For Los Angeles drivers tired of having their visual space indentured to ads for lap bands, beer, Vegas hotels and grinning automobiles, here, finally, is a breath of fresh paint – actual art on billboards. Thanks to the MAK Center for Art and Architecture , 21 newly commissioned works by established artists will go up at locations around Los Angeles. More info, maps, and images of many of the works are on the exhibition website at http://www.howmanybillboards.org

Congratulations in particular to artists James Welling, Kerry Tribe, Daniel Joseph Martinez, and Alan Ruppersberg, whose works we have handled over the years for storage and/or for the Whitney Biennial. Nice to see them up in such a public format. At some 35,000 possible “visual impressions” a day, that’s a big audience whizzing by. Or crawling, depending. Each will be on display for only a month or two, so get your map and head on out. Probably best with a designated driver, leaving you free to crane and thrall and snapshot without causing undue risk to those actually trying to get somewhere.

Betsy Dorfman

Recent news reports have detailed the upcoming sale of artworks from the Michael Crichton collection, currently on display at Christie’s in London. The paintings to be sold include a seminal work from the Jasper Johns “Flag” series, as well as works by Picasso, Lichtenstein and Rauschenberg . Old friends all.

FINE ART SHIPPING has moved, installed, shipped and stored many of these works over the past decade-plus for the Crichton family. Packing and crating these recent few to send off for display in London was an exercise in nostalgia to be sure. We have softpacked the Johns for Mr. Crichton to carry on an airplane, installed it at residences in New York and Los Angeles, and each time we handled it was a thrill. The office emptied out, art handlers mysteriously appeared as the crate was about to be opened — there are artworks which claim their own audiences, and this is one.

On September 11, 2001 our Los Angeles based crew was packing art at the Crichton residence in upstate New York, some 90 miles from ground zero. We were immediately invited to stay in the home for several days, allowing us to give our hotel rooms to our NY based crew, who were unable in those early days and hours to return to the city. So this goes beyond a business relationship, to what has been a partnership of care and concern for this art over many years and circumstances.
Following the current exhibition at Christie’s the artworks go on sale in New York in May. To the new owners we can only say: may the vibes, all good, be with you.

Betsy Dorfman

 An art dealer friend recently disclosed that his trump card when closing deals with clients is to offer free shipping. More often than not, he said, this finalized the sale and allowed the buyer to depart feeling he or she had bargained well and struck a good deal. Further, this was true across the price spectrum of the art involved and no matter what the length of the negotiation process. It was free shipping or free local delivery & installation that sealed the bargain. This is not what a shipping company wants to hear. 

Compounding the horror, “free shipping” among online retailers has reached epidemic proportions and in fact has come to seem the norm. We feel shortchanged these days if we have to pay, or pay much, for shipping. It seems our birthright NOT to pay for shipping, not after we have just forked out for the thing/object/gadget itself. The giddy days of online sellers getting away with charging $8.99 to ship a $10 item seem lost in the quaint cyberpast.

So having promised the client the impossible, and feeling entitled to discounted shipping no matter what the commodity, the gallery or dealer then calls us seeking to send the artwork as cheaply as possible. We’ve been asked to put $30,000 artworks in cardboard boxes and ship them on UPS. Which, I hasten to add, we won’t do. It also explains why galleries often consign the job of arranging shipping to the lowest status employee who is newest on the job. Shipping is the last and least glamorous step in the dealer to customer transfer of title and custody. Basically, it’s a bore and a chore and, they would like us to think, it subtracts from rather than augments the bottom line. It’s the necessary evil mop up after the master has done his thing; hold your nose and dial the shipper.

But the truth is “free shipping” as anyone willing to reflect can probably deduce, is actually factored into the cost of the “thing” and so is not really free. We choose to perceive it as free because we want to feel like we are getting something for nothing, even when we know we aren’t. Art buyers, are you listening?

It would hardly be a sensible business model for art sellers to routinely “eat” shipping costs,. More likely they are factoring shipping into the cost and then, post sale, simply trying to maximize their profits by pressuring shippers to provide the most economical possible service. In this way everyone is happy except, well, me. I am stuck trying to persuade that new person at the gallery front desk that they really, really, really need to part with some actual money to protect their art in transit. That’s me, the bad guy spoiling everyone’s spoils.

