Coffee Adventure - Art Restoration with Kat

       After my first two weeks at Art Restoration Technologies, we started going on art-pickups—driving to the customers’ homes to take their damaged art back to the office in our company van. The first art pick-up was standard, removing mold-damaged pieces and wrapping them before tucking them safely into the boxes in the van. The second art pick-up, though, was more interesting. 

My boss and I pull up in Large Marge—our company moving van—and park in front of an electric front gate. Our coworkers from Electronic Restoration Services have already been waiting for several minutes for the gate to open, but to no avail… and there’s no service in this rural part of New York state. We sit in the grass and spend some time viewing the beautiful rolling hills. Shortly, the owner of the house pulls up in a sports car, and a very kind woman gets out, apologizing that her two kids were supposed to open the gate for us. She remote-controls the gate to swing open, and we all drive in. 

Her home is minimalist, almost Frank Lloyd Wright-ish, and definitely the most picturesque home I’ve ever seen. The lawn isn’t really a lawn, it’s artfully placed grass fronds and large stone steps that look like they’re floating. Inside, despite the gutted basement because of water damage, the house is beautiful and perfect, like an advertisement in the NY Style Magazine. Huge pieces of modern art hang from the walls and ceiling, and everything is spotless. I remembered her saying that she had two teenage kids, and wondered how she kept everything so clean. 

@artrecoverynnj

@artrecoverynnj

@artrecoverynnj

       As we worked on packaging her damaged art, we were bombarded by three color-coded French Bulldogs who were just too happy to see us. I hadn’t closed one of the doors properly, and accidentally let out all three dogs into the basement and yard, and my boss and coworkers and I all had to work together to herd the playing dogs back inside. Crisis averted and dogs safely back into their room, we finished our job and packed the van. 

I don’t think I will ever be in a home so large or impressive, and the woman was so kind to us. It was definitely the most interesting pick-up we’ve done. 

As we started the over-an-hour trek back to the office, we stopped for coffee in what must have been the smallest town in New York. The place we pull up to is called Frank’s or Bob’s or something of the sort, with too many front doors, and inside is half diner (with no one inside) and half bar (all seven seats were filled). I head to the diner section to use the bathroom while my boss tries to buy coffee. When I come back to the bar to find her, she isn’t there, and I think maybe she’s back in the van already. I head out to look for her, and she’s not in the van, so I turn back to the bar/diner and check again. I’ve got a green mullet and a choker, so I must’ve really stood out to these handful of New York state country men, drinking in the afternoon. They stared at me as I checked around for my boss. I decided to just go wait in the car, so I turn to leave again, only for one of the men to run after me and shout “Hey excuse me! The lady you’re lookin' for is in here!” My boss reappeared from the kitchen of the diner (they asked her to make the coffee herself because they were under-staffed) and we headed out together. Back in the van, we both couldn’t stop laughing because of the earnest kindness and bewilderment of these bar men. This must have been the most exciting mystery all week, my boss mused, because they were making such a big deal of it to her. It was five-minute entertainment in this very quiet town.