SINCE 1953
Sentimental & Fine Art Restoration Service
MUSEUM-GRADE CONSERVATION & RESTORATION EXCELLENCE
Institutional Expertise & Museum Partnerships
For decades, Margaret’s has partnered with prestigious museums and institutional collections to provide exceptional conservation and restoration services. Our team understands the unique requirements of museum environments, collection management protocols, and the ethical considerations inherent in cultural preservation.
Our conservation philosophy prioritizes reversibility, minimal intervention, and thorough documentation. These principles have earned the trust of curators and conservators at leading institutions nationwide.
Conservation Approach
At Margaret’s, we adhere to the highest standards of conservation ethics:
• Minimally Invasive Methodology: We employ the least invasive treatments possible to maintain integrity and authenticity
• Comprehensive Documentation: Detailed condition reports, treatment proposals, and post-treatment documentation
• Reversible Techniques: Our interventions prioritize future retreat ability when possible
• Scientific Analysis: Materials identification and condition assessment using spectroscopic and microscopic examination
• Preventive Conservation: Guidance on environmental controls, housing, and exhibition best practices
Specialized Textile Conservation
As featured in “A Collector’s Curiosity and Challenges” published in Private Air Magazine (interview with costume collector Norman Tipton), our textile conservation department specializes in:
• Historic costumes and couture garments
• Tapestries and ceremonial textiles
• Ethnographic and archaeological textile fragments
• Contemporary fiber art
• Composite objects combining textiles with other materials
TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
Advanced Smoke & Odor Remediation
Our conservation scientists have developed proprietary smoke and odor remediation protocols that preserve delicate textiles’ structural and aesthetic integrity. These techniques address:
• Variable fire temperature exposure scenarios
• Complex chemical contamination
• Moisture and humidity complications
• Material-specific responses to environmental damage
Comprehensive Conservation Laboratory
Our facilities feature:
• Temperature and humidity-controlled workspaces
• Specialized photography equipment for detailed documentation
• Microscopy and analytical capabilities
• Custom-built treatment tables for oversized textiles
• Dedicated spaces for hazardous material handling
• Cold storage capabilities for photographic materials and unstable organics
OUR SPECIALTIES & SERVICES
OBJECTS TYPES
• Decorative Arts
• Ethnographic Objects
• Folk Arts
• Historic Technical Objects
• Dolls
TEXTILES
• Archaeological
• Costume Accessories
• Ethnographic Textiles
• Flat Textile Collection Samples
WOODEN ARTIFACTS
• Frames
• Furniture
MATERIALS
• Feathers
• Fibers
• Gilded Surfaces
• Leather Skin
• Suede
• Wool
• Cashmere
• Lace
• Silk
SERVICES AVAILABLE
• Analysis
• Documentation
• Packing & Shipping
• Pest Removal/Control
• Preventive Conservation
• Storage Design
• Treatment
• Cleaning
• Preservation
• Restoration
• Tailoring
• Reweaving
• Moth Repairs
• Mold Remediation
NOTE: Brand Logos in this book are used for illustrative purposes only and do not signify an endorsement by nor an affiliation with any of the brands listed.
INSTITUTIONAL SERVICES TO MUSEUMS, COLLECTORS
& FOUNDATIONS
Margaret’s is a family-run company spanning seven decades. The Horst family has owned and operated dry cleaning establishments for four generations. Since it is privately-owned and financially independent, the company takes a long-term vision and strategy for its brands, with an ethos of attention to detail in all aspects of its business.
As the nation’s first Five Star Certified Couture Cleaner, our guiding principle is to provide unparalleled quality dry cleaning with an uncompromising commitment to offering every customer the highest standards of outstanding service, experience and value.
