Thursday, July 28, 2011

Document Restoration with Vacuum Freeze Drying

Because items such as important and sensitive documents, books, heirlooms and other keepsakes are often of great value, the ability to preserve or restore them should be of utmost concern to insurance providers. In many cases they can mean just as much to the insured as the damage to the structures and premises themselves. In some cases they can mean even more.


Thunder Restoration uses state-of-the-art technology in our equipment to effectively and efficiently preserve water damaged documents and valuable keepsakes. It is their vacuum freeze-drying capability that helps sets them apart from other restoration companies in the industry.




About The Freeze Dry Process
The freeze-drying process is basically defined as a process where ice is transformed from a solid state to a gaseous state - then recollected as a solid without returning to liquid form. The concept was put to use effectively during World War II by the U.S. Government to store human plasma. Later, the freeze-drying process was introduced to the food and drug industries who saw the huge benefits of its preserving qualities. The process has since gained widespread popularity among certain industry segments as a means to preserve and recover valuable documents damaged by water.



Water damaged books and documents may be fully restored with the freeze dry process.


First and foremost, the items to be preserved with freeze-drying are frozen solid. This maintains their integrity, their shape and their form. In this frozen state, they can be stored indefinitely without risk of additional damage. Other drying methods, like vacuum drying, simply don't afford this significant benefit. Drying under vacuum alone takes more time and allows liquid to remain until evaporation. Inks and dyes can still run, stick and stain. Printed pages and other materials can still expand and distort - and rot - where liquid still exists.

Control - freezing items solid stabilizes them until freeze-drying process begins, even at a later date.

Economy - no need to "rush to dry" and incur additional expenses before assessing real damage. And, it's done right the first time.

Prevention - freeze-drying is the performance proven method to virtually eliminate additional damage to items caused by the liquid present during other drying techiques.

Results - water damaged items are preserved as close to their original state as possible in today's restoration technology.



Items which can be restored with Freeze Drying:
Blueprints
Important Business Records
Medical Records
Valuable Artwork
Historical Print Material
Heirlooms and Keepsakes





"How to Evaluate Fine Art & Collectible Claims"


claimsjournal

Claims Journal published "How to evaluate fine art and collectible claims" by Denise Johnson -- which includes quotes by Heather Becker, CEO of The Conservation Center, as well as Colin Quinn, Director of Claims for AXA Art Insurance.

"Adjusting claims involving damage to fine art and collectibles caused by destructive weather, like floods and wildfires, may seem like a daunting task. Not so, says Heather Becker, CEO of The Conservation Center located in Chicago, Ill. Adjusters can use a decision methodology to make the best possible, most cost-effective decisions when it comes to repairing or replacing art and collectibles...."

Read the rest of the article here

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Antiques Dealer Turns 13 Tons of Bakelite into Thriving Business

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Karen Kronimus has been around the antiques business most of her life. But it was a break she stumbled upon 15 years ago that got her business going full throttle. She had the opportunity to acquire the entire leftover stock of a Bakelite factory that was going out of business. Not really knowing what to do with it but not wanting to miss a chance, she acquired 13 tons of Bakelite stock in the form of raw bars and unfinished inventory like dice without the pips and incomplete sets of dominoes and lots of domino blanks.

With her father as an accomplice, she set out to drill correct patterns in the faces of the blank dice and insert colorful beads. She also drilled and painted blank dominoes to complete unfinished sets. On the first weekend she set up at a show to sell her Bakelite inventions, she sold $11,000 worth of dice, dominoes and poker chips. Those items are now part of the inventory she displays at West Palm Beach, along with Bakelite bracelets and other jewelry she and her father make. All of the jewelry is signed by Karen or her father, so as not confuse any of her work with original Bakelite object.

But there is a lot more to Karen’s booth than just Bakelite. She also is a serious postcard collector and dealer with more than 20 boxes of postcards in her booth at any festival. She also has 24 showcases of costume jewelry and a staggering array of buttons, as well as tables with shelves to display glassware and silver. She estimates she displays more than 10,000 individual items in her booth.

And you can’t miss her. Hers is one of the first tables you see when entering the festival. She feels like she has two chances at customers— coming and going.

The next West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is slated for Aug. 6-7 (with two more shows scheduled for Sept. 3-4 and Oct. 1-2. The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is held at the South Florida Fairgrounds located off Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, Fla., 1.5 miles west of the Florida Turnpike and 1 mile east of 441/SR7. For more information call 941.697.7475, e-mail to info [at] wpbaf [dot] com or visit the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival website.

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