Monday, July 09, 2012

Michael Krumme has some additional thoughts brought on by egg crates.

Hi Alan,

I was very glad to see Debbie Tarsitano’s description of using “egg crate” foam as a cushioning material.

Here in “earthquake country,” I have a lot of glass stored in boxes. (Sad, I know, but…) A year or two ago I decided to get rid of my last few cardboard apple boxes that were holding glass, so I bought more plastic interlocking-top storage tubs. Since a lot of the items I had were either heavier serving pieces, or stemware, I decided to find and buy egg crate foam to line both the top and the bottom of the boxes. A friend referred me to an upholstery place here in Los Angeles. Fortunately, they were willing to sell me an odd-shaped remnant for a steep discount. They then used a special saw to cut it into 12″ by 18″ rectangles for me (at no charge — though I certainly tipped the employee!), then bundled them up with string.

I dropped one in the bottom of each plastic tub (flat side of the foam down), filled it with glass items wrapped in bubble pockets, then topped it with another piece (flat side up.) The foam provides cushioning at the bottom of the box, in case the box is dropped. The piece on top helps protect the pieces inside from the weight of the box or boxes stacked on top of it.

I think that this is indeed a very good option for medium to long-term storage for glass in one’s collection, or merchandise between shows.

I also used a thinner sheet of this foam to wrap a Steuben lamp for shipment to one of our members, and it worked like a charm.

Michael
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Michael Krumme
Los Angeles, CA

Gerry Eggert of Rochester, New York was intrigued by David Donaldson’s description of shipping his Chippendale chair.

Alan,

Was David Donaldson’s chair period Chippendale, or Chippendale style? Of course the answer will account for the amount of any damage settlement, and hence the packaging/shipping decision in the first place. Actually, fine antique furniture is much more difficult to move than Steuben glass.

Gerry

Glass restorer, Wayne Montano of Emmett, Idaho tells his toting story and asks an important question on glass repairs.

Hi Alan, Just a small note on our move from So Cal to Idaho. After filling 3 dumpsters full of broken glass and spare parts from 25 years of collecting donor glass, we bought 250 plastic folding lidded totes and 25 cases of various sizes of adult diapers. We loaded the moving truck and when it arrived. When we unloaded it the only breakage were the totes. When they get below freezing, they break like fragile glass. It was 9 degrees when we unloaded the trailer. But not one thing broke. Like one of the collectors stated, when you have no movement in the packing box, there will no room for breakage.

By the way, when can we have a conversation on: it’s ok to restore fine art, it is ok to restore china and porcelain, it is ok to restore furniture, it is ok to restore a car or in Idaho a tractor, but it is not ok to restore glass or crystal? We get asked this question all the time.

So we have a lot of opinions.

Wayne

www.cardersteubenclub.org

2012 Carder Steuben Club annual Symposium will be held at The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY from September 20-22, 2012.

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