Queanbeyan business preserving the past

While the store is decked out in classy yet quirky tableware, candles, and the art of legends such as Frida Kahlo de Rivera, Ms Montebello’s true passion lies in the restoration of old photographs and the safe storage of these historical items.

“The reason why I set this business up was because I worked at the National Museum and we had a lot of people come in and ask us questions about the storage of these massive historical family collections and it was unfortunately quite hard to refer them somewhere because there was nowhere that offered the correct storage products,” Ms Montebello said.

“So I’m now one of the few people in Australia to offer this archival quality storage, it’s what is used in all of the museums in Australia so it’s all national-archival-approved and acid-free.

“It’s a whole system where you can store these things in sleeves and different pockets and you know it’s going to be safe and don’t have to worry, which is what my byline is: ‘We help keep safe the things you love’. That’s my passion and that’s a very important part of Family Keepsakes.”

Ms Montebello also offers picture framing through Family Keepsakes - making her one out of two businesses in Queanbeyan to practice the service, while she spends additional time in contact with the Queanbeyan Library, Queanbeyan Museum and Queanbeyan Art Society, to offer education on conservation, preservation and art.

“That’s the thing with this shop - and I think it is a big thing - it’s educating people, because a lot of people don’t know what conservation or preservation entails,” she said.

“They think it is something sciencey and complex, but you can do very simple things to look after your collection for the long term for the kids, for the grandkids, and even for the community.”