Everything You Need to Know About Art Storage

Delivering convenience for our clients is a UOVO core value. The clients we serve are just as varied as the objects that come through our doors every day. With over 650,000 square feet of space across four facilities, we work with everyone from individual artists to couture fashion houses who use our space to store their valuables, collections, and archives.

Our functional storage options are accessible, adaptable, and can accommodate every collection and budget. Private storage rooms range in size from 50 to 50,000+ square feet. Our climate-controlled storage protects and preserves environmentally sensitive objects like couture gowns, paintings on canvas, and historical manuscripts. At the same time, our oversized dock doors, high ceilings, and spacious viewing rooms handle even monumental sculptures.

UOVO art handlers and account managers are trained to museum standards to provide the highest level of care when maintaining a client’s physical archives, but what many don’t realize is how integral technology has become to our services. Last month, our industry experts put to rest some of the common misconceptions surrounding the art storage industry; this month, our focus is on how digital archives streamline inventory tracking, collection management, and communication between internal departments.

New clients frequently ask their account managers how they are able to keep track of all the items in our facility. Their answer: quite easily, actually. Our customized digital inventory management system allows our team to track the hundreds of thousands of objects in our facilities, as well as the items that come in and out on a daily basis. Our art handlers and account managers actively use this software to record pertinent data about an item, track its location in our facility, and update the status of an item.

Here’s what the process looks like: when an item arrives at our dock, it is inspected by an inventory control specialist and assigned an inventory number. After this information is entered into our database, the item is given a barcode. Next, two physical barcodes are placed on the object for accessibility before it’s transported to its sublocation, either in the client’s private unit or into concierge storage. Once there, our expert art handlers will scan the barcode of both the item and the specific space, which updates the item’s location in our digital inventory management system through WiFi.

This digital footprint tells your dedicated account manager everything they need to know about the items in your collection. Having an iPhone-integrated system gives account managers the ability to easily access the database to view essential information about a single object in a collection, accurately track where an item is throughout the facility in real-time, and communicate with our team of art handlers to request an item be released for transport or retrieved from another location. Additionally, the system retains historical data, so you can see not only where an object is currently, but also where it had been previously.

It is important to keep in mind that all inventory is completely confidential at UOVO. Our inventory system is an optional convenience for clients who have their own private storage spaces; they do not have to enter their collections into our database. If they do choose to join, the amount of information in the database entry for each object is entirely at their discretion.

Naturally, we balance our cutting-edge technology with the latest in cybersecurity. Our business and data run on an enterprise resource planning system that uses encryption technology, intrusion detection software, and enterprise grade antivirus software. We screen the cybersecurity of all our vendors and work to educate our staff about phishing and other attempts for access.