Adding to the dilemma is the fact that the gallery typically wants the artwork off the premises and in the hands/on the wall of the customer as soon as possible before the glow of acquisition fades. So now we have a request for fast service, often a custom pickup at the gallery, plus expedited packing and shipping, plus custom delivery and installation all to be done on the cheap. Even after a couple of martinis, I can’t see a way to make that happen.

In a perfect world, everyone would recognize the service companies like ours provide and be willing to pay fair value for it. Santa, are you listening? In the meantime I continue my lonely battle against the tide of “free shipping” – with just a short time out this holiday season to transfer the items in my cart to the checkout window and collect my free 2-day shipping. Which they still call my “free 2 day shipping” even after charging my credit card $79 for yearly access to this privilege. Such a deal.

Betsy Dorfman

Over the years we have had a couple of instances where artworks or valuable objects were mistakenly left in crates or packages and almost, or actually, discarded. I hasten to say these were not containers that we had packed, but items received by us packed by other customers or shippers. In one case a work on paper was sandwiched by the sender between cardboard sheets with no labeling on that package whatsoever. Inside and resting against the back of the crate it was readily mistaken for…well, a piece of cardboard. And recently when preparing to discard boxes returned from a jobsite we found a number of expensive glassware items and a silver tray which the customer’s staff overlooked when unpacking. Oops.

Whether hiring a professional company or doing it yourself, all containers with multiple contents should be accompanied by a packing list or pack list. Sometimes this is pouched on the outside of the container, but for maximum safety we like to put a copy inside the package. With crates we often glue them inside the top. With a pack list, the person unpacking knows exactly what to look for within the box. They can check off pieces as they unpack and make sure that all items are accounted for before discarding the package.

In addition, all packages within a box or crate should carry a clear label to distinguish between packed items and incidental packing materials. We often write “art inside!!” on portfolios as well as label them with the artist and title of the contents. A few seconds with a red marker can literally save a small or thinly wrapped artwork from accidental destruction or loss. Your packages should not be mysterious.

And then there are the “non art” components which often accompany shipments. Artists are notorious for this. They will send us a lovely crate with carefully packed and labeled art within, but fail to alert us to look for that little bag of screws, or that wood cleat they tucked up in the northwest corner which they hope we didn’t think was part of the crate, or the little packet of folded mending material that is hugely important to the installation… Once again common sense dictates that anything which needs to be found needs to be findable. And all items including incidentals need to appear on pack lists. Otherwise we may not recognize what is integral and what is not. The folded material in one artist’s crate might be something leftover that they used to fill negative space, or it might be critical to the artwork. We should not have to guess.

At our warehouses, we have a standard rule that all boxes are broken down fully and all accompanying “trash” paper, bubble wrap, or plastic etc. is searched again to make sure no objects are commingled in the packing. With crates, interior foam and loose spacing or lining materials are fully removed so that the crate is inspected right down to the wood before it is marked as empty. Every art handler has a story of the “empty” crate that wasn’t. Packing lists may not entirely solve this problem, but they help. After all the most basic goal of shipping is to have the receiver, not the dumpster, receive what the shipper shipped.

 Betsy Dorfman

Like many small businesses, especially in these times, our margins are tight and it is difficult to make cash contributions to charities and other worthy cultural organizations. Happily, however, we are in a line of work – moving & storage — which enables us to provide in kind services to organizations at reduced rates or at no charge from time to time.

Since 2006, for example, FINE ART SHIPPING has supplied storage services at no cost for the Los Angeles Ballet. In addition to a prominent thank you in their programs, they have provided us with complimentary tickets, allowing many of our staff and their friends and families to experience the ballet and become fans. Talk about a “win-win”!

A bit closer to home, my daughter works for one of the Paul Newman charities, a camp called The Painted Turtle which serves children with serious diseases on a year round basis and at no cost to participating families. These are kids who otherwise would not be able to attend camp due to the nature of their illnesses. The Painted Turtle operates out of offices in Santa Monica, and maintains the camp in Lake Hughes CA., roughly 90 minutes northwest of Los Angeles. It is one of a network of affiliated camps around the world offering hope and fun to kids whose “out of camp” lives often consist of one medical challenge after another.

