In many ways, working as an Assistant Conservator in the Textile department at the Heritage Conservation Centre is like a dream come true for me. The job is always interesting and we constantly get to work on different types of textiles from very elaborate and elegant Chinese Opera costumes to intricate hand-sewn carpets done by craftspeople from the villages in India.

Our work is normally done in teams and it’s also great that we don’t have to be deskbound all day as there is quite a bit of hands-on work when carrying out textile conservation.

In textile conservation, we perform both preventive and interventive treatments. Preventive treatments would include surface cleaning by vacuuming and proper storage such as using acid – free materials. Interventive conservation involves humidification. For this, water is introduced in a controlled manner to reduce creases and folds. We rarely use heat as it is detrimental to fibers.