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Tips for Packing, Moving Antiques and Art Work

When moving antique furniture or art work you should weigh the benefits of packing yourself or hiring professionals. Doing you own packing will save you money, and can make unpacking easier because you’ll know what’s in each box. However, hiring professionals to pack and unpack your most valued possessions can help to ensure they arrive intact.

Below are some tips for packing your valuable belongings.

 

1.) Get antiques and artwork appraised. Before packing or moving it is important to take inventory and get every piece of value appraised. You can visit the American Society of Appraisers to find a qualified appraiser.

 

2.) Purchase appropriate packing supplies. Don’t skimp on professional moving supplies, such as sturdy boxes of varying sizes, packing tape, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, packing paper, padding, and dark water-resistant markers.

 

3.) Wrap each item individually. Wrap small items with non-printed newspaper. The benefit of unprinted paper is there is no ink to mar the finish. Then use bubble wrap. This will prevent the plasticizer in the bubble wrap from reacting to the paint. Then wrap a second layer of paper before taping.

 

4.) Prepare large pieces for the move. Remove loose shelves. Remove knobs or handles that stick out, and screw them back in on the inside of the piece. Wrap each piece in blankets and secure with packing tape. Keep the tape taught as you wrap it around.

 

5.) Framed artwork should be placed in boxes. After individually wrapping each framed print in non-printed newspaper and/or bubble wrap, tape cardboard around them and place in flat fitted picture boxes.

 

6.) Mirrors or glass need to be protected. Put packing tape across the front of the mirror like an "X" to keep the pieces in place in case the glass breaks. Wrap in bubble wrap or non-printed newsprint with cardboard taped around them. Fill loose spaces with lightly wadded paper or cardboard. Put in a flat picture box.

 

5.) Clearly mark each piece. Make sure to label each piece and box with the words fragile or glass.

6.) Load pieces carefully. Whether you hire a third party to load your portable storage unit or if you do it yourself, make sure to be extra careful when lifting and placing your valuable antiques and artwork.

About the Author

Nicole Dash is the Senior Public Relations and Communications Manager for 1-800-PACK-RAT, the fastest-growing portable storage and moving company with more than 60 company and franchise-owned territories nationwide. The Washington, DC metro-area native began her career as a journalist and editor. She has been published in newspapers, national journals and magazines.

How do I go about selling art work online?

I have been painting for 8 years and been into art for about 13 years. I am now looking to sell some of my work due to lack of space. They are everywhere and I need some extra cash anyways. Does anyone know the best websites to sell art work? I need one that actually works. I have been doing research on it and found out that some get little to no traffic which= no sold artwork. Please let me know if anyone has any ideas. Thanks so much ahead of time.

Some of the following companies allow you to sell your original artwork on their website and get paid!

The other companies allow you to upload high resolution images, while they reproduce the artwork for you. Your art can be reproduced as art prints, canvas art, posters, greeting cards, book, t-shirts, calendars, mugs, tote bags, and more! These companies package and ship the products to your customers. They will pay you when someone buys your products!

Google search the name to find their official website:
1. Artid
2. Artist Rising
3. Artspan
4. Blurb
5. CafePress
6. DeviantArt
7. Ebay
8. Etsy
9. Fine Art America
10. ImageKind
11. Lulu
12. Red Bubble
13. Skreened
14. Zazzle

In order to get sales, you will have to market your artwork. You can't just simply post your art on their website and expect people to find you. There are thousands upon thousands of artwork posted on the internet! Here are a few marketing tips: Watermark your images with your name. Save your images with the title and your name. Put a bumper sticker on your car that includes a picture of your art and contact information. Carry business cards with you all the time and give them to people who might like your art. Mail flyers to art and non-art businesses. Post some of your art on Flickr and YouTube. Flickr and YouTube receives alot of traffic because these sites are well known by everyone. The art websites mentioned above are hard to find or think of, unless people have heard of them, which is rare. In my opinion, the majority of people do not know about these art websites, so you have to market your art.

Before giving out your personal information on a website, you probably want to consider the following: Is the company reputable? Is the company approved by the Better Business Bureau? What are the reviews of the company? (Example: Google Search "Zazzle Reviews"). How long has the company been in business? What are the privacy policies? What are the terms of service? Do you have to pay to use their services? How and when will you get paid? How is customer service handled? Does the company post a physical address and phone number on their website?

Requested: some of my art work

Tags: art worksheets, art workshops, artwork, artwork book, artwork for sale, design, graphics, inspiration, tools, webdesign

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 16th, 2009 at 11:12 pm and is filed under paintings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.