When one of our storage customers retired an array of costumes, wigs, hats, props & even a couple of fog machines from their inventory, we were able to donate these to The Painted Turtle and deliver them up to the camp in our truck at no charge. They were apparently used immediately in skits and sketches and were a great hit with kids and staff alike. Smiles all around! The website of The Painted Turtle shows a list of items the camp needs on a regular basis. Anyone wishing to make a donation can drop items off here at our facility near LAX airport and we will see that they get to the camp. (Please call first!)

On other occasions we are able to contribute to organizations by discounting costs on transport services.  Most recently we completed a shipment for Doctors Without Borders at a rate well below market value, essentially converting what would have been our normal markup into a contribution instead. This is a great way for small businesses to donate as it conserves cash but gives real value to the organization in question.

 Betsy Dorfman

In the not too distant past our customer service folks, with degrees in things like medieval literature and art history, were forced to rely on various musty charts, formulas,  incantations and dart boards in order to produce crating cost projections. Sometimes reality obliged and we came close; sometimes not. On average, we weren’t. But with the arrival of  crate wizard Chris Barber, all we have to do is send an email and wait for his reply. Here’s more from Chris on the nuts and bolts of his creation:

Depending on how comfortable you are with creating and managing a partially automated system, a custom estimate and cut-list program can be a ridiculous time saver for your crating department. My “crating engine” uses mostly simple math functions in a simple database application. With it, I can estimate the cost and dimensions of a crate and have a formatted cut list ready to print for the craters in as little as fifteen seconds. Unusual crating circumstances only require a couple minutes of data entry before the results can be sent to customer service representatives or printed for execution. The same artwork specs and basic packing approach are automatically forwarded into several crate shell styles simultaneously, from slat crates to our highest-level travel crates. Every square inch of building material is automatically added up and priced, both for estimates and for the actual price of the built crate.

But whether you have your own crating program, or whether you do all of your math with pencil and paper, the big unknown for crating estimates is labor. Any given builder will have good days and bad days. Averaging their past performance won’t always give a perfect estimate, but it will take their history into account and mitigate guesswork based on misleading examples. Naturally, the more examples of past performance you record, the more likely you are to approach a good reliable mean.

The other sticking point in estimating labor is the duration/volume ratio. For obvious reasons, this ratio is not a straight line, but a curve. The smaller the cubic footage of any style of crate, the more minutes it will take to build per cubic foot. Likewise, the same curve levels off to nearly flat in the upper size range. I’ve plotted these curves for my lead crater so that I can make a reliable prediction of his performance on any style of crate, regardless of the size job. Even if you do everything else in your head, an accurate time curve is an elegant alternative to guesswork. Of course, this isn’t limited to crating. It can be applied to any production task with a similarly predictable set of actions. Here’s how to make your own:

Step 1. The first thing you will need is the raw data. Start recording exactly how long it takes you or your staff to build crates. Start a separate log for each crater, and each style of crate that crater produces. Every log should include a series for minutes and a series for cubic feet. Then make a third series, dividing minutes by cubic feet. I put these series in columns; so if cell A3 = minutes, and cell B3 = cubic feet, cell C3 = A3/B3. You will only use the second and third columns in the next step – cubic feet & minutes/cubic foot. Here’s an example log for “B-crates” with two hypothetical craters, one a faster builder than the other:

Soon you should have enough data in those series to get reasonable estimates. The data collection is an ongoing process, however, and your logs should be updated regularly. Older numbers could be dropped eventually to account for your crater’s growing experience and speed, but the aim is to collect as much information on each builder as possible. This is not to spy on your crew. It is to accurately predict the time it will likely take this person or that to build the next crate.

There are two ways you can process your database into functional labor estimate curves. First I’ll show the quick way, and then I’ll explain what these numbers mean by showing the chart method.

Step 2a. Find the “power trendline” of each crating log you have made, and multiply it by the estimated cubic feet. I’ll explain what the power trendline is in some depth below, but for now you can just treat it like a magic spell. If you aren’t a math geek and don’t care how, why or whether this really works, you can stop reading at the end of this step.

