Tom Richardson, a year 12 student from Old Swinford Hospital School in Stourbridge, has been in all week on a work experience placement in our Collections department. Read all about what he got up to during his time at the Museum of Carpet!

Day Four

Day Four again started with the logistical brainache that is moving and storing the vast amount of carpets the museum has in the small volume of space they have. I spent the morning helping Colin, Mike and Ron unwrap boxes of carpets, hoover them to remove any dust and insects that might be lurking, and then re-wrap them ready for transport to the off site store. Mike had a great time using the hoover which had to be positioned around his waist and made him feel very hot. During this process we were on the lookout for any duplicates that could be used on a waterfall stand to be placed on the exhibition floor. At about 11 I sat in on a group talk with Melvyn. Melvyn was giving an introductory talk about the Museum and I learnt such facts as that even today Brintons still produces enough carpets to cover 1200 football pitches. Melvyn gave a very good talk and kept the group amused and interested. Speaking to him afterwards however he explained that the majority of the groups that visit are the older generation and the difficulties the Museum has in inspiring the younger generation. He worries that when the older generation pass away the Museum and the knowledge will die with them and this will be a terrible shame as this truly is an amazing place. A cornucopia of knowledge you could say that should be preserved, especially in Kidderminster, which owes its current status to the Carpet Industry.

In the afternoon I unwrapped the Shuttles from 1914-1918 and placed them in the meeting room for the sixth formers from King Charles 1st to use. The group is organised by Dave and each group was studying a different aspect of the War period. Their aim is to create a piece of work on each topic that can be used in the Museums Centenary exhibition. It was a wonderful sight to see all the Shuttles being used and the younger generation taking a vivid interest in events 100 years old and I hope to see them being used by many more young people in the future.