In a service business, any service business, it’s a good thing to say yes to your customers. Yes, we can help you with that. Yes we can meet your deadline. Yes, we’d be pleased to handle this or that detail for you. Yes, we provide all the services you need. Yes, we’re friendly and helpful and, to particularize to our business, if this is your first time shipping art we will guide you though the process easel to install.

But sometimes the best thing we can say is no, or don’t.

Some examples:

An artist or gallery wants to ship a cardboard soft-packed painting overseas via air freight, as it is, without the protection of a wooden crate. In that case, we respectfully advise against it. If they insist, we politely insist back, and perhaps send them a few photos of the crates we routinely receive with footprints all over them. Or mention the percentage of crates returned to us with the shock watches triggered, suggesting the crate has been dropped or roughly handled.

Or, a potential client who is shipping a very valuable work overseas wants to declare a significantly lower value for customs purposes, sometimes far lower than the insurance coverage they have purchased on the piece. While shying away from using a hot button term like “fraud” we simply advise against it, as the undervaluation, if detected by customs, could result in seizure of the work or other unpleasantness involving financial penalties.

A favorite of our “please don’t” examples comes at holiday time. During peak travel times many airlines which normally carry packages and freight actually “bump” those cargoes in favor of carrying additional passengers. The result is often a glut of freight which can turn 2 day freight for example into 3 or 4 day freight, or worse. And “next day” becomes the next day they have room. We counsel callers during this time to add contingency days to their shipping schedule, especially where they have exhibition or other critical dates to meet. Where the time frame can’t be adjusted, we work with them to place the shipment with a specialty cargo shipper where a firm booking can be obtained in advance. Sometimes this costs more, but “costs more” is a lot better than “still sitting at the airport on the day show opened.”

Professional art handling companies like ours use their experience to guide clients to packing solutions and best carriers under a given set of circumstances. We’ve made quite a few client friends over the years by understanding when to say no and suggest an alternative. Sometimes our advice isn’t taken, and the soft-packed box shipped on December 23^rd arrives intact and on time the next day and breezes through customs without the valuation fudge being noticed. Could happen. Undoubtedly has happened, but the probabilities aren’t robust. When the object or objects are irreplaceable, we want the shipping gods and odds on our side.

So if there’s anything we can don’t for you, we’re listening.

Betsy Dorfman

Photo courtesy of the FBI

The FBI has announced recovery and return to Iraq of a variety of pots, terracotta plaques, oil lamps, and other artifacts illegally seized by Department of Defense contractors in 2004. The full article can be found here:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/july/artifacts_070711/artifacts_070711

Estimated at 2,500 to 4,000 years old, the looted goodies were used by the contractors as gifts and bribes, or sold to other contractors who smuggled them into the U.S.  Two of the contractors were prosecuted and are serving prison terms as a result.

Tens of thousands of such artifacts are thought to be circulating in the netherworld of black markets, with the UAE being a major hub of such activity. More than 15.000 items were taken from the National Museum in Iraq alone. Destined for purchase by European and other collectors, smugglers have proven adept at avoiding customs regulations and exporting such goods either deliberately mis-identified as modern pieces or by essentially hiding them in containers and other bulk shipments of legal commodities.

As any shipping professional can attest, there simply isn’t an affordable or rational way for every shipment to be inspected by customs officials. And with terrorism the main focus of interdiction efforts worldwide, who is going to unpack and investigate the provenance of every souvenir pot, fossil, sculpture and ceramic that travels through the worldwide freight system? Unguarded borders also exacerbate the problem, although to a lesser extent. While this latest recovery by the FBI is good news, the problem isn’t going away anytime soon.

Overseas travelers should be aware that most countries have strict laws prohibiting export of  items deemed to be part of their cultural heritage. That cute little clay vase the guy on the corner sold you cheap could get you into big trouble, and as an airline passenger your personal baggage is inevitably screened and inspected. While the law may allow for leniency where the possessor had no way of knowing the item was illegal, items purchased on the street or in a “flea market” setting, and without accompanying paperwork (provenance) may be enough to suggest that you knew, or should have known, that the artifact was possibly, or even likely, illegal. Instead of adding to your knick-knack shelf, you could end up collecting time off for good behavior.

Betsy Dorfman

OK, so you probably know this one… the lines are in fact of equal length. Different cultures, it turns out, react to the puzzle differently. Among westernized nations or where populations encounter right angles with regularity, the illusion holds. Viewers in these “carpentered” cultures are susceptible to the lie. However in more primitive cultures, the lines are more frequently correctly perceived as equal. The how and why specifics of this are of interest, and widely debated in various books and internet citations. I haven’t seen a discussion of this however through the eyes of an artist or sculptor, which thought was the genesis of this entry.

