Costume Museum of Canada

open for business

2007-06-20T12:42:00.000-06:00

The much anticipated opening is finally here! On Monday June 25th we will open our doors again to the public and welcome them into our new home. We have two galleries an innovative new "visual storage" area and lots of new surprises. Come in and join us as we open our doors.

Our new hours are:

Monday 10-5pm
Tuesday 10-5pm
Wednesday 10-5pm
Thursday 10-8pm
Friday 10-5pm
Saturday 10-5pm
Sunday 12-4pm

Admission costs:

$5 for Adults
$4.5 for Seniors and Students
$3.5 for Children under 12

gift shop open!

2007-06-12T07:50:00.000-06:00

We managed to get the entire gift shop set up and we are open for business while we set up the galleries. There are great new items and many old favorites. Bring your credit card and stop by and see what we have been up to.

more interior photos

2007-06-04T15:27:00.000-06:00

unpacking and setting up

2007-06-04T15:20:00.000-06:00

We are starting to get everything organized. We are all focusing on the gift shop and then we will turn our attention to the Galleries. It seems like an overwhelming task, but slowly we are making some progress. There is so much write updates on as the phone rings off the hook and we are innundated with inquiries and requests. We have set a date for our Gala opening, July 12th. We are very much looking forward to this new chapter in the history of a great organization.

the cycle of delays

2007-05-28T13:23:00.000-06:00

After much anticipation of the end of this dusty and dirty chapter in our museum history we have again been disapointed. We were told that all would be completed by May 25th. Now three days later, we are not unpacking boxes and getting organized. We are waiting. We are waiting on flooring for both the bathroom and the gift shop carpet. We hope that it will be done tonight.

furniture

2007-05-16T11:10:00.000-06:00

The past few weeks we have stretched our minds and our ability to use tools in the construction of huge amounts of ikea furniture.

gift shop developments

2007-05-16T10:53:00.000-06:00

Although it seems empty and bare it will all come together once the shelves are up. There are numerous wonderful products waiting to see the light of day.

library

2007-05-16T10:40:00.000-06:00

Here are two of our fabulous summer students working away at installing our library.

it is the little things

2007-05-16T10:31:00.000-06:00

Obviously the major stuff is complete in the renovation, but the small details are now coming together. Such things as the finishing carpentry, the light fixtures and the furnishings are now all being put into place. We are still on target for the May 25th completion and then our goal is to clean the place up and set up the gift shop. Then we will all focus our attention on the exhibition. It is the collections room that will be a onerous task. With a fully equipped collections and installation room set up an exhibition can take weeks to set up, but with everything in storage who knows how long it will take. We anticipate a formal opening in the middle of July, but a committee will establish the date and members will be informed.

countdown

2007-05-11T12:40:00.000-06:00

The construction crew has informed us that they will be finished everything on May 25th. This has got to be the best news we have heard in a while. In our dreams the construction would be complete and we would open the door. Unfortunately we have some realities. Once the dust settles we have to piece this organization back together and create a museum. This will be no small task considering that our huge collection has been in storage since the fall.

more colour....

2007-05-08T09:45:00.000-06:00

Just a few more photos to show the use of colour.

introduction of colour

2007-05-08T09:31:00.000-06:00

There really has not been anything too exciting to report with the construction progress the past few weeks as it has been mostly such glamorous developments as electrical work and the sanding of drywall. Today we have our favorite painters back in from DEMAC. They are focusing on bringing some colour into our monochromatic space. Although the white is gorgeous, the introduction of punches of colour is really dramatic. We have a feature wall in bright red as well as walls in the galleries that are in a lovely lavender. Admittedly there was some hesitation around here with introducing colour to our classic yet modern space, but the colour evokes emotion and certainly drama.

view into library

2007-04-27T14:46:00.000-06:00

This is our new library space. It will be included in the price of admission and everyone can access the space. It will contain old periodicals, books and patterns. We will also have a light table for tracing patterns and computers and internet access for students and industry people to conduct research.

lack of glamour

2007-04-25T10:05:00.000-06:00

The changes around here are not really the most exciting, nor the best for photography. Presently, we are in the midst of having our drywall taped and what we call "shmoeed". Surely that is the technical term for the plaster they use to fill in the cracks. Another very exciting change is the plumbing, not conducive to great photos, but they are jack-hammering laying new pipes in what will be the men's bathroom. One thing that has been very beneficial (other than the amazing metamorphosis of the building) is the relationships that have been created. There have been some very interesting trades people that have helped us realize this dream of a new Costume Museum. Without them we would still be sitting in a big warehouse. Instead the vision is being realized as the construction moves along.

this door will open often

2007-04-27T14:35:00.000-06:00

Finally something exciting to blog about! Today we got our huge glass front door installed. It really adds a lot to the space. It finally seems real as things are coming together. This is a reocurring statement, but a true one. We get so excited by the changes and the fact that we are moving one step closer to being open. In the chaos of construction not only are we mentally planning the exhibition, but we are also receiving shipment after shipment of new merchandise for the gift boutique. A very exciting time for the costume museum of canada.

more drywall images...

