Everyone knows how difficult it can be to safely wrap valuable pictures before a move. But when picture framer and gallery owner Soo Turner and artist Natasha Barnes were faced with having to wrap 50-60 paintings a week for export all over the world, they decided to do something about it.
It was mainly the time it took to wrap the pictures that encouraged Soo and Natasha to come up with a better solution. “We’d been using bubble wrap and tape and it took forever to pack every picture; we also found the bubble wrap sometimes stuck to the canvas and damaged it - there had to be another way,” said Soo.
Breen Capital saw the potential and introduced capital and management experience resulting in the development and testing of the Breen Smartbag which over the last few years has become a firm favourite with art dealers around the world.
The bags are made from three layers bonded together, comprising 5mm of polyethylene foam sandwiched between two layers of polypropylene ‘skin’ to produce a strong, abrasion resistant and shock absorbent envelope for the picture. The middle layer has a cushioning effect that recovers after pressure, and the edges are sewn together with strong fabric bindings increasing durability and making the bag re-useable many times over.
For the removals industry, the Breen Smartbag offers an alternative to traditional paper blankets and cartons that shows customers their precious pieces are being properly protected. The bags are available in 10 sizes (from 35x40cm to 145x200cm) and can be used repeatedly for domestic and international moves making them more cost-effective, quicker to pack, and less bulky to transport than single use packaging.
Photo: Soo Turner with the new Breen Smartbags, which she developed along with artist Natasha Barnes and Breen Capital.