Design Museum Tour Review and Photographer's Miscellany

Well the Volunteer led Design Museum tours of the Collection Lab have been going a little over 2 months and the time (it seems) had come for a review of how it was going and to be updated on matters around the initiative .

Having run half a dozen of the tours I've been pleased with feedback form those I've shown around, seems that they  have got something from it - some Museums (and Galleries) can be a bit forbidding and I think an enthusiastic commentator can bring some extra dimension to some visitors.

For the Design Museum it's giving a real 'value add' for the visitors (no extra charge to the visitors)- making customers  feel special and cared for, I wonder if the other people visiting  'the Lab' get half as much enjoyment going around by themselves?

Discussions on the Good and Bad (but not the Ugly) was useful and certain topics such as the challenge in presenting for those with native tongues other than English and identifying what objects can be handled were given particular attention.

It was good to find out that the tours might be expanding to look at possibly focusing on groups of more mature visitors and also families.

Less good was to learn that the the planned move  of the Museum to a bigger and more accessible location in Kensington is now likely to be late in 2016.

Convening for a review of the Collection Lab tours

Pring's Photographer's Miscellany 

Reminds you of?

As well as meeting some nice people and getting comfortable with tour presentation another by-product of involvement with volunteering at the Design Museum is a 20% discount in their shop - I've been looking at Pring's Photographer's Miscellany when I've visited on the last couple of occasions and at £6.39 today  I could no longer resist its' lure and thought it was worth indulging myself.

Pring's 

The book's a bit reminiscent of the books around the  Schott's Miscellany phenomena from a few years back  but (of course) focusing (pun unintended) on photography, the volume felt good from when I read the first quote from the influential photographer Philippe Halsman:

I drifted into photography like one drifts into prostitution. First I did it to please myself, then I did it to please my friends, and eventually I did it for money.

More to come from this book later I'm sure.