The fastest and most efficient way to process a given crater’s average curve on a given style of crate can be done in five math functions, and will fit on a spreadsheet the size of a postage stamp.

cell A1: =[length]*[width]*[height]*1/1728 [estimated cubic feet]

cell A2: =EXP(INDEX(LINEST(LN(y),LN(x),,),1,2)) [coefficient A]

cell A3: =INDEX(LINEST(LN(y),LN(x),,),1) [coefficient b]

cell A4: =A*(x^(b)) [trendline equation]

cell A5: =[cell 1]*[cell 4]*1/60 [labor estimate]

A1) The first cell should simply display the cubic footage of the crate being estimated. The least fussy way is to link this function to three blank cells somewhere else where you enter the crate’s L, W, & H. Those same three blank cells can be linked to every curve you make (since you need a separate curve for each crater on each style of crate).

A2) The second cell should return the value of A to be used in the equation in cell 4. This cell should contain the exact function shown, but in place of x, link to the whole cubic feet series in your crater’s log (B3:B14, to use the slower crater shown above as an example). Likewise, y must be linked to the whole series of data in the minutes/cubic foot column of your crater’s log (In this example; C3:C14).

A3) The third cell should return the value of b for the equation in cell 4. Treat series variables x & y the same way here as you did in cell 2.

A4) The forth cell should contain the function shown, but replacing x, A, b with the results of cells 1-3 respectively. Caution: in this equation, x refers only to the cubic footage of the crate being estimated. It is not the same variable as in cells 2 & 3.

A5) The fifth cell is the product of the values returned in cell 1 and cell 4, then divided by 60.

You can use these five steps to bypass the charting step described below and get your trendline equations straight from your database. But the chart actually shows what these numbers mean, and I prefer to see graphic representations of the curves anyway.

Step 2b. If the step described above seems too cryptic, the numbers involved can be more readily understood by graphing them. The program I use allows me to insert a visual chart into my spreadsheet, define the x & y parameters and link them to the two relevant series of data. This is pretty basic, and I’m sure that it’s a universal feature in spreadsheet applications. The type of graph you want is an x-y scatter chart. Your chart’s values are simply: x = cubic feet, and y = minutes/cubic foot. Once your graph is linked to those two series, you will see points plotted in the field – each point representing the crater’s performance on a specific crate.

The more information you have (and the more consistent your crater is), the more it should suggest the hint of a curve starting in the top left corner and ending in the bottom right. Now you can give the graph a trendline. The trendline extrapolates an average curve from your unwieldy cloud of points, in a visible line. You may need to choose from several types of trendline. I prefer what my application calls the “power” type, which appears to produce the most realistic curve, leveling off dramatically as it approaches zero on each axis. The “exponential” and “logarithmic” types both trace the trendline right off the chart at each end, and there’s no way a large crate will ever take negative minutes to build. Nor will a small crate ever have negative dimensions. The “linear” type overrides the curve that I believe is there. The “moving average” type defeats our purpose entirely. The “polynomial” type creates a dip in the middle ground that doesn’t make sense to me. Even if I wanted to address the handling logistics of larger crates, this potential issue is completely unrelated to the polynomial equation.

As you can see above, there is less data from the faster builder, and the blue curve is barely visible. This makes the blue trendline less reliable in the extreme size ranges; particularly the smaller sizes. This problem can be addressed quickly by giving that crater a very small crate to build and a very large one. Getting just a few points plotted past the margins of that crating history will give the blue trendline a wider range of accurate predictions.

Step 2c. Once you have your trendline plotted, tell your graph to show the trendline’s equation (which is hidden by default). Each trendline is described by a math equation reflecting the moving average of your plotted data. The power trendline equation should look like this:

y = Ax^b

The values of x and y are still cubic feet & minutes per cubic foot respectively, as the chart suggests. The coefficients “A” and “b” come directly from the trendline, which in turn is a biased average of the data your chart illustrates.

Step 2d. Now here’s the nice part: Your trendline equation can be recuperated back into the spreadsheet for the purpose of estimating labor. Once you estimate the cubic footage of your prospective crate, you can simply multiply it by the trendline to get the most accurate possible labor estimate for any given crater. The spreadsheet function for this looks a little tricky, but here it is using the same variables, A & b, as my example of the trendline equation above:

=A*(x^(b))

So if your trendline shows the equation: y = 35.956x^-0.789

…the spreadsheet cell representing it should say: =35.956*(x^(-0.789)).

