Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosa Lowinger.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a professionally trained sculpture conservator with a degree from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts.
I began working in private practice in the mid-1980s, first in Philadelphia, then I moved to Los Angeles with my family to be the NEA Fellow in Conservation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 1988, I founded my first LA-based firm. Sculpture Conservation Studio was one of LA’s first private conservation practices dedicated to sculpture and architecture. Under my guidance SCS became one of the city’s premier firms dealing with public art and sculpture, but eventually I sold the practice to write a book, which led to my receiving the Rome Prize in Conservation from the American Academy in Rome.
Though I had the experience of working on both East and West coasts and with the foundation of professional graduate level training in my field, while in Rome, I saw the possibilities of including more global standards of practice in the way we perform conservation of sculpture, architecture, and objects. Founded in 2008, RLA Conservation combines the best practices of university level training and museum standards with the type of craftsmanship that is so prized in European firms. We presently have two offices– in Miami and Los Angeles– and our firm is unique in the fact that we retain a staff of highly trained artisans with diverse backgrounds (our staff hails from the East Coast, Midwest, California, Mexico, Haiti, and Cuba) to provide state-of-the-art practice.
I love coming to work every day to collaborate with my staff. We pride ourselves on being great problem solvers and team players and we presently have projects throughout the U.S. with a concentration on the West, Southeast, and Texas.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The struggles are always present in whatever we do. Growth is the biggest challenge. When it was just me as a private practitioner, it was fairly simple to make decisions. But now that RLA is a firm with 18 employees we are constantly trying to balance our commitment to excellence with the limits of materials. Because our field is highly specialized, ongoing staff training is also an issue that we try to maintain at the forefront of our goals.
Another challenge comes from the type of clients we have. We work for architects, municipal public art agencies, corporations, museums, insurance companies, and private individuals, some of whom are of very high net worth. Communication is a key component of what we do, and making sure that our written materials are easy to read and understand, while communicating often complex technical information (think about having to read medical reports and understand them) is oftentimes hard to balance. But it seems to be working and I’m proud to say that we have longevity in our staff base.
Please tell us about RLA Conservation of Art + Architecture.
RLA Conservation, Inc. provides professional preservation and conservation services for sculpture, monuments, RLA Conservation, Inc. provides professional preservation and conservation services for sculpture, monuments, contemporary and modern art objects, and historic heritage architecture.
We are a woman and Latino-owned small business with 18 employees in two cities (Los Angeles and Miami) and we specialize in modern material problems in tropical, desert, and marine environments. We are the people you call if you have, for example, a historic building whose metal windows or decorative stone needs cleaning or repairs. We are also the people who maintain public outdoor sculpture collections and provide ongoing services to make sure works of art are well cared for. When someone drops a vase, we are the people to come to, and also when a regional emergency (think hurricane, earthquake, or forest fire) threatens historic buildings or a collection of sculpture, decorative arts, mosaics, or murals. We are unique because of our founder and our staff.
RLA is headed by Rosa Lowinger, the region’s only sculpture conservator who is a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation. We are the only firm in LA that employs three graduate level trained conservators, and a cadre of skilled artisan technicians who are on our staff full time. This means that when we come to do work on your building or collection we are not subcontracting the work to others. Our clients include museums, private collectors, corporations, universities, architects, public art agencies, government departments, insurance specialists, appraisers, art shippers, and contractors.
Our firm is known for collaborative problem solving, hands-on proficiency, and outstanding written skills that help our clients navigate the complexities of cultural heritage preservation. Our work conforms to the Code of Ethics / Guidelines for Practice of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC), the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, and other applicable international charters.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have come up with a long-term business plan that saw the growth potential up front and done more to understand HR before hiring a large staff. People management is the main thing that challenges a growing firm. Otherwise I am proud of how I’ve done things. I kept overhead low until I saw that we were firmly established and that has made all the difference.
Pricing:
- Our rates range from $195 per hour for Ms. Lowinger to $80 for junior technicians.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rlaconservation.com
- Phone: 323 377-8425
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @rlaconservation
- Facebook: RLA Conservation of Art + Architecture
- Twitter: @rlaconservation
Image Credit:
RLA Conservation
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