expensive cleaning for cheap sentimental article?
June 4, 2018 9:40 PM Subscribe
A family member recently gave me an appliquéd wall hanging, which was a gift to him when he was very little from another family member, a very colorful world traveler. The item itself was (at the time) a cheap tourist item, and at >75 years old, is now fairly dingy. I had it evaluated by a textile conservator and the cost to get it cleaned up is approximately 10x the reasonable value of the article. I'm having trouble deciding whether or not to go ahead with the process.
The pros for proceeding: I'd be able to display the hanging, which I personally think is totally charming. I'd preserve the item for the future, assuming at least one of my offspring think it is just as cute. And I'd preserve a tangible link to our very colorful family member, who was one of those people who was never really famous themselves but who keep cropping up in other people's memoirs for one or two reliably vivid scenes. Plus the alternative to getting it cleaned and mounted properly is for me to continue keeping it in a box--I will absolutely not be getting rid of it any time soon, and it seems like kind of a cop-out to just put it in storage and kick the issue down the road.
The cons: Pretty much just the cost. I'd be pulling from general savings and not endangering our budget or emergency fund, but It's about the same as our mortgage payment, and I can't help wondering if I should put the money to better use somehow. Plus the article is not expected to be pristine after being worked on--there are some small stains that are unlikely to come out. The conservation process would be mostly for the purpose of minimizing further damage and getting it to look as good as possible. The item, as I said, has a great deal of charm, but isn't valuable or rare so this would be an entirely sentimental decision.
I should say here that I don't think I could clean it myself--the dyes in the fabrics are largely organic and not stable, and the conservator doesn't think it should be wet-cleaned.
The pros for proceeding: I'd be able to display the hanging, which I personally think is totally charming. I'd preserve the item for the future, assuming at least one of my offspring think it is just as cute. And I'd preserve a tangible link to our very colorful family member, who was one of those people who was never really famous themselves but who keep cropping up in other people's memoirs for one or two reliably vivid scenes. Plus the alternative to getting it cleaned and mounted properly is for me to continue keeping it in a box--I will absolutely not be getting rid of it any time soon, and it seems like kind of a cop-out to just put it in storage and kick the issue down the road.
The cons: Pretty much just the cost. I'd be pulling from general savings and not endangering our budget or emergency fund, but It's about the same as our mortgage payment, and I can't help wondering if I should put the money to better use somehow. Plus the article is not expected to be pristine after being worked on--there are some small stains that are unlikely to come out. The conservation process would be mostly for the purpose of minimizing further damage and getting it to look as good as possible. The item, as I said, has a great deal of charm, but isn't valuable or rare so this would be an entirely sentimental decision.
I should say here that I don't think I could clean it myself--the dyes in the fabrics are largely organic and not stable, and the conservator doesn't think it should be wet-cleaned.
The way to think about this is to ignore the underlying value and ask yourself if you would be willing to pay that much money for a family heirloom. Will it make you happy to see it on the wall and be able to pass it along to children? More happy than say an equivalent amount spent on a family vacation or some other new-to-your-family treasure?
posted by metahawk at 9:56 PM on June 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by metahawk at 9:56 PM on June 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
Can you hold off on doing it to see if you really want to? In 3 months, are you still wanting to do it? Mark a day on your calendar that you’ll decide. Do you noticed you’re anxiously looking forward to that day as it gets closer so you can do it? Or did it become “out of sight, out of mind?”
If the cost is really what bothers you, can you save up to do it? I know you said that you already have the money saved, and you could afford to do it right now. But there’s something about saving specifically for something that makes it more worthwhile for me. If I, say, bring my lunches for a couple months instead of buying out, like I normally might, I feel like that is “free money” and I feel less guilty about spending it on something a little frivolous.
posted by greermahoney at 10:02 PM on June 4, 2018 [15 favorites]
If the cost is really what bothers you, can you save up to do it? I know you said that you already have the money saved, and you could afford to do it right now. But there’s something about saving specifically for something that makes it more worthwhile for me. If I, say, bring my lunches for a couple months instead of buying out, like I normally might, I feel like that is “free money” and I feel less guilty about spending it on something a little frivolous.
