Restorationists? Who's out there? 2 2

[MatterEaterLad]

With Mike at Hero Restoration crashing and burning, who else is out there?

I heard that Susan Ciccone at Restoration Lab has retired

There's Phil at Phantom Restoration. But I think he only does conservation now, not restoration.

Is Bill Sarill of Classics Incorporated still in the game?

There's Tracey (I forget his last name) who worked for the National Archives in Canada, but I don't think he's doing the work anymore.

Kenny Sanderson is doing amazing work. 

Has anyone done resto with CCS lately?

 

Seems like there's going to be a knowledge gap with so many people retired.  

 

 

 

 

[thehumantorch]

On 12/13/2023 at 5:30 PM, MatterEaterLad said:

With Mike at Hero Restoration crashing and burning, who else is out there?

I heard that Susan Ciccone at Restoration Lab has retired

There's Phil at Phantom Restoration. But I think he only does conservation now, not restoration.

Is Bill Sarill of Classics Incorporated still in the game?

There's Tracey (I forget his last name) who worked for the National Archives in Canada, but I don't think he's doing the work anymore.

Kenny Sanderson is doing amazing work. 

Has anyone done resto with CCS lately?

 

Seems like there's going to be a knowledge gap with so many people retired.  

 

 

 

 

Tracey Heft

eclipsepaper.com

[MatterEaterLad]

On 12/13/2023 at 5:50 PM, thehumantorch said:

Tracey Heft

eclipsepaper.com

I had heard that Tracey wasn't doing restoration anymore because of health reasons.

That website doesn't exist anymore and his last instagram post is almost 2 years old 

[thehumantorch]

On 12/13/2023 at 8:28 PM, MatterEaterLad said:

I had heard that Tracey wasn't doing restoration anymore because of health reasons.

That website doesn't exist anymore and his last instagram post is almost 2 years old 

Too bad, he was pretty good.  Hope his health is ok.

[joeypost]

Kenny. 

[newshane]

On 12/13/2023 at 6:30 PM, MatterEaterLad said:

 

I heard that Susan Ciccone at Restoration Lab has retired

 

 

 

 

 

That explains why she never got back with me a few years ago. 

[MatterEaterLad]

On 12/14/2023 at 5:38 AM, joeypost said:

Kenny. 

It appears that he's the last man standing. 

[joeypost]

On 12/15/2023 at 6:05 PM, MatterEaterLad said:

It appears that he's the last best man standing. 

[Tony S]

On 12/15/2023 at 5:05 PM, MatterEaterLad said:

It appears that he's the last man standing. 

If Kenny Sanderson was the last man standing, he's also super busy. I contacted him a year ago and while he initially responded (as near as I can tell you can only reach him through Instagram) he never followed up so I did not get my book restored. 

But Kenny isn't actually the last person standing. CCS - the in house pressing service for CGC - also does restoration.  They do a lot more restoration removal, but they do offer restoration services as well. CCS is - almost certainly - the easiest to reach out to and most likely to respond.  Just send scans of the front and back cover of the book(s) you want restored to submissions@cgccomics.com

[KCOComics]

It is interesting to see how much this world is shrinking. I imagine there is an opportunity for someone who is talented or willing to learn. 

I will vouch for Kenny's work.  I've had 3 pretty big jobs done by him and his work is phenomenal.  

But I agree that he's likely very busy. 

[Phill the Governor]

On 12/13/2023 at 7:30 PM, MatterEaterLad said:

There's Phil at Phantom Restoration. But I think he only does conservation now, not restoration.

Hey, I'm the Phil you speak of.

The hobby has an overwhelming focus on conservation now, so true despite my name I do very little "restoration". I'm just beginning to offer leaf-casting, which aside from color touch is really the most technical things can get. I do some color touch, but the truth is it's just not a skill I've had a need to develop intricately because there's such a small amount of full on resto work like that requested. Over time I would like to develop that skill, though, just like other skills.

Kenny Sanderson is the shining beacon of the last standing all encompassing comic restoration artist. I'd like to think I can achieve his levels of full on restoration at some point. That said I am incredibly proud of the work I've done and am continuing to develop despite my age (I only just turned 33). I'd like to think I've gotten better and more refined the longer I've been at this.

On 12/17/2023 at 3:15 AM, Tony S said:

If Kenny Sanderson was the last man standing, he's also super busy. I contacted him a year ago and while he initially responded (as near as I can tell you can only reach him through Instagram) he never followed up so I did not get my book restored.

 

I can only speak for myself but I know I've got the artist part down, but only recently got a better hold of the business/communication side of it. It can be challenging at times to manage expectations and the entire workload on our own. Not to mention packaging, receiving, invoicing, communications, etc.. I'd like to think I've gotten better over the years but the truth is we are crazy people for deciding to make this our job.

 

[KCOComics]

On 12/17/2023 at 11:30 PM, Phill the Governor said:

Hey, I'm the Phil you speak of.

The hobby has an overwhelming focus on conservation now, so true despite my name I do very little "restoration". I'm just beginning to offer leaf-casting, which aside from color touch is really the most technical things can get. I do some color touch, but the truth is it's just not a skill I've had a need to develop intricately because there's such a small amount of full on resto work like that requested. Over time I would like to develop that skill, though, just like other skills.

Kenny Sanderson is the shining beacon of the last standing all encompassing comic restoration artist. I'd like to think I can achieve his levels of full on restoration at some point. That said I am incredibly proud of the work I've done and am continuing to develop despite my age (I only just turned 33). I'd like to think I've gotten better and more refined the longer I've been at this.

