Spectacular.

Examples of historic styles of eyewear, all silver or silver plate, to be given as a gift in the far east. These presented a number of challenges; how to mount the unusual shapes, how to protect the silver from tarnishing and how to guard against the conditions of high humidity and temperature in their intended home.

The frames were mounted onto a conservation mountboard which passed the Silver Tarnish Test and also included zeolites to absorb atmospheric pollution. They were held in place with thin straps of transparent polyester. The glazing was sealed into the rebate which was then lined with aluminium tape to inhibit offgassed elements from the timber of the frame.The back was lined with a layer of polyester and sealed with aluminium tape to minimise the rate of air exchange and humidity penetration. Anti-oxidation strips were concealed within the frame to assist with tarnish prevention.

Release The Bats.

Another tricky proposition. The bats are signed by all the team members. The triangular backs of the bats and the substantial weight needed some thinking about before we started work on the mounting.

The board that the bats were mounted onto was hand coloured to give an indication of the appearance of a grass pitch. A recess was cut out behind the blade of each bat to accomodate the shape of the verso and which also helped to give support. At the bottom of each bat a small bevelled plinth was constructed from wood and screwed through from the back of the board to take the weight of the bats. This was then lined with acid-free conservation board and hand coloured to match the rest of the backing. A small polyester strap around the handle and another around the blade prevented the bats from falling forward in the frame. Nothing has been glued or screwed to the bats so they can be removed from the frame without damage.

No Sticky Fingers.

A collection of 15 backstage security passes for Rolling Stones tour dates plus 6 plectra.

The brief was that they should be floating above the backboard and that everything should be white. As every laminate was a different size it took a considerable time to line them up into an acceptable grid and the small size of the plectra meant that the supports to raise them had to be tiny if they were to remain concealed. The end result was a very crisp and clean presentation.

Order of the Charter

This handwritten parchment is traditionally folded and tied at the bottom edge with a cord set into a wax seal about 20mm thick.

Framed in a classic natural oak moulding with a flat face and small step and curve detail on both edges of the face and surface mounted onto 'museum cream' mountboard. In order to avoid making any attachments to the document the parchment is held in place with polyester strips and the seal is recessed halfway into the mountboard and held in place behind by pressure from a block of plastazote (an archival cross-linked polyethylene foam - you really wanted to know that, didn't you?). The frame is glazed with an ultra-violet barrier glass to protect the ink from light fading.