aren't suits i'd have ever bought myself, but i kept them and tried to get them fixed as best i could because i thought it made no sense to get rid of fine suits of clothing which we recieved for free when a little bit of work would make them acceptable.

I tend to have that way with regards to everything, a small stain or mark or missing button really shouldn't be a big deal. Hell, i'm sure someone of the lower classes a century ago would have thought twice about wearing something over a small rip or imperfection.

Disposable materials for a disposable culture.

 

[Mojito]

I try to compromise between wearing / conserving according to museum standards. I store my vintage using museum-grade conservation materials and in the best environment I can outside a climate controlled room, and I try to "retire" them before they show signs of significant stress (distressing to friends who want to know if I'll ever wear certain gowns again - I say no, but my niece might one day!).

There's also restoration work that goes into a lot of these pieces - reinforcing problem areas, resewing beads and seams etc. Although every time you wear an outfit you are exposing it to factors such as UV light and body oils and moisture (even if you do try to be very careful, there is almost certainly going to be some degree of "damage", even if it's so slight it seems undetectable), in other ways you can be contributing to its longevity.

 

[LynnLaBlanc]

One of the WORST things I've seen was at a giant yard sale a couple of years ago. Two ladies in front of me walked up to the seller with a complete set of early 50s dinnerware (I can't remember the pattern). It was pristine and beautiful and I gasped, realizing they were going to get the whole set for three dollars! Then one of the ladies gleefully said, "Oh, we're going to take them home and smash them for mosaics! WHAT!?!?! I can totally understand repurposing broken or unusable items into art ... but to destroy a whole set!?! ... and for 'art' that will likely only be appreciated for a couple of years before it's considered 'tacky' and thrown away!

ahh! I can't believe that. Why would anyone, ever do such a thing? My mom collects vintage china and I can't imagine ever smashing up her collection for something as useless as mosaics.
I would have offered to buy it off them somehow, someway. Did you manage to talk them out of it?

 

[jamespowers]

I am really peeved and this sort of fits into this conservation subject. I bought a set of six figurines from the 40s from a seller on eBay. They were pretty cool and two were a really nice pair. When I got the box via USPS my heart sank. It was obvious fromt he sound the box made when I lifted it that the contents were a mess. I opened it and they were. :rage: :rage: :rage:
Here I was trying to preserve a few figurines in my collection to maybe pass onto my children and the USPS made them into a pile of sand! :eusa_doh: It just burns me to no end because they cannot be replaced for what I paid for them---even if I could find them again. :rage:
I emailed the seller with my disappointment showing I suppose---calling them absolute idiots for breaking such cool figurines. She responded back and we corresponded for a bit. She had them since she was 19 and that was 42 years ago! So not only did they break my fabulous find, they broke her treasure that she had saved to pass on to another generation. :eusa_doh: :rage:
It all makes me so mad when things like this happen when you have good intentions but things get in the way.