Monday, November 30, 2009
For Immediate Release...
Contact Scott M. Haskins 805 564 3438
Fax (805) 568-1178
Has something dear to you been damaged? 5 Tips to get FREE help!
As you read this, tens of thousands will be cleaning up, with heartache, the remains of family memories at home or in offices that have been damaged in storms. Knowing what to do AFTER a disaster has struck may allow you to save your most cherished possessions. Proper action in saving and protecting what is dear to you will save you heartache and possibly $10,000's. Here are 5 tips to get FREE help:
1. Call your insurance company/agent for a referral. Even though your stuff may not be covered on a policy, their expert may be willing to talk to you and answer questions… or even look at it for you FREE of charge.
2. Call a local museum, auction house or art gallery for a referral of a conservator. Professional conservators (restorers) will often take time with you to talk about problems your stuff may have for FREE. They may even give it a look over at no cost if you bring it into their lab.
3. Go to www.saveyourstuff.com and see if there is FREE info to download that may apply to you and your situation.
4. Auction houses periodically hold an evaluation day. Sometimes they hold these for FREE and sometimes they ask a small fee to raise money for non-profits. Call and ask.
5. If you are a small business, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provides FREE information on saving your damaged items.
Have you had glass or porcelains break, books ruined by water or photos that have stuck together in a pile? Perhaps you have had frames bashed, moldy rugs or pictures that were smoke damaged? At www.saveyourstuff.com there is a free book on how to save your damaged books. Do floods, mold, silverfish, earthquakes, hurricanes…or grandchildren worry you?
The website features the book, "How To Save Your Stuff From A Disaster," a non technical, easy to read, even whimsical book that gives complete instructions on how to protect and save your family history, heirlooms and memorabilia at home or in the office. The book provides step by step instructions, photographs and illustrations with chapters on how to protect and save papers, books, ceramics, glass, furniture, silver, paintings, frames and much more. The chapters on how to make archival copies of photos and documents, how to deal with your insurance company and how to do archival framing are also very useful. There are complete lists of supplies and where to buy them (most of what you need is at your local stores), some helpful hints on how to prepare your family for an emergency and very good suggestions on how to find a qualified restorer when you need one. The book is a complete package of help for anyone with cherished family items and collectables... even if you haven't had a disaster.
The author, Scott M. Haskins, has worked in both Europe and the U.S. as a professional conservator for the last 30 years and his lab, www.fineartconservationlab.com routinely treats and saves items damaged by water and mold. He speaks internationally on his emergency preparedness expertise and assists corporations, non-profits, small businesses, state governments and the federal government to apply the "Save Your Stuff" message to the office environment (Homeland Security). He wrote a free custom booklet on earthquake response of which over 500,000 were distributed in LA by the Bank of America Corporation after the Northridge Earthquake in 1994. He provides free, ongoing emergency and preservation information to organizations that will distribute this "Be Prepared" message through their organizations.