Volume 25 · Number 3 · Spring 2008
Dirty Work and Dream Jobs: Nora Cary
(Photo: Karin Higgins/UC Davis)
Senior in textiles from Winters
Job: intern with the design department’s collection of rare and historic textiles from around the world
The tiny gold threads on a 200-year-old Chinese badge had broken away from their silk backing, and the decorative emblem — which had once adorned the court robes of a Qing dynasty civil servant — was threatening to fall to pieces. But needle, thread and Nora Cary’s careful stitching are now preserving the valuable embroidered piece. “I was initially afraid to touch it and worried about my stitches appearing on the back. I had no idea that the textiles could be modified, but Adele [collection curator Adele Zhang] explained that it is more important that we make them stable — to preserve them as much as we can.” That is a primary goal of this collection of more than 5,000 fabric, clothing and costume pieces that date from the 1500s to the present. The two-fold purpose of the collection is to protect the items and make them available to students who are studying everything from design and construction methods to history and culture. Portions of the collection are also occasionally put on public display in the Design Museum and elsewhere. “I didn’t realize I would get to work so closely with the textiles,” says Cary, who not only repairs pieces but also sews acquisition labels into newly acquired items, wraps them in tissue, stores them in acid-free boxes and places them on shelves in climate-controlled storage areas.
Wings of darkness: “It’s so frightening to open up a box and see a moth fly out. They can do so much damage.” To prevent such catastrophe, Cary has learned how to freeze the pieces to kill pests and carefully vacuum them to remove all traces of vermin before they are stored.
The hardest part: “Leaving every day.” Not only does the job mesh well with Cary’s interest in textiles and her plans to one day work in a textile curatorial position, but it appeals to her love of all things ancient. “I love wearing old clothes. I love old music. I love ancient, beautiful things,” she says. “I love thinking about the people who have worn these, about who they were and about their lives.”
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