Rouviere Media

If you are displaying a collection of Art Deco items that you want to put small labels on, use an Art Deco style of font on your word processing program to make the labels look like works of art and harmonize them with the items. Labels in a home are tricky. You obviously don’t want  your home to look like a museum does, with banner headlines on exhibits. However,  labels don’t have to be intrusive and tacky.  My ranching collection has a small framed explanation of the collection in a 19th century font that looks like an old framed document.  Unobtrusive and attractively framed labels in narrow spots on walls can explain the items in a room in a fun and interesting way and can become a conversation piece. Sometimes an artifact can act as a label – for example,  a copy of a graduation certificate or newspaper clipping placed on a wall along with a graduation photograph and related documents can serve to explain your display.
Consider the cases, cabinets or shadow boxes you are using to display your heirlooms to determine whether they are compatible in style with the spirit you want to convey, in addition to displaying the artifacts in such a way that your heirlooms will be properly preserved.
If you are like most people, you want to display your heirlooms in such a way that you convey the rich meaning behind them, without making your home look like a museum. This is a delicate balance, but museums are in fact going in this direction as well. They are trying to make the museum experience more comfortable and less formal for people. It is possible to convey a great deal of information about an heirloom in a small space and without making your home look like a museum gallery.
Consider my father’s saddle, for example. My father was a fine rider, cowboy and horse trainer, and he rebuilt this old saddle in the 1950s and used it for years. I could have just displayed the saddle. Instead, I decided to make it more meaningful by displaying it with a photograph of him riding and including his bridle, spurs and branding iron (or brand). This display takes up very little more room than the saddle alone, but it tells the saddle’s story in a meaningful and interesting way.