Margaret’s caters to garment retailers, museums and historical associations nationwide. We specialize in restoring damaged garments, leathers, fabrics, textiles and handbags. We regularly remove stains, water damage, and mold, and even repair moth holes when others do not have the techniques
needed to achieve the desired results. In addition, we provide complimentary analysis and consultation nationwide regarding unusual issues that can occur and provide expert recommendations on the best solutions.
This enables us to offer additional services as well as providing a reliable cleaning and repair service for all types of high-end and specialty garments and accessories. We can often “rescue” garments that were accidentally damaged during a typical cleaning process. Margaret’s specialties include extensive repairs, refinishing and restoration of costumes and vintage garments.
Below is a link to an interview with Collector, Norman Tipton, that was published in Private Air Luxury Homes Magazine.
(Three of the vintage costumes we serviced for him are on pages 6 to 11 in this booklet.)
“A Collector’s Curiosity and Challenges”
CONSERVATION TEAM CREDENTIALS
Our conservation staff includes specialists with advanced degrees in conservation science, textile conservation, and historical preservation. Team members maintain active affiliations with:
• American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
• International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC)
• International Institute for Conservation (IIC)
• Certified Appraisal Studies in the Fine & Decorative Arts
• Costume Society of America
Comprehensive Institutional Services
• Collection Assessment: Overall and item-specific condition evaluation
• Emergency Response: 24-hour availability for disaster mitigation
• Exhibition Preparation: Conservation treatments for display-ready condition
• Long-term Preservation: Preventive care recommendations and implementation
• White Glove Services: Safe transport of valuable items
Awards & Accolades
• Design Excellence Award in the Sustainability Category, from the Accessories Council 2024
• Retail Textile Cleaning USA, CINET 2024
• Country Award GBPA, CINET 2024
• Award of Excellence, Drycleaning & Laundry Institute
• Best Plant Design, Nationwide Award from Drycleaning & Laundry Institute
Contact for Institutional Inquiries
For museum and institutional inquiries, please get in touch with our Conservation Department directly: Katia Graytok, CMO: katiag@margarets.com
General inquiries: info@margarets.com
Margaret’s Restoration Services: Preserving Cultural Heritage with Scientific Precision & Artistic Sensitivity
VINTAGE COSTUMES
From The Private Lives of Elizabeth & Essex, 1939
Starring Bette Davis
Note the trim shape of the actress...over the intervening years someone had added inches to the size using trims to enlarge the garment. Our primary goal was to repair rips and restore the costume’s original size.
VINTAGE COSTUMES
VINTAGE COSTUMES
From New York, New York 1977
Starring Liza Minnelli & Robert De Niro, Director Martin Scorsese
Liza’s Emerald Green Evening Dress with Draped Skirt. Badly Stained with Damaged Sequined Embroidery
VINTAGE COSTUMES
From New York, New York 1977
Starring Liza Minnelli & Robert De Niro, Director Martin Scorsese
VINTAGE COSTUMES
From The Crusades, 1935
Starring Loretta Young, Directed by
Cecil B. DeMille
Before – Hundreds of seed pearls in several places on the gown were missing. In addition, the fur trim of the cape had been lost.
VINTAGE COSTUMES
From The Crusades 1935
Starring Loretta Young, Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
After Restoration
The seed pearls were meticulously replaced and fur trim was partially recreated due to lack of materials. The restored gown approaches the design intended by Travis Banton, one of the most sought-after Hollywood costume designers of the era.
VINTAGE GARMENTS AND UNIFORMS
A Collection of Revolutionary War Uniforms — Cleaned & Preserved
VINTAGE AND HEIRLOOM APPAREL
Native American Garment
VINTAGE AND HEIRLOOM APPAREL
Cleaning and Restoration of an Ornate Religious Crown.
The gold/tan fabric is elaborately embroidered with religious symbols, including crosses and decorative leaf or branch patterns, which required delicate, least invasive treatments to maintain integrity and authenticity. It has the distinctive rounded dome shape characteristic of headwear, and the embroidery technique and pattern arrangements suggest it’s a historical or ceremonial piece. The style and craftsmanship suggest that has significant religious and cultural importance, perhaps an Orthodox Priest’s Crown.
