Eliana Tiggelaar

Responsibilities

During my time here at the Textiles and Clothing Museum, I have been responsible for various tasks. One of my main responsibilities is cataloging a large donation we recently reveived, consisting of avant-garde designer garments from the late 80s/90s/00s. To catalog this donation, it is my job to go through each individual garment and analyze the features, construction, and design elements and upload this information to our museum software. Once these items are cataloged, they will be integrated into our full collection and will then be ready for students to use as resources. Another reposnsibility of mine includes doing a full inventory of our vast collection. My co-intern, Taylor Chiappetta, and I work together to accomplish this, as it is a significant task. We are also both responsible for opening and closing our gallery and assisting with climate control. This involves ensuring our storage areas, gallery, and lab are maintained at good temperature and humidity levels to support the conservation of our items. In addition, I have been working to update the website's history page.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment during this internship has been working closely with the large donation we received. I helped prepare for the donation and made sure everything was in order for donation day. On the day of the donation, I got the opportunity to meet the donors and hear the stories behind each item. It was amazing to meet them and learn where they got these garments, where they wore them, and other interesting facts they shared. I was then able to contribute my knowledge of fashion and garment construction to cataloging the garments. The whole process has been such an engaging experience, and I am proud to have been a part of it.

Learning experience

The greatest lesson I have learned from my internship is to be curious and ask questions. By doing this, I have gained insight and firsthand experience into how museums operate and the important tasks involved in the conservation of garments. Staying curious has made it very worthwhile, as every day brings something new to learn. This has also allowed me to build connections with my co-workers and hear about their time in this field.

What advice would you give?

Similar to the greatest lesson I learned from my internship, my advice for future students is to stay curious and try new things. This can open many doors to exciting new opportunities and give one experience across a variety of areas. It helps broaden one's knowledge and perspective, which is very important when discovering oneself and deciding which area interests them the most. It also keeps life interesting!