 

I can only speak for myself but I know I've got the artist part down, but only recently got a better hold of the business/communication side of it. It can be challenging at times to manage expectations and the entire workload on our own. Not to mention packaging, receiving, invoicing, communications, etc.. I'd like to think I've gotten better over the years but the truth is we are crazy people for deciding to make this our job.

 

I appreciate this post. 

The customer communication / logistics piece seems to be a real hurdle. And I think alot of customers really need the advice. What should I do? Or what would you do as a guy who looks at 300 similar jobs a week? Unfortunately it's hard for you to have capacity to give that advice. 

Good luck as you continue to grow your business. I have a lot of respect for people who have the courage and skill to go out on their own.

And learn from the mistakes of others! Particularly Hero.  As much as he complains about circumstances, everything that's gone wrong with his business is self inflicted from poor business practices.  

 

[MatterEaterLad]

On 12/17/2023 at 9:30 PM, Phill the Governor said:

That said I am incredibly proud of the work I've done and am continuing to develop despite my age (I only just turned 33). I'd like to think I've gotten better and more refined the longer I've been at this.

Thanks Phil!

I'm glad you're 33. You have a whole career ahead of you. I was starting to worry that some knowledge would be lost as people retire from this work.

[Yorick]

On 12/18/2023 at 8:06 AM, MatterEaterLad said:

worry that some knowledge would be lost as people retire from this work

I think as the purple label becomes less of a stigma, more paper restoration/conservation people will slide back into comics.  There is a thriving resto industry held up by massive museum collections that need all the help they can get.

[Sauce Dog]

On 12/17/2023 at 10:23 AM, KCOComics said:

I imagine there is an opportunity for someone who is talented or willing to learn. 

Oh no, I'm not falling for that...I'm not allowing my brain to consider this void in the market as a great opportunity!!!! 

For every thought I have about offering my conservation/restoration services as a serious business I have about ten times the amount of thoughts saying "yeahhhhh, maybe keep it as a fun side hobby". As limited as my skills are, nowhere near what Phil is doing (hence why I send him my most important books, I ain't touching those!), I can do things that get good results and so I'm always tempted by the idea of expanding...but then I go back to looking at the Hero Restoration thread and get reminded how much of a mess it can get. 

but maybe..... 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Sauce Dog

[KCOComics]

On 12/20/2023 at 12:07 PM, Sauce Dog said:

Oh no, I'm not falling for that...I'm not allowing my brain to consider this void in the market as a great opportunity!!!! 

For every thought I have about offering my conservation/restoration services as a serious business I have about ten times the amount of thoughts saying "yeahhhhh, maybe keep it as a fun side hobby". As limited as my skills are, nowhere near what Phil is doing (hence why I send him my most important books, I ain't touching those!), I can do things that get good results and so I'm always tempted by the idea of expanding...but then I go back to looking at the Hero Restoration thread and get reminded how much of a mess it can get. 

but maybe..... 

Well,  if you do consider it,  never forget the lessons taught by Hero. 

He has all the excuses in the world, but at the end of the day, it was poor business decisions, unforced errors and failure to take accountability that ruined Mike. 

And I'm not unsympathetic to his health and theft problems. But he left himself vulnerable by running a poor business. 

I also think so much has come to light,  it forces use to question his credibility on those issues as well. 

 

[I like pie]

On 12/17/2023 at 2:15 AM, Tony S said:

If Kenny Sanderson was the last man standing, he's also super busy. I contacted him a year ago and while he initially responded (as near as I can tell you can only reach him through Instagram) he never followed up so I did not get my book restored. 

But Kenny isn't actually the last person standing. CCS - the in house pressing service for CGC - also does restoration.  They do a lot more restoration removal, but they do offer restoration services as well. CCS is - almost certainly - the easiest to reach out to and most likely to respond.  Just send scans of the front and back cover of the book(s) you want restored to submissions@cgccomics.com

I reached out to Kenny a week ago and no response. If you can't respond to potential customers in that timeframe, you need to do some hiring.

Also, I sent a book to CCS for resto and it was too large to encapsulate, so they didn't even look at it. It was sent back the day after it was checked in.

I was told, after it shipped back, that if I were to put a note on the sub form, they would consider doing it without encapsulation.

 

[VintageComics]

On 12/20/2023 at 10:46 PM, I like pie said:

I reached out to Kenny a week ago and no response.

I've been friends with Kenny for what, 15 or more years and he doesn't even respond to me.

He's absolutely slammed. 

[Tony S]

On 12/20/2023 at 10:00 PM, VintageComics said:

I've been friends with Kenny for what, 15 or more years and he doesn't even respond to me.

He's absolutely slammed. 

I have never used Instagram. Is there a way to post up "I am slammed and cannot take on any new restoration jobs for xxx time?"  A quick Google search indicates that there are some auto response features with Instagram.  Both to frequently asked questions, welcome messages and away messages. So Kenny should take a few minutes and set such up.  The front end of any business is important. That old saying is "you only get once chance at making a first impression."  No response at all is not a good first impression. 
 

Edited December 22, 2023 by Tony S

[Phill the Governor]

Truly humbled by books that get sent my way, and I suppose there's no going back now.

A little shameless self-promotion. This unrestored copy was sent to me last week for tape removal and a clean & lite press.

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by Phill the Governor