VINTAGE HANDBAG
Before
After
WATER DAMAGE
VINTAGE VASSAR CLUTCH
VINTAGE PRADA HANDBAG
Replaced handles on a vintage Prada.
CHILDREN’S SHOES
VINTAGE BRIEFCASE
LEATHER CONSERVATION, RESTORATION, & PRESERVATION SERVICES
Today’s institutional leather and suede collections contain delicate, historically significant and irreplaceable items. Margaret’s has developed its Museum-Grade Leather and Suede Conservation Service specifically for the preservation needs of your institution’s fine leather and suede artifacts, archival materials, and exhibition pieces. In addition, we can restore historical items ranging from rare objects to cultural artifacts and collection pieces.
Our Collection Maintenance Service helps preserve your institution’s leather items throughout exhibition periods with specialized hand
cleaning, conditioning and stabilization techniques designed for museum-grade conservation. Our Comprehensive Restoration Service provides thorough cleaning, careful pigment restoration, professional conditioning, and archival-grade preservation treatments for extensively degraded artifacts or when preparing items for long-term storage.
All treated leather or suede artifacts are returned to your institution in our custom archival-quality storage containers with appropriate humidity control systems—an exclusive preservation method developed by Margaret’s specifically for institutional collections.
VINTAGE TIFFANY TRAVEL CLOCK
VINTAGE TRAVEL MIRROR
VINTAGE DOLLS
VINTAGE LACE
SMOKE-DAMAGED DOLLS
SMOKE & ODOR RESTORATION
Smoke and odor restoration of couture garments and accessories is a Margaret’s specialty. Not all restoration jobs are the same. Garment damage that occurs during and after a fire, for example, requires a wide variety of expertise and a diverse range of technologies and equipment. The type of treatment best suited for any single item is influenced by many factors including the fire temperature, the presence of food, plastic, chemical odors and the amount of moisture exposure.
Margaret’s Restoration Service has the nation’s broadest spectrum of cleaning and remediation technologies. In addition specialized experts on staff understand what is needed to assure the best possible results for fine textiles of all types, including leather and suede, window treatments, handbags, shoes, vintage dolls and all fine clothing and accessories.
100-YEAR-OLD GARNET LAMP
Garnets from Lamp, before and after
“Clear” beads from Lamp, before and after
The lamp was completely dismantled, and missing and broken beads were replaced. It was then carefully reconstructed with a similar bead pattern using the newly cleaned garnets and clear beads.
BELOW: the Restored Vintage Lamp
Mildew
Jacket
MUSEUM-GRADE STORAGE & CARE
Since preserving historical textiles and valuable collections require specialized environments, Margaret’s offers dedicated archival storage facilities specifically designed for museums and serious collectors. Our climate-controlled repositories can accommodate collections of any size and scope, including individual garments and textile artifacts.
Our museum-standard positive pressure environmental control systems ensure artifacts remain contamination-free, with precise humidity and temperature regulation tailored to textile conservation requirements.
All facilities feature:
• Archival-quality storage methods meeting institutional standards
• UV-filtered lighting systems to prevent color degradation
• Monitored security systems with 24-hour surveillance
• State-of-the-art fire suppression technology designed for irreplaceable collections
• Comprehensive documentation and cataloging services
For institutions undergoing renovation, collection transfers, or specialized conservation projects, our facilities provide the secure, controlled environment necessary for long-term preservation of historically significant and high-value textile collections.
Climate & Humidity
Controlled Archival
Storage Facilities
Multi-Spectrum inspections check for special cleaning issues
Multiple Cleaning Technologies focus on what the best plan is for a specific garment.
Vapor Treatments include Hydroxyl, Ozone & Vaportec. Facilities are available for all types of items.