What if the figures above were sculptures rather than line drawings? If we assume that the elements of each are equal in size and weight, then there could be an expectation of parity in the shipping costs. Ah, but unfortunately we have now run afoul of the BSI – Budget Shipper’s Illusion. In fact the two sculptures are identical in shipping terms only if the right angle pieces on the ends of each main member are removable. If they are not removable, then the sculpture at the top would be more expensive to ship. It is longer overall in length, as the “feet” of the arrow or right angle portion extend past the length of the center line. Its volume is thus greater than that of the figure below, and hence it will be more expensive to ship in most cases. In fact it is relatively easy to see that the bottom figure in fact fits readily within the “footprint” of the top figure.

There is nothing in the scientific literature regarding the performance of the hunter gatherers relative to the BSI.  But since, dearth of right angles not withstanding, they had to hunt and then gather, as in lug around, a lot of things, they presumably knew to charge more for a bigger thing than a small one. Unless the big thing was light and the small thing was heavy. But that’s another corollary of the BSI for another day.

Betsy Dorfman

Crates come in all sizes.

This one is from our “extra bedroom” series.

Looks like we might need that handy expand- a-truck tool…

Just another day at the office.

Our sympathies, guys.

Betsy Dorfman

Ian Patrick, Crating Manager

Oct 22, 2010

In addition to describing how some of us feel after a long work week, “antique condition” is a phrase which art and antique handlers use, in my opinion, too frequently. The term comes into play when an item is being picked up and notes made as to its existing condition. In this context “antique condition” is designed to cover a multitude of sins, and save the handler the bother of noting down every scratch, ding, smudge and coffee ring. Hey, the thing has been around the block for fifty years, we can all see that, right? That’s why they call it an antique! Basically a more refined way of saying “used”, this remains however a shortcut that opens the door to problems down the line.

In conjunction with record photography of the piece, noting “antique condition” and leaving it at that, admittedly, does the job much of the time. Despite my managerial grumbling. But not always. Every once in awhile a situation arises where a client will see what they believe is fresh damage, or a compromised area which they maintain has appeared since the piece was last seen  in the showroom or vendor’s shop. So out come the condition notes and photos. The photos may or may not show the exception in question, depending upon the type of mark or loss, and its location. If it then comes down to the handler’s notes made at pickup, and all we have is “antique condition” – basically we have come to a dead end in our ability to firmly establish the problem as preexisting or not. If insured through the art handler, a claim could go either way – but the whole idea of condition reports and notes is to establish condition and avoid gray areas and claims.

Digital photography has helped with this issue, to be sure, and many exceptions do show up in a set of carefully taken photos. But written reports, together with diagrams where precise locations of exceptions are shown, remain the gold standard. Nothing replaces good old descriptive language, and a clear statement of what type of problem is seen – scratch, stain, paint loss, tear in fabric, etc.- together with a note as to its location. These notes are, as attorneys like to say, dispositive ; in the event of a claim they will likely dispose of any question and settle the matter.

Condition notes, prepared by professionals, are meant to be detailed and focused in their findings. You wouldn’t want to see “antique condition” in your medical chart; you shouldn’t see it on a bill of lading, for the same reason –just plain not enough information.

Betsy Dorfman

FINE ART SHIPPING welcomes a granddaughter!!  

Emery Dorfman, born July 11 in Seattle WA

  As you can see, the packaging for this product has been designed with  great attention to safety, style, and utility for re-use. The most vulnerable points of the object are wrapped in suitably soft and archival material, then further bundled into an appropriate shape to  secure the item within the selected vehicle of conveyance. Where appropriate, additional measures have been taken to mitigate environmental exposures, particularly in the top or “head” region.

As is recommended, a minimum of  2″ of foam padding is employed  at the sides, top, and bottom of the enclosure to further protect the shipment in transit. Also included but not seen, certain moisture barrier strategies have been incorporated into the interior packaging where prudent, and based on long established guidelines for care of  such commodities.

Further updates will follow as the shipment is expected to increase in size and weight over time.

Betsy Dorfman

Congratulations to L.A. artist Greg Lauren for a terrific write up in the L.A. Times on his current exhibition. We had fun at the opening Saturday night, especially watching the double takes done by (typically well heeled) passers by on Beverly Boulevard. Who could be forgiven for mistaking the show for, well, what it actually looked like: the opening of a super chic men’s boutique. Complete with valet and champagne service and more than a few celebrity sightings.

We’ve packed and shipped these paper art sculptures a number of times, and while obviously the weight is not an issue, keeping the “clothing” intact and with wrinkles only where the artist wants them is a challenge. We’ve shipped them on and off the mannequins, making use of archival paper and good old dish pack boxes and the odd slat crate with good results.

My husband’s brother tells the story of lecturing on a cruise ship where the headline lecturer was a memory expert. The many elderly passengers aboard were constantly cozying up to this guy and asking for tips on how to remember pesky things like names and telephone numbers. They figured he would have clever mnemonic devices to offer. His advice instead: try harder and pay attention.

Similarly, often the best art handling “trick” is to pay attention, keep it simple, and try hard to recognize and respect the integrity of the objects in front of you. This approach worked well with respect to Greg Lauren’s host of perfectly imperfect faux garments. And, yes, we did have to resist the impulse to try them on.

Betsy Dorfman