If your trendline shows the equation: y = 5.5678x^-0.2912

…the spreadsheet cell representing it should say: =5.5678*(x^(-0.2912)).

Note that to make either of these examples functional, x must refer to the cell that displays the crate’s estimated cubic feet. The current value of x must be folded into the trendline equation before it can return a relative unit of duration/volume adjusted by the crate’s size. While the trendline equation merely displays the coefficients A & b, the spreadsheet cell as typed above will return the actual value of y — as long as x points to the cell displaying the current value of x and the function begins with the equal sign. Once you have a spreadsheet cell representing the trendline linked to the variable cubic footage cell, all you need do is multiply the two cells. Keep in mind that this will result in minutes; so if you prefer estimated hours, just divide the result by 60.

So to mentally separate this step from the raw database illustrated above, let’s skip over (arbitrarily) to column H on our example spreadsheet.

The blue and orange numbers in this screenshot represent the faster and slower craters, like in the curve chart. The top number in each set is the cubic footage of the crate currently being estimated. This cell changes with every estimate, as it is the product of the crate’s length, width & height, divided by 1728 to convert from inches to feet. Let’s say for the sake of argument that the cell displaying orange cubic footage is in position H4 on the spreadsheet. The next cell down, H5, is the trendline equation for that crater, with the current cubic footage plugged into it. So in place of “x” in =A*(x^(b)), the function says H4. And in place of “A” and “b”, the function shows the actual trendline coefficients. In this case what I actually typed into cell H5 is: =70.254*(H4^(-0.656)). Refer to the orange trendline on the chart to see how I got A and b. This is a functional version of the trendline equation, responding automatically to the cubic footage displayed above it. If the cubic footage dropped, the result displayed in cell H5 would rise appropriately for the crater in question. The next cell down, H6, is the product of the first two cells, divided by 60 to convert from minutes to hours. This is the estimated hours it will likely take that crater to build that style of crate at that particular size.

Step 3. Update and fine-tune your logs. Some spikes may occur that throw the whole curve out of whack. They are usually in the negative direction – like when a crater made a big mistake and spent a lot of extra time correcting it. I toss the worst spikes. I would rather take the hit when random problems happen than let them affect every estimate. Such large spikes are very rare, and I’ve only eliminated about four crates from my whole database for that reason.

Packing estimates: Of course, packing a crate involves many more variables than building it, so you should keep building time and packing time separate in your database, charts and equations. I don’t even use packing curves myself. I use a flat time for each type of flatwork, sometimes adjusted a little for size, and estimate all dimensional items in my head.

There are many different ways you can approach the problem of labor in estimates, depending on how tight you want your estimates to be. Plotting curves is admittedly a bit anal, but quite easy to set up. And it only improves over time as you add more information.

-Chris Barber

One of the distinct joys of our business is the opportunity to see amazing cultural and historical artifacts and objects close up. With no plexi case or velvet rope intervening. Sometimes, we get to hold history in our hands, as we did with the air rifle that was authenticated to the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Or the World War II D-Day planning map, personal property of General Omar Bradley, complete with his hand drawn renderings and notations. And the inventory of signed first editions by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.

Most recently FINE ART SHIPPING was privileged to crate an exhibition of Miles Davis memorabilia for the Musee de la Musique/ Cite de la Musique in Paris. The show, entitled “We Want Miles!” opens Oct 16^th,  in case you are fortunate enough to be in the vicinity. Among the items we packed for the exhibition were stage costumes, sheet music, original paintings by Miles, and, most notably, three of his trumpets. Of these the “trumpet rouge” or red trumpet, was the instant show stopper. The photos shown here give just an idea of the beauty and craftsmanship of this instrument, which, beyond its value and history, is itself a work of art.

Although “red trumpet” arrived to us in its case, the lender generously allowed us to hold the instrument and manipulate the keys to feel the “action.” Wearing gloves, needless to say. For those of us who have played garden variety instruments and have some basis of comparison, we soon realized we had none, not to a custom instrument of this caliber. Crafted by Martin to Miles’ personal specifications, including the silky yet precise play of those keys, the “cool” was transporting. We Want Miles!

