Services

I find the documents, images and footage a project needs, in museum and private archives, period publications, and picture and film libraries. You get everything organized and fully sourced, ready for your team to use.

Typical projects:

• Period research for a film or series
• Photo research for a book or exhibition
• Archival footage research for a documentary
• Historical reference for a campaign or collection

I can coordinate image and footage licensing.

Licensing and clearance are handled by your team.

I check books, documentaries, podcasts and articles line by line, sourcing every fact and correcting any that don’t hold up. For documentaries, I deliver an annotated script for legal and insurance review.

Writing a non-fiction book? Most publishers don’t fact-check, so the responsibility usually falls on the author. I can check your manuscript before it goes to print.

I research your brand’s history and tell you what you can use and what you can’t. Typical work:

• A history and timeline
• A review of your archive and what it’s good for
• Research for an anniversary or campaign
• A check that your heritage claims are true before they run

For fashion, beauty and luxury houses, retailers, and the creative agencies that work with them. Agencies can also bring me in behind the scenes as a research specialist, under their name.

Book chapters and essays, brand histories, exhibition and catalogue text, and private histories for families and collectors. Written from original research and checked to the same standard as everything else here.

Sample: Thea Porter (V&A Publishing)

Talks for client events, private dinners and staff training, built around your brand, collection or audience.

Proofreading for non-fiction, especially fashion, design and cultural history. I catch what a general proofreader can’t: misspelled designer names, wrong dates, misattributed images.

Book an hour to talk through a question before you commit to a project. A period you need to get right. An archive you don’t know what to do with. A garment, object or piece of family history you want to understand. Afterward, I’ll send a short written summary with sources and next steps.

Paid when you book. If you go on to hire me for a project, the fee comes off the first invoice.

Family histories, research into inherited collections (clothing, jewelry, photographs, letters and papers), and private writing commissions.

I provide research and documentation, not appraisals. If you need a valuation for insurance, sale or donation, I’ll work alongside your appraiser.