posted by greermahoney at 10:02 PM on June 4, 2018 [15 favorites]
Another option is to display it as is, even though it's dingy. It's not the "right" way to preserve textiles for eternity, but OTOH it's survived 75 years without "proper" care.
posted by desuetude at 10:25 PM on June 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by desuetude at 10:25 PM on June 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
Another solid vote for "do it". I'm one of those offspring who has grown up to love many of the interesting funky family heirlooms I've been lucky enough to grow up seeing, and my life and familial connections would be much poorer if the two generations before me hadn't valued these items enough to display them. I think that as people become more mobile and global in our lives it's even more important to pay attention to things like your wall hanging, and I think we'll see a general trend towards valuing that sort of thing more, too. You say that this would cost about as much as a mortgage payment, and that's no joke. But there's something in that comparison - would having this piece on display and safely restored make your home better? More complete, or maybe more fulfilling? Mortgage payments buy the house, but it takes a lot more to make it a home, and that's just as good a use of your time and money.
However, I think you could probably sit on it for a bit. I love the idea above about saving specifically for this restoration, making it kind of a treat you can work towards. I also think that you could ask around and see if other people will quote you different prices. It's true that what you probably need is a pretty darn niche skillset, but the magic of the internet is that you can get in contact with a lot of folks who have that skillset all over pretty easily. I wonder too if there would be a way to currently display it as it is, but safely, like in a UV filter acrylic shadow box, which shouldn't cost so much, and then you can decide later if the full restoration is important to you after you've lived with it for a while.
posted by Mizu at 11:54 PM on June 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
However, I think you could probably sit on it for a bit. I love the idea above about saving specifically for this restoration, making it kind of a treat you can work towards. I also think that you could ask around and see if other people will quote you different prices. It's true that what you probably need is a pretty darn niche skillset, but the magic of the internet is that you can get in contact with a lot of folks who have that skillset all over pretty easily. I wonder too if there would be a way to currently display it as it is, but safely, like in a UV filter acrylic shadow box, which shouldn't cost so much, and then you can decide later if the full restoration is important to you after you've lived with it for a while.
posted by Mizu at 11:54 PM on June 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
Try to put the value of the article out of your mind. The value of it to a stranger has nothing to do with its value to you. Personally, I would do it if I had the money.
posted by FencingGal at 5:12 AM on June 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by FencingGal at 5:12 AM on June 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
The object's "actual" value only matters if you want to sell it, which you don't, so it's fine to think of this in terms of its sentimental value. There's no guarantee that your offspring will share your attachment to this particular object, so I'd focus specifically on its sentimental value to you rather than thinking in terms of future generations. If it's worth a mortgage-payment-equivalent amount to you, go for it.
That said I don't know why the only options are expensive cleaning and preservation, or leaving it in storage. Even if you ultimately decide it's not worth the $$$ to have it professionally restored, you can still dust it off, put it behind some UV glass maybe, embrace its signs of age as part of its charm, and display this object that makes you happy proudly!
posted by ook at 6:13 AM on June 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
That said I don't know why the only options are expensive cleaning and preservation, or leaving it in storage. Even if you ultimately decide it's not worth the $$$ to have it professionally restored, you can still dust it off, put it behind some UV glass maybe, embrace its signs of age as part of its charm, and display this object that makes you happy proudly!
posted by ook at 6:13 AM on June 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I had it evaluated by a textile conservator and the cost to get it cleaned up is approximately 10x the reasonable value of the article.
Have you ever framed a photograph you or someone else in your family has taken? Plenty of people do that, and the cost of framing is well over 10x the reasonable value of an amateur photograph, which has essentially no monetary value.
Which is a sign that this probably isn't the best metric - you're not restoring the hanging because it's an investment piece you are planning on selling. It's an article of sentimental value, and the proper metric is not how much it costs relative to the resale value.
The proper metric is how much it costs relative to how much pleasure you will derive from seeing it every day, how affordable this expense is and how much you would enjoy doing something else with the money.
You say you can afford it. No one else can tell you if you'd be happier spending the money on a fancy dinner or a getaway or a stereo or whatever, but you sure sound to me like someone who will get plenty of joy from this.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 6:18 AM on June 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Have you ever framed a photograph you or someone else in your family has taken? Plenty of people do that, and the cost of framing is well over 10x the reasonable value of an amateur photograph, which has essentially no monetary value.
Which is a sign that this probably isn't the best metric - you're not restoring the hanging because it's an investment piece you are planning on selling. It's an article of sentimental value, and the proper metric is not how much it costs relative to the resale value.
The proper metric is how much it costs relative to how much pleasure you will derive from seeing it every day, how affordable this expense is and how much you would enjoy doing something else with the money.
You say you can afford it. No one else can tell you if you'd be happier spending the money on a fancy dinner or a getaway or a stereo or whatever, but you sure sound to me like someone who will get plenty of joy from this.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 6:18 AM on June 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
I am saving up to spend a lot of money to clean an area rug that I’ve owned for 30 years that was being used for serval years by a family member and then put in storage. I have always loved this rug but it feels unusable in its current condition. So I have put it away for now until I can afford to get it cleaned and then I will use it and love it some more.
I am pretty finicky; some things that have flaws drive me crazy. Will the stain that probably cannot be removed drive you crazy? If not, then spend the money if it will give you joy to see your newly if not 100% perfectly cleaned item. Spending your money this way does not make you shallow nor irresponsible. If you decide to do it, it just makes you someone who knows what you want and who knows what you enjoy.
posted by Bella Donna at 6:46 AM on June 5, 2018
I am pretty finicky; some things that have flaws drive me crazy. Will the stain that probably cannot be removed drive you crazy? If not, then spend the money if it will give you joy to see your newly if not 100% perfectly cleaned item. Spending your money this way does not make you shallow nor irresponsible. If you decide to do it, it just makes you someone who knows what you want and who knows what you enjoy.
posted by Bella Donna at 6:46 AM on June 5, 2018
Get it cleaned if you're also going to have it framed properly to preserve it or however they recommend to display it to & keep it clean. Then it is only a one off expense that will keep something you appear to hold a lot of sentimental value in looking nice. Will it bring you joy every time you look at it? I'm not a big Kondo Mari fan but that sentence seems important here. Will seeing it on display in your house make you happy? Do you know where you want to put it (remember no direct sunlight)? Does it make you feel happy to picture it hanging there in your house on display? Then do it.
If you are doing it out of a sense of obligation, wrap it in some acid free paper in an acid free box stick it on a shelf somewhere & make it someone elses problem when you die.
posted by wwax at 8:18 AM on June 5, 2018
If you are doing it out of a sense of obligation, wrap it in some acid free paper in an acid free box stick it on a shelf somewhere & make it someone elses problem when you die.
posted by wwax at 8:18 AM on June 5, 2018
If it makes you happy and isn't a hardship, you should probably do it, but figure out all your options first. 10x the purchase price to frame/clean something always feels hard to stomach (even when the costs and/or sentimental value totally justify it), and I'm sure there must be some middle ground between super pricey professional restoration and put it back in a box forever.
I'd go back to the conservator and/or get a second opinion, and get a more detailed breakdown of the work that it needs. Would something like UV shielding be enough to halt future deterioration or does it truly need more active intervention? How much would it cost to stabilize the piece but not bother with getting stains (part of the charm, right?) out? Is it sturdy enough to withstand a good commercial dry cleaning? Cleaners that specialize in vintage/couture clothing might have the skills to do a good enough job for far less money than a museum-quality conservation professional. If you only had half the budget, what would the conservator recommend prioritizing?
posted by yeahlikethat at 10:47 AM on June 5, 2018
I'd go back to the conservator and/or get a second opinion, and get a more detailed breakdown of the work that it needs. Would something like UV shielding be enough to halt future deterioration or does it truly need more active intervention? How much would it cost to stabilize the piece but not bother with getting stains (part of the charm, right?) out? Is it sturdy enough to withstand a good commercial dry cleaning? Cleaners that specialize in vintage/couture clothing might have the skills to do a good enough job for far less money than a museum-quality conservation professional. If you only had half the budget, what would the conservator recommend prioritizing?
posted by yeahlikethat at 10:47 AM on June 5, 2018
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posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 9:46 PM on June 4, 2018 [4 favorites]