Author name: Elara Vandemeer
Elara Vandemeer is a conservator-trained furniture historian with over 18 years of hands-on experience restoring 17th–19th century European and Colonial American pieces. She holds dual certifications from the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the American Institute for Conservation. Her fieldwork spans rural workshops in Transylvania, archival research in Kyoto’s Edo-period joinery records, and collaborative documentation of Appalachian chest-making traditions. She lectures widely and advises museums on ethical material reintegration.
