To find a conservator, restorer or restoration shops near your location providing repair, restoration, refinishing or refurbishing select your country and then the state or providence you live in. All PRI members with a shop Bio will be located at the top of the list. Other shops or service providers are listed below PRI members alphabetically.

You can also find PRI members that restore almost any object made of wood, metal, marble, china, porcelain, leather and more by selecting one of the specialties listed on the Category page. There is a wide range of restorers which provide general restoration of family heirlooms as well as museum quality work on fine art objects.

Unlike practitioners of other professional services like medicine and law, conservators and restoration specialist are not required to be certified in order to set up shop. Anyone can claim to be a restorer. No governmental or private agency administers examinations, checks credentials or levels of proficiency. As a result, the burden is on you, the consumer of conservation and restoration services, to choose your service provider for any given project with care.

Searching the PRI Member Directories of restoration professionals, in the appropriate specialty category, is a good place to start. Within each member's Bio page is a wealth of information about the specialized services they provide, their history, location and contact information.

The people and shops appearing in PRI Member Directories are more likely to be competent conservators, restorers and repair specialist, but are not guaranteed to be so. No matter where you obtain the names of prospective restorers, do your best to assess their competency for the conservation or restoration specialties you require.

Do this just as you would for any other type of service provider. Talk to the individuals, in person, at their facility if you can. Inquire about their educational background and training in their field. Find out how long they have been in business, whether full or part time. Ask for references. See if their facility seems organized and well outfitted. Ask to look at some of the work in progress. And show them your object needing restoration. Do they seem knowledgeable about that type of object? Have they treated similar items in the past? Are they forthcoming and specific about treatment procedures? Do they seem attentive to your wishes concerning treatment or repairs? And will they be able to do the treatment within a satisfactory amount of time?

Keep in mind that qualified restorers are specialists. No one individual, no matter how well trained or educated, can possibly be proficient in all conservation specialties at once. There is simply too much to know and too many technology advancements to keep up with. Avoid those who claim otherwise. Consider instead restorers who do just a few types of conservation or restoration services exceedingly well.