The museum contacted me. Apparently they sent an email to their membership looking for wedding dresses with interesting stories. Someone on their email list sent them a link to my website (the wedding dress page), and it was exactly what they were looking for! So Karen Herbaugh, the curator, wrote me to ask if I was willing to loan my dress for the exhibit. (She said it was the most interesting story she'd heard about a wedding dress!). I offered her the dress for their permanent collection, and that was that!
Shipping the dress to the museum was interesting - because of its appraised value ($26,800) it had to travel via a fine arts shipper. So I had the dress cleaned and packed by a dry cleaner specializing in wedding dresses, then a second box was built around that, and I wrapped the box in plastic in case it rained. The fine arts shipper picked it up and drove it to the museum.
I am still so thrilled about the whole thing! I gave a talk at the museum today and people came from at least five states! I'm both amazed and honored.
Such a beautiful dress, and an extremely generous donation. Keep track of it for your taxes. And what I really like is that someone with your artistry and skill received well-deserved recognition. Thank you for sharing the story.
Submitted by tien on 
Comments
Tien, That is super cool!!
Tien, That is super cool!! Congratulations on a job well done. The dress and jacket are so beautiful.
Fabulous! Congratulations.
Fabulous! Congratulations.
This is so
great - and the dress is beautiful and the jacket you are wearing is beautiful - How exciting to be in a museum!
Tina
Congratulations!
Congratulations Tien,
Do you mind sharing how this came about? Did the Museum contact you to request the exhibit?
I'd love to hear about the entire process. Although knowing you if I caught up on your blog all the details are probably there!
Hmm I wonder if we could swing by on our trip home this summer?
Cheers,
Erica
Excellent piece of work
Excellent work Tien. You sure are deserving and your pride shines through. Hope you had a great reception, congrats. :)
That is fantastic!
Beautiful. Dress, coat and not the least the jacket you are wearing. The skill and work is inspirering.
Hi Erica, The museum
Hi Erica,
The museum contacted me. Apparently they sent an email to their membership looking for wedding dresses with interesting stories. Someone on their email list sent them a link to my website (the wedding dress page), and it was exactly what they were looking for! So Karen Herbaugh, the curator, wrote me to ask if I was willing to loan my dress for the exhibit. (She said it was the most interesting story she'd heard about a wedding dress!). I offered her the dress for their permanent collection, and that was that!
Shipping the dress to the museum was interesting - because of its appraised value ($26,800) it had to travel via a fine arts shipper. So I had the dress cleaned and packed by a dry cleaner specializing in wedding dresses, then a second box was built around that, and I wrapped the box in plastic in case it rained. The fine arts shipper picked it up and drove it to the museum.
I am still so thrilled about the whole thing! I gave a talk at the museum today and people came from at least five states! I'm both amazed and honored.
Amazing Story~
Hello Tien,
Such a beautiful dress, and an extremely generous donation. Keep track of it for your taxes. And what I really like is that someone with your artistry and skill received well-deserved recognition. Thank you for sharing the story.
Here is the link to the
Here is the link to the museum's exhibit description: http://www.athm.org/exhibitions/current_exhibitions/behind-the-veil-exhibition.php
Beautiful work!
What a beautiful dress ensemble! And the jacket you're wearing is also so beautiful! Thank you for inspiring this weaver who has so much to learn!