Flora Daphne Nuttgens

At King Alfred's, I support Art, Textiles and Graphics courses at GCSE and A Level. My duties include:

• Maintaining and ordering media, materials and equipment, including sewing machines and the printing press
• Keeping the studios tidy, hygienic, safe and orderly
• Managing the COSHH cupboard
• Trained in first aid
• Trained fire marshal
• Supporting students with all aspects of their work, including preparing media, demonstrating techniques and making samples
• Creating and printing digital resources
• Digital photography
• Occasional one-to-one teaching
• Exam preparation and invigilation
• Supporting workshops with external practitioners, such as life-drawing Classes and visiting artists
• Mounting and curating exhibitions of student work
• Designing and delivering enrichment activities
• Working with students from the Trust's primary schools
• Set-painting, props, costumes and front-of-house duties for the School's annual musical production
• Supporting school trips
• Liaising with alumni

After I left my earlier role at the Ashmolean to have children, I was asked to work for the Museum again on an hourly basis to finalise the designs for the new textiles store in the redeveloped Eastern Art department. In this role, I used the data I had collected on the dimensions, condition and environmental requirements of the objects to work with a storage contractor to create modern, accessible and safe storage for the collection.

Once the store was installed, I worked with the Eastern Art Print Room supervisors to transfer the textiles from their temporary storage to their new, permanent store. I trained the Supervisors how to handle delicate textile objects, such as long, rolled pieces.

I was a project conservator, employed to survey the Eastern Art collections and design and commission new storage facilities for them. Alongside this work, I conserved textiles, installed displays and supported academic access to the Eastern Art collections. I also undertook to courier an Ashmolean artefact to a museum in Barcelona.

As the major Ashmolean redevelopment project got underway in 2004, I was given responsibility for managing the safe decanting of the collections from the old building into temporary storage, training and directing a team of packers. I worked with the IT team to design a database to record every object as it was packed, and with my fellow conservators to devise safe packing methods for complex and fragile objects.

I was employed to conserve historic textiles for the Museum's refurbished British Galleries. This involved assessing their condition, cleaning them as necessary, applying stitched or adhesive supports and preparing or mounting them for display. Objects I worked on included a wedding dress, bed hangings and various flat pieces. I assisted with installation and worked with mount-makers.

I worked alone and collaboratively to conserve a number of privately-owned textiles, including a tapestry and bed hangings made by May Morris from Kelmscott Manor. I assisted with re-display of several pieces.

I was employed on a short contract as part of a team working on location at Buckingham Palace conserving the Music Room carpet. This involved reinforcing the fragile carpet by stitching it to a new fabric support.

I took book orders by mail, fax, phone and in person. I collected books to fulfil these orders, which involved developing a comprehensive memory of the whereabouts and appearance of thousands of books. Dealing with customers who had often travelled across the world to visit the company required good interpersonal skills and patience.

I sold college merchandise to visitors to St Edmund Hall. This involved handling takings and stock control and answering visitors' enquiries about the college's history.