CASE STUDY:
Seaside Heights Carousel Museum
An example of one of the design blueprints we created before starting any production. In blue: Postcard wall on top, memorabila displays on the bottom. Exact to the 1/4 inch!
• Historic postcard wall exhibit
Postcard Wall Exhibit
Christopher Vaz, the museum director has collected hundreds of postcards that go back as far as 1900. Rather than mounting the one-of-a-kind originals, we:
• Scanned the collection in high resolution
• Digitally retouched and restore damage
• Mitigated the halftone patterns from printing
• Curated five panels of 50 cards each
• Produced the panels to show each at 1.5x size for easier viewing by the public
The panels are framed large format UV acrylic face mounted prints which are impervious to all normal changes in temperature and environmental conditions attributed to being by the shore
Postcard gallery
Memorabilia Exhibits
The collection included a vast amount of memorabilia.
Everything from newspapers, advertising, maps, matchbooks, patches, pennants, event tickets, certificates, beach badges, emblems, bumper stickers, restaurant menus, hotel and restaurant ads, trains schedules, and tons more. We then:
• Mapped out and designed the spaces on the walls.
• Built the large wall-mounted acrylic boxes.
• Worked through the archives to organize the ephemera, mount and display it to feel like a loose collection.
• Had special acrylic frames made to display key illustrated maps.
• Installed!
The two images above show the gallery walls. The images below show the original materials and working process.
The Hiering Family Gallery Aerial History Exhibit
Working with an extensive archive of Seaside Heights historical and aerial photographs, we:
• Curated and selected the images from the archive.
• Measured and designed the exhibit to within 1/4” maximum error to ensure exactness of production and budget.
• Worked closely with the director to provided concise text and descriptions for viewers.
• Scanned the archive for high resolution large format printing.
• Optimized the small images for large display
• Digitally retouched, restored, and uniformly tinted the images.
• Printed each image onto aluminum which is non warping or oxidizing and unaffected by the weather being so close to the ocean.
• Framed with circa-appropriate white carved frames.
• Installed!
The above two schematics above show our measurement, design and production plan. Below are working photos of the gallery installed.
Sample source material, metal print color tuning, installing the gallery:
Carousel Vintage Art Framing
The original carousel dating back to the early 1900s had eight painted scenes. When the carousel was dismantled years ago, the artwork was put in storage. Four were selected to adorn the new carousel interior.
• We curated the four that worked best together.
• Framing had to be both decorative and withstand environment changes and crowds.
• It was important to use styles and materials that could have been available in that genre.
Prep and production work
Women’s Room
Sometimes the best surprises are in the restrooms. In the women’s room we:
• Sourced vintage black and white beach photos from the early 1900s.
• Digitally retouched, restored, and hand colored each image.
• Added a graphic haltone pattern to simulate the printing styles of the time period.
• Printed each image on a environment proof cleanable vinyl, then mounted them onto aluminum (non warping or oxidizing).
• Cut the images on a CNC router to create fun freeform shapes.
• Installed!
Measurement, design and art plan:
Installation photos