2007-04-18T11:01:00.000-06:00

drywall

2007-04-18T10:40:00.000-06:00

It is very exciting to see everything come together. The space really takes shape when the walls are drywalled. The gallery space is large and light filled, the second gallery too is quite large allowing for constant changing and displaying of our collection. We are still awaiting our permit to finish up the work, but hopefully it will be soon as we still aim to be open in June.

framed

2007-04-10T13:49:00.000-06:00

The painting is almost completed and the colour makes the industrial ceiling vanish into the abyss. This is in contrast to the creamy white walls that surround the galleries and library. The white is warm and classic. Actually things are starting to move quickly now. The metal frames for the walls are almost all in place and then we are in a holding position as we await our permit from the city to continue. The new and improved Costume Museum is really going to be something special. The bare bones of this building were amazing to start off with, but now it is really all coming together.

sealed

2007-03-29T19:14:00.000-06:00

The concrete floors are in the last stages of being prepared to welcome the thousands of people who will walk on them. Today Ken our floor guy put three coats of sealer on the floors. This filled the air with a chocking toxic scent, but also rendered the concrete so lovely. For the next 24 hours we are not able to walk on the floors, therefore the administrative offices are empty. We will return all calls when we are allowed back into the building. Ken is such a neat guy, he has guided us and informed us of all the stages of concrete beautification all while wearing coveralls that read "JIM" on the chest.

moving memories

2007-03-28T10:11:00.000-06:00

The good news is we are one step closer to being open. This week we have been moving the collection and the rest of our 25 years of amassed items from our storage in Dugald to our new home. With great foresight to this day, all of our items were carefully placed on wooden pallets and wrapped making moving a breeze with the aid to two burly guys and a pallet jack. They came to Dugald with a 51 foot semi-trailer truck. It did not seem possible that it would take 5 truck loads to move everything. Packing was daunting, unpacking will be worse.

paint glorious paint

2007-03-28T11:37:00.000-06:00

Again the excitement of progress is upon us. Not only are we getting our collection and our furniture moved it, but a large truck just pulled in and dropped off several huge buckets of paint. Henry our contractor from Fine Line Builders tells us that next week the painting will begin. The ceiling is sort of a faded teal right now so the new paint will really brighten the space! It is all very exciting as we await more changes.

smell of progress

2007-03-27T12:16:00.000-06:00

The concrete beautification continues. A man named Ken is doing all the work. He drives around what looks to be a zamboni as mentioned previously that is stuffed with tiny ball bearings. The zamboni device also sucks up all the dust and debris produced. For the hard to reach areas, he uses a hand held sander. It is the sander that is filling the air with a thick dust and a potent odor. When posed with a safety question, Ken assured that he normally wears a mask but it was on back order. The next stage will be sealing the concrete and it will take a couple days to dry (and air out) the floor will them have a slight shine making the concrete even more beautiful. In the photo of this process, you can see the line that divides the concrete in the natural state and the grey paint that is being removed.

concrete beautification

2007-03-23T10:11:00.000-06:00

There is a strange excitement when progress is being made. Today, much to our delight there is a cloud of dust throughout the costume museum. The dust is from the concrete floors being sanded and polished. This is no longer the intense process that it once was, now they take what looks like a zamboni across the floors lifting up any paint or markings. Formerly they used a chemical that lifted the paint and then it was scraped off making the process both labour intensive and expensive. The result is actually gorgeous. Not very many people would say that concrete is gorgeous, but it is. Especially in this building where we are trying to not mask the fact that it is an industrial gem, but rather embracing it for its unique qualities.

left in the dark

2007-03-21T09:20:00.000-06:00

Our building owner, Bob Brown is doing us a great service by cleaning up all the electrical and combining it into one panel. This will make it much easier to install new lights and it is just generally more tidy. We thought this would take a day or two, but as we have learnt in this process of construction generally things take 10 times longer than expected. Needless to say our space has power in a few sections but not throughout. We are unable to print anything or use the phone. Of course this makes maintaining an administrative office difficult for us, but hopefully has not caused too much disruption for our supporters and members.

from dugald to the big city

2007-01-17T10:07:00.000-06:00

It has been a long time coming. Many years of declining attendance put the Costume Museum of Canada in the position to make a change. After much searching for a suitable building in Winnipeg, finally 109 Pacific Avenue fell into our laps.

Upon first glance it might look like a big old warehouse but underneath the industrial look lies a historic building waiting to be re-born into an elegant Costume Museum. The building was once home to the Children's Museum, but it's original function was as a horse and carriage garage. In the back you can see evidence of ramps used to move horses upstairs to the cozy stalls full of hay.

Some may not see the beauty in this building, but it is there. There are so many small elements of design and intrigue that make it unique and gorgeous. Presently we are a long way from a final product but we do have a wonderful interior designer that we will be working with. Her name is Linda Levit and she has done museum work before and really understands our limited budget, but our need to present professional exhibitions in a contemporary yet comfortable space. We are just getting started with her, but the purpose of this blog is to chronicle the events and the changes in the space as they occur. Please check back often as we will be updating you on the exciting new home that we are building for our collection.