News from the Collections Manager

In April IWASM had two Japanese visitors; they toured the gallery and then picked out Earhart books in the gift shop. One of the men began looking through the IWASM Earhart library books and came across a 1980s Japanese paperback that contained a long article on Amelia. I offered to make a copy of the article for him and he explained that he was a fashion designer. His studio is in North Hollywood (where Earhart had lived) and he was planning his 2013 line around Earhart. His fashion name is "Mr. Hoolywood." I then asked him if he would like to see a flight suit that she had designed. Of course he was delighted. He was leaving Cleveland the next day to fly to Atchison, Kansas to visit the Amelia Earhart's Birthplace Museum. We exchanged cards and he promised to send IWASM news of when his Earhart line comes out.

The IWASM Earhart flight suit is no longer on exhibit. We had it out during our Flight to Fame: Amelia Earhart exhibition and afterwards went out on loan to the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Now it is "resting" for a period of at least five years. This is to ensure that it will remain in good condition for centuries to come. it is still available to researchers, as are all our artifacts and archives.

Cris Takacs

Collections Manager