We’re hoping Miles would have dug the crate that we made for his trumpets; they were shipped in their original cases, each case slipped into a custom drop front foam core box within the crate. Hopefully, doing our little bit; honoring craft with craft. And, of course, we painted the crate RED!

Betsy Dorfman

BEST BUY stores recently retracted an errant ad offering big screen TV’s for $9.99. Hey, stuff happens.  And so, with apologies for any inconvenience, we take this opportunity to issue a few clarifications of our own:

FINE ART SHIPPING is not offering for $500 or best offer “your choice of any stored artwork belonging to someone who has not paid their bill.” This offer was posted in error on a now deleted blog. We are sorry for any confusion.

Nor are we prepared to “tie any such painting or artwork onto the top of your car for transport at no cost, provided you haul it away same day.” This was printed in error as well.

FINE ART SHIPPING assumes no responsibility for artworks tied or bungeed to the tops of vehicles, nor will we lend you any rope or string for that purpose. It has always been our policy that high value artwork should be transported inside vehicles wherever possible.

In addition FINE ART SHIPPING is not offering an alliterative “painting-plus-pet” discounted storage option. Somehow this language slipped into a recent email marketing campaign by way of a search and replace glitch. We do store paintings; we do not store pets. Whoever dropped off the Baldessari and the beagle,  the Georganne Deen and the gecko, and especially the Thiebaud and the tarantula, please be advised that the pet portion of your storage account will be available for pickup behind our warehouse weekdays between noon and 4 PM. We will return any unused puppy, reptile, or spider chow at that time.

Thank you.

Retractions & Clarifications, 29^th floor

Painted crates enjoy a couple of benefits besides a modest aesthetic bump. Any given shipment of them is instantly recognizable in large warehouses of unrelated crates and pallets. Larger museums tend to have their own proprietary color, and for the purposes of this you would have to ask your friendly neighborhood registrar. But I imagine that one benefit is revealing at a glance which stored crates were commissioned by the museum and which may belong to some one else. Likewise when the crates travel in large exhibitions.

Last but not least, there is a technical element. The crates shown here are covered with a coat of primer, three coats of paint and two coats of clear lacquer. This adds up to a bit of a moisture barrier. Should the crates fall into the ocean, the MDO walls will do most of the work in keeping the contents dry for a spell, but the paint helps slow down serious damage to the solid pine battens and subsequent seepage at the corners. In less catastrophic conditions however – say, a heavy rain – the water won’t get past the paint and Neoprene lid gasket.

Here is a snapshot of the same crates recently spotted in the wild, along with one from another company in the same shipment. Labels and documentation accompany all such shipments, but there is never any question where each of these crates will eventually be returned.

-Chris

 We field repeated requests to ship one artwork from here to there, sometimes along well traveled routes such as Los Angeles to New York and/or return. Often this is a gallery anticipating or having just made a sale, with a single buyer wanting the piece, as they all do, yesterday.

 So we send off an estimate and very often the result is: nothing. We understand: it is expensive to ship a single artwork as many art shuttles, including ourselves, have a minimum charge.

 If you understand the power of the minimum, however, you can use it to your advantage. On our Los Angeles to San Francisco shuttle, for example, you can ship two or even three modest sizes works for the same price as shipping one. Up to ten cubic feet, all passengers ride for one price, rather like a NYC taxi. (And we don’t stop for women with strollers, either…)

 For many of the high value and trade show divisions of van lines, a 500 pound minimum applies. In that instance you could ship as many as ten artworks of moderate size in one crate and still stay within the minimum weight by volume.

 Hence our advice to artists and galleries: ask thy neighbor! Tweet, email, phone or stroll at lunchtime to the gallery down the street and ask if they might have anything going where you need to go. A big element here, however, is flexibility in timing. The more leeway you have in whatever schedule you have promised your buyer the more time there is to “partner” with another sender.

 Pooling resources can save serious money and is win/win for us shippers, too. We get to make two customers happy who hopefully will return next time around.

Betsy Dorfman