In October this year two heritage-based organisations in St Ives were fortunate to be awarded a training grant of £350 from the Association of Independent Museums (AIM). The grant was awarded for a conservator-led training day about the care of collections, held on 27 November 2024, which was well timed as both organisations are currently going through a period of change and improvement.
This event provided a great opportunity for 30 volunteers from St Ives Archive and St Ives Museum to share a day together on a training topic of mutual interest to both and also to meet socially over a sandwich and cup of tea at lunchtime.
Victoria Stevens, an experienced conservator, led the day with great energy and humour notwithstanding having to start out for St Ives at 4am in the morning. The day was divided into two parts with the topic of handling and cleaning collections in the morning and housing and basic conservation in the afternoon. There was lively debate about managing the environmental conditions for both organisations, especially in granite buildings by the sea. The afternoon session included how to remove adhesive tape from documents which touched on the ethical dilemma of whether it should be removed at all!
Overall the day was judged a great success by those attending and thanks go to AIM and Tregenna Castle Resort Hotel for making it all possible.