Sewing of laid thread couching with curved needle. Tomedi Textilrestaurierung

Working togheter to preserve historic textiles

We are two textile conservators who were both trained at the Abegg Foundation in Bern (CH), one of the leading institutes for the conservation and research of textiles. Coming from different generations, we bring a wide range of experience to our work.

Irene Tomedi, owner of TOMEDI KG der Irene Tomedi & Co, has been working as a textile conservator in her own workshop in Bolzano since 1983. She has been involved in countless conservation projects both in Italy and abroad. These include the conservation of important textile objects in South Tyrol, such as the chasuble of St. Albuin in the Diocesan Museum in Brixen, various ecclesiastical and secular textile objects and finds from museums and churches throughout Italy, such as the garments of an Egyptian child mummy from the Museo Civico di Bologna and the conservation of the Shroud of Turin.

She began her career at the Abegg Foundation in Bern, where she was trained by Mechthild Flury-Lemberg in the textile conservation workshop. During her long career, she held a teaching position at the Istituto Centrale di Restauro in Rome from 2002 to 2003 and has repeatedly trained students as interns in her workshop. She has been committed to promoting textiles for many years, including through various exhibition projects, such as the exhibition ‘Coral, Gold Threads and Silk’ at the Merkantilmuseum in Bozen, and is involved in interdisciplinary projects such as the research and restoration of catacomb saints.

In 2021 she was awarded the Premio Palazzo Spinelli for her many years of work in the field of conservation of textiles.

Mirjam Kaufmann completed her studies at the Abegg Foundation and Bern University of Applied Sciences in 2021 with a master's thesis on the bands from the tomb of Archbishop Siegfried von Westerburg (+1297) (poster). She then gained her first work experience at the Bayerischen Landesamt für Denkmalpflege in Munich (DE) as an intern in the conservation department, where she gained an insight into the preservation of listed builings and the objects within. From January 2023 to April 2024, she worked as a project-based textile conservator for the new permanent exhibition ‘Changing Ireland’ at the National Museum of Ireland. After several years abroad, she has now returned to South Tyrol to work as a freelance textile conservator.

It is important to her to continue her education and contribute to the further development of the field of conservation. She therefore regularly attends international conferences, invests time in smaller research projects and is a member of various professional associations.