Our client writes “This rocking horse was bought by my grandparents for my father and his two brothers in the early 1900s. They lived in Cleveland, Ohio, but the horse was made by the Whitney Reed Company in Massachusetts. My father inherited the horse from his parents, and it was then passed down to me. When I brought it into Trefler’s, the brace, saddle, mane, and paint all needed work after many years of use by young children. I’m so glad that it’s been brought back to its original condition.”

The day that our client brought in the rocking horse, we knew that this would be a neat project. Right away, the client chose the colors with which to refresh the horse: Farrow and Ball colors – Preference Red No. 297 and Turret White No. 2. It was an elegant choice.

An outline of the work was formed, the client approved, and when its time came in the queue, the work commenced.

The horse was secured to the rocker by Bernard, the cracks on the horse were filled, but Sarah left enough irregularity so that the horse might maintain its integrity and character – Sarah used the existing ears, but improved their stability by backing them and patching together the original ears with linen; the goal was to preserve the original and create the missing pieces as closely as possible.

Laura painted the horse in the chosen colors, and then the final touches were in the offing:

We tried to procure a nice mane here in the US, but the result was not satisfactory. Ultimately The Rocking Horse Shop of England was best able to help, with real horse hair.

This was painted in approximately 1900, by our client’s husband’s Swedish great grandfather. He was a ship captain, and was lost at sea in 1910.

The painting had a dark layer of discolored varnish and soot obscuring the surface, and there were some losses in the paint layer, and scratches. The restoration process included a cleaning with a combination of solvent solutions: an isolating varnish of Paraloid B-67 with 2% Tinuvin 292 hindered-amine light stabilizer was brushed over the surface; losses were filled with Flügger and inpainted with pigment ground in Laropal A81 aldehyde resin. A final coat of Paraloid B-67 with Tinuvin was applied.

Most oil paintings have a layer of varnish over their surface which acts as a protector. It also saturates the colors and imparts a glossy finish. Over the years, soot and pollutants absorb into the varnish layer. Old organic varnishes also darken and yellow with age. With time, the varnish has done its job of protecting the paint layer and is ready to be replaced. Cleaning a painting is often the careful removal of this dark varnish. Varnish is a resin and can be dissolved with solutions that do not affect the oil paint underneath, although of course tests must always be performed to determine just the right solution that will be both effective and safe. Once the old varnish is off and the original colors are visible again, a new conservation grade varnish is applied to continue to protect the paint surface for the future.

This client’s Great-Great-Grandfather fought in the Civil War for the Indiana 44th Infantry regiment.  After the war, he attended many of the GAR reunions, acquiring a badge at each one.  After his death, his daughters (both of whom I knew as a child – one as an adult) created the display of badges that you have prepared the shadow box to house.  One of his daughters, the Great-Great-Aunt I knew even as an adult, was an invalid and never married.  Until her death in the late 1970s she received a Civil War pension as a dependent of a veteran – the princely sum of $11 a month!

Our Custom Framing Department designed a display cabinet to specification for this customer’s inherited family heirlooms. The case is made of solid cherry with custom cut detailing and then colored to work with the customers other framed pieces. The hinged door is fronted with Museum Glass to prevent fading and provide visual clarity without reflection. We have concealed a battery powered, remote controlled strip of LED lighting within the frame to illuminate the medals. The design and fabrication of the display case will assure the preservation of these family heirlooms for generations to come.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum contacted us with a very special project. Their Pairpoint Mushroom electric lamp, made in the time somewhere between 1907-1929, was in pieces. The peacock feather design of green and gold, fabricated by Robert M. Gundersen, was broken and the original pieces were no longer available.  After much consideration, our glass artist was able to fabricate the pieces, restoring the lamp to its former glory. In general, with glass repair, the repair will always show, however, this project was nevertheless very successful, in part due to the fact that the glass itself was colorful, textured and opaque.

The lampshade came to the studio in seventeen pieces plus cracks; there were many areas that were missing.

All of the broken pieces were repaired with a 2-part epoxy. The cracks were sealed with a glass sealant. There were large areas that were missing and needed to be fabricated. A silicone mold was made to mimic the shape of the missing areas. The areas were fabricated with a UV cured adhesive that dries clear. These areas were sanded smooth.

All of the fabricated missing areas were colored to match the original color, style, and sheen as closely as possible; pigments suspended in matte lacquer were used.

This beautiful Russian shawl was brought into Trefler’s framing department with a story that spans three generations of women. Over forty years old, this scarf was made in Soviet-era Russia, in the style of Pavlovo Posad, a well known scarf manufacturer in Moscow. This style shawl, ornate with roses and decorative fringe was popularized in the late 19th and early 20th century and often worn tied around the shoulders of women. 

This particular shawl was worn and well loved by the grandmother of our client. A true traveling scarf, it made its way to the United States and became a treasured keepsake of its owner’s granddaughter. To commemorate three generations of women, the scarf was brought to us for a custom frame to be given as a gift to our client’s mother in Florida. 

This keepsake was brought to us for both conservation and custom framing. The goal was to showcase this treasured object, while importantly protecting it from potential damage caused by age, transit and environmental factors. 

When the heirloom shawl arrived at our studio, it was in an extremely fragile condition with loose threading that required immense care when handling. Our conservator carefully stitched and stabilized the textile using conservation mounting and fabric spacers which would create a shadow box effect. The final result would protect the shawl from making contact with the plexiglass enclosure and create a weightless appearance to an otherwise weighty textile. The plexiglass used was chosen in part for its durability in transit, it after all is a traveling scarf, and also for its conservation grade, UV blocking properties. This would ensure that the bold pigments in this beautiful scarf would remain just as bright over time. 

The frame selected is by Larson Juhl and features an elegant gold front with subdued black sides to highlight the detail of this very special keepsake.