Private Practice Series - Camille Myers Breeze
For the fourth edition of our Private Practice Series, we'd like to introduce Camille Myers Breeze who is a who is a freelance textile conservator in the USA.
Name: Camille Myers Breeze
Specialism: Textiles
Employment status: Freelance
Business Name: Museum Textile Services
Location: Andover, Massachusetts, USA
Premises: Yes, I rent two facilities
What inspired you to work in cultural heritage and conservation?
I was an art history student, and I wanted to work in a field where I could both work with my hands and do research and writing. I discovered a textile conservation workshop near my home and the rest is history.
How long have you been in private practice?
26 years.
What have you enjoyed most about being in private practice, what keeps you in it?
I love being a supervisor, mentor, author, instructor, artisan, advocate, and basically anything else I feel like!
What’s your favourite non-conservation skill in your toolkit?
I love to add figures in my head. Honestly, it helps motivate me for all the bidding we do.
What do you think emerging conservators need to know before starting in private practice?
Follow your passion. Cast a wide net and be open for what comes your way. Your talents are not diluted if you want to bridge the gap between conservation and collections management, exhibit design and installation, making reproductions, teaching, or anything else you enjoy.
What do you think is key to making private practice more accessible and attractive as a career choice in conservation?
It is important to pay emerging professionals even a stipend, if an hourly rate isn’t possible for every single job. Starting out can be nearly impossible without a spouse, savings, or a second job, and lots of trust in yourself. I’ve not always been able to do this but it’s never too late to set a higher standard.
Where has been the most unusual place you’ve undertaken conservation?
At an archaeological site/museum in Peru. Not that unusual, I guess.
What do you listen to whilst working?
he voices in my head. And audio books sometimes.
Tell us about a favourite project of yours
I love being the conservator who has (most recently) conserved an artist’s entire body of work. Such as Orra White Hitchcock’s painted fabric “classroom charts” that Megan Creamer presented for me at Icon a few years back. I feel so privileged to have spent more time with the objects and their spirit than anyone alive. It becomes a duty to disseminate my knowledge before it becomes obsolete.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given or would give to others?
Do one income-generating activity every day, regardless of your workload (or lack thereof), mental state, or other responsibilities. That can be drafting up post-treatment reports for things you’ve not finished yet, following up with potential clients, or surface cleaning the next few textiles I’m going to work on. I try not to get too stuck in writing blogs, social media, tidying, or other things that are a bit